Colsubsidio Theater launches hybrid schedule of shows that exalts artists

The theater adapts to the circumstances of the pandemic and presents a program in which it combines face-to-face with virtuality. The agenda already includes more than 50 shows in seven moments.

Faced with the difficult circumstances of the pandemic, neither art nor culture can stop. This is how the Colsubsidio Theater understands it, which adapts and evolves in 2021 with a hybrid show schedule : it combines face-to-face and virtuality, betting on a mixture of autochthonous and avant-garde sounds to bring Colombians a cultural offer of the highest quality that strengthens the performing arts ecosystem at these critical times.

The 2021 agenda mixes face-to-face experiences in different settings, keeping limited capacity and strict biosafety protocols for artists and attendees, with subsequent online broadcasts that will be open to a wider audience through digital channels, with special rates for members of the Caja de Compensation.

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The program includes more than 50 shows in seven moments and nine festivals, with artists of more than 10 nationalities. The first stage will be focused on national artists who present contemporary visions of indigenous and traditional Colombian rhythms, mixed with avant-garde global sounds. It is a commitment to expanding access to quality art, given the urgency of supporting the ecosystem of creation in the performing arts, so hard hit by the restrictions brought about by the global health emergency.

“At Colsubsidio we believe that quality arts have to be available to all audiences. We are going to do the shows in a hybrid way to bring the Colombian public a comprehensive program, with proposals that are innovating and reinterpreting the sounds of our country; all with the quality stamp of the Colsubsidio Theater. People continue to prefer the live show experience, and that is what we want to offer by reinforcing all biosecurity measures. A limited audience will be able to attend the live presentation of the events that will later be broadcast, ”said Sonia Durán, Manager of Education, Culture and Productivity at Colsubsidio.

The events that are part of the agenda will take place at different Colsubsidio venues , such as: El Cubo, the Bella Vista Club, and the new Táctica, Concepta and Local Bienestar Colsubsidio – BLOC centers; as well as in the theater room, a stage that will be enabled next September, after modernizations with all its technical scaffolding are carried out.

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In this effort to guarantee a space for the performing arts in the country, events with Colombian artists were initially prioritized. These are the exponents that will be part of the first stage of the 2021 agenda of the Colsubsidio Theater, in multiple events with public presence and streaming transmission. All outstanding talents of the new Colombian and universal music:

• El Tuyero Ilustrado: a vision of central joropo a puro cuatro, maraca and buche (voice). Edward Ramírez and Rafa Pino make up a duet that presents an urban and contemporary version of the central joropo.
• Paíto and Los Gaiteros de Punta Brava: Paíto is the last exponent of the Colombian Black Bagpipe current, and one of the last active bagpipers from the lower areas of the Montes de María. He interprets a strong, dynamic music, full of surprises and secrets with his group, made up of his children and pupils. They have represented the Colombian Caribbean in countries such as France, Germany, Spain, Brazil and Argentina.
• Collective Duel: César López and Alas de Trial: after so many months, so many unfinished goodbyes, so much pain, and even after having lost so many loved ones, dreams and opportunities. This space has been created where that pain can be shared to carry it among all and heal it collectively. With the participation of the pianist César López along with his colleagues Oriol Caro, Sandra Parra and Carolina Aguirre in the company of the writers Melba Escobar, Mariángela Urbina and Juan Manuel Roca, they create a staging that encourages those who have faced loss and grief.
• Duet Diana and Fabián: winner of the Mono Nuñez Grand Prize in 2003, and recognized as one of the most important duets of recent decades in our country, this group made up of the brothers Diana and Fabián Hernández, who together with the rest of their brothers and his parents formed the endearing group “Campanitas”, they return to the scene with the repertoire that has made them recognized, and a different format than usual.
• Gina Savino: Colombian singer who has dedicated herself to spreading improvisational and creative music in real time for more than 15 years. He has participated in the most representative festivals in the country, and has made great concert circuits in towns and small cities. One of the most representative figures of vocal jazz in Colombia, he will be with his emblematic quartet, made up of Juan Carlos Padilla on bass, Pedro Acosta on drums, and Santiago Sandoval on guitar.
• Orquesta La 33: The now iconic salsa group began as the dream of some friends who wanted to make music, and they met to rehearse in 2001 at the Mejía brothers’ maternal home, a grim construction in the Teusaquillo neighborhood. They have been nominated for a Grammy, and have won four Shock Awards and the Benny Moré Baton of Command at the Tempo Latino festival in France.
• Oh’Laville: their unique sound has led them to participate in great events such as Estéreo Picnic, Rock al Parque, South by Southwest (Sxsw), Armando Fest, among others. It is defined as “an international sound with the strength of rock and the sincerity of folk, loaded with arrangements of voices and lyrics that speak of unattainable loves”.
• Diana Burco: with her first album, the singer-songwriter and accordionist was nominated for the Latin Grammy 2018 in the category of best vallenato / cumbia album, becoming the first woman to be nominated for this genre. Today she is one of the greatest female references within cumbia and vallenato, the most important indigenous musical genre in Colombia.
• ConCuerpos: pioneer organization in Colombia in the field of inclusive contemporary dance. Since 2007, she has been developing artistic, educational and research projects, with the intention of offering inclusive and accessible settings for the exploration of the movement of people with and without disabilities. With the inclusive practice of contemporary dance, ConCuerpos seeks to enhance and vindicate the movement capacity of anyone interested in exploring their body, in a creative experience that occurs together.
• Katie James: of an English mother and an Irish father, Katie James was born in Inishfree, a small island in Southern Ireland in 1985. When she was 2 years old her family moved to Colombia where she grew up and lives today. Between 2009 and 2014 he was part of the groups Vía Súbita and Ludens, in which he participated as a singer, guitarist, arranger and composer. With these groups, Katie performs in various representative stages in Bogotá and other cities in Colombia.

The 2021 agenda also includes a series of international meetings with renowned artists from 10 countries. Access to tickets to attend events with limited capacity will be open through the Tuboleta platform; and, in addition, free virtual broadcasts will be carried out through the Colsubsidio Theater website and its digital channels.

Among the events that are part of the program, the second version of the Contigo Aprendí bolero festival stands out; the festival of plucked strings – Encuentro de Tríos; the second version of Primavera Fest, a festival that promotes eco-friendly projects; a Jazz Festival, with Paquito D Rivera, Jacob Collier and Dianne Reeves, among other stars; the second Symphonic Festival, the Encounter of Songwriters and a strip of African Diaspora, among others.

On the other hand, according to Paulo Andrés Sánchez Gil, manager of the Colsubsidio Theater, we must find a middle ground and that is why we generate hybrid spaces. “People prefer to be part of a tiny group, as long as they are on stage to experience the applause, the emotion of feeling close to the artist, knowing that one was present. Colsubsidio, as a benchmark for social innovation in the country, implements this new format to continue bringing cultural and artistic alternatives of global quality to Colombians, and to strengthen the ecosystem of artistic creation, so necessary in these times ”, he highlighted.