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 Rockarga
2007 – the dream team?
5 april 2007
The
second festival of Rockarga took place last weekend in Teotithuacan. The
combination of the location, the line up, and radio and magazine support
from all the major players in the music media promised a perfect day.
The set
up of the festival is probably the closest you will find to one of the
respected festivals in the US or Europe. The sectioned off main arena with
a veritable circus of support outside in the form of food and drink venders
and ridiculously dangerous looking funfair rides.
Each of
the bands on show early had an impressive story to tell of why they should
have been there after a successful 2006:
-
Electric Co
rocked the early part of the day after an eye opening trip to London in
December to compete in the global battle of the bands competition at the
legendary Astoria venue.
-
The
Cosmetics
let off their double barreled blast of Mag Queen and Newcomers, two of the
most well received tracks you will hear at a live event all year.
-
Bengala
leaped on stage after dark to give a display of the progression that they
have made after the release of their first album by Universal towards the
end of 2006.
Add on
established acts such as Ely Guerra, Los Dynamite,
La Gusana
Ciega,
Division Minuscula and Kinky to follow and it really was a
“dream team” of established talent from Mexico with Los Bunkers to
bring an international flavour.
Given
this it seemed strange that many people were asking why the numbers who
turned up barely matched the previous year after such a positive 12 months
for Mexican music.
The
spectra of fatigue could be raised; with relentless regularity over the last
six months the same acts have been rolled out in different combinations but
always with relatively high price entry. They are often presented in such a
fashion that at times there seems no alternative. It is as if a “premature
consensus” has been reached in the media as to what constitutes good music
in this country.
The
growing scene needs the oxygen of exposure spread around if it is to develop
and flourish. Every form of media especially that funded by public money
should carefully consider the balance between the level of support that is
being given to new music and the commercial compromises that seemingly have
to be made.
This is a
crucial time when the short term focus of the present model may rob us of a
generation of new acts. Many excellent musicians may reconsider their
future as they fail to generate sufficient interest to make there efforts
worthwhile. By presenting a more diverse and maybe even obscure range of
music more fans will be encouraged to participate at a grassroots level.
In Mexico
there are more alternative styles of popular music available than in the
relatively straightforward rock/pop market of somewhere like the UK. It is
the concepts of choice and value for money that will prove crucial for the
long term prospects of the industry domestically, and it is domestic
strength that will create international opportunity.
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