Bogotá, Colombia. November 10, 2023.- The Bogotá Planetarium, located in the epicenter of the city, was the setting for the IV “Breathe Art” Forum, an event that fused art with the urgent need to address the climate crisis, a project of the District Institute of the Arts (Idartes).
For five intense days, actors from the artistic and cultural sector reflected on the environmental implications of artistic practices. This fourth edition of the forum focused on projecting possible futures of artistic practice within the framework of environmental sustainability.
On the first day, there was a unique conversation between Simón Mejía, influencer Marce La Recicladora and moderator Jorge Melguizo at the “Voices of art for environmental sustainability” panel. At the end, we were able to conduct an exclusive interview with Mejía, where we delved into his fascinating world as the musical genius behind the innovative Colombian band, Bomba Estéreo.
The conversation was revealing, as he shared his unique vision on the struggle of indigenous and Afro-descendant people in Colombia; from the autonomy granted by the 1992 Constitution, to current challenges, Mejía highlighted the ancestral harmony of indigenous communities with nature and advocated for a balance between ways of life.
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Alejandro Melendez: In the work you are doing and, above all, in the documentaries you told us about (Guardianas and Yuma), what is the struggle of the indigenous and Afro-descendant inhabitants in these areas like and how have you seen it?
Simon Mejia: Yes, well here in Colombia, fortunately, since the Constitution was changed in 1992, a lot of autonomy in governance was given to minority communities, mainly Afro and indigenous communities, which were already organized. But let's say that, from the government, they were given a space to have their own governance, because ultimately they, especially the indigenous communities, not because we are in a context of climate change and a fashion about climate change, but because they have been doing it ancestrally. The indigenous people live with nature in a harmonious way, so really they, within their ancestry, have a lot to teach us in white culture.
As for governance, although it is not easy, especially because there are many conflicts in Colombia, including drug trafficking that directly attacks these communities, let's say yes, there is a lot of progress made in terms of laws and in terms of their spaces so that they can protect the territories where they have lived for centuries before us, but it is not easy because the government, the governments of the world, work under a different system.
Before, maybe the two systems clash a bit, but I feel that the way is to find a point, a bridge between the two, between both ways of life: we learn from them and they join the world and the devastating economic system in which we live, find a balance in which the main affected by this is not the earth. From this imbalance that we live in this system, then they are the ones from whom we have to learn. But, here in Colombia, in the particular case of these communities, their work is at risk all the time because they are precisely facing these economic interests and often crime, especially drug trafficking that occurs in these places. So, it is not an easy task, it is a task where they put their lives in danger.
A.M: How can we convince governments to change their forms of government? Because we are seeing that those who really govern are now the transnational companies that are present all over the world.
In Mexico, most of the areas where land defenders and journalists are killed are linked to a transnational corporation. We have a colleague, Samir Flores, who was a land defender as well as a journalist, and he was killed for fighting against a thermoelectric plant financed by Spanish transnational corporations.
So how do we start to create this awareness in governments so that they understand that transnationals have to be regulated? There is the example of YouTube, which claims to be a free place, but in reality it is not; it also restricts many things, especially when there are social struggles. How do we make this transition so that the government is aware of the role that these transnationals play?
YE:The transnationals depend directly on the economic model and consumption in which we live. The only way to regulate this, beyond the government, is for us, as a civil society, to regulate ourselves and ban the consumption of products that we know have practices behind them that are not friendly to the planet or generate violence.
So, as a civil society, we can put an end to a transnational. If the world or an entire community or an entire city decides that it will no longer consume that product because we know where it comes from, then it directly affects them, because it affects their pocketbook.
We are also part of the problem, because we consume the goods that these companies offer. So, it is in our hands as civil society, beyond governments, because many times these are linked to the lobby and the money of those same companies that move in the lobbies to generate laws and policies that allow their extractivism. But we, as consumers and as a capitalist consumer society, can set a limit, begin to model and make consumption more conscious.
To the extent that they see that they no longer have that mass force that they control through consumption, that is when they will realize that they have no more weapons.
A.M: You mentioned Leonor Zalabata Torres, the current representative of Colombia to the UN, and that the Arawak community of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta appointed her, along with Petro, to go to New York, where you hope a space of awareness about indigenism will be forged.
How can this be implemented and achieved? Because, let me give you an example: in Mexico, one of the people who has an exemplary job as a public servant was a Nahuatl musician and poet, Mardonio Carballo, and he was finally removed from the Ministry of Culture, precisely because they could not stand the fact that an indigenous person had more weight than the current head. So, how can we break this part of the capital cities so that, above all, more indigenous people come to take these positions and change this very Western worldview that exists regarding public policies?
YE: It has to do with a change of consciousness. That is also linked to the history of racism that we have experienced here in Latin America since the colonial period, because here in Latin America, we who are white, or I, am white and I am also a child of that mixed race from the colony.
The colonial legacy left Latin America with the idea of destroying and overriding these cultures, a theme of racism and religion that has fed us for many centuries. We must break that and finally see the indigenous people, not as such, but as people who also inhabit the planet and have their own problems and conflicts, but who have also managed to lead a more harmonious life with the planet, something that we as a white culture have not achieved.
As long as we do not change this awareness of racism and rejection of minorities rooted in our DNA, and do not respect differences and listen to the valuable traditions of others, we will continue with systematic racism, misogyny and all those cultural anchors that we carry.
It is a process that begins with each individual, assuming themselves not as white, black, man, African, indigenous, but as an inhabitant of the earth, where we all have the same value.
There are cultures that have a lot to teach us about harmony with the planet, while we also have valuable things, such as environmental technology and administrative techniques. It is a one-on-one work, a joint effort between different cultures to achieve the same goal, more horizontal movements. We in Latin America, who come from colonialism, still have that legacy rooted in our psyche, and breaking with that implies breaking with centuries of teachings. So, we are walking in that process.
A.M: Finally, tell us when these documentaries you have are going to be available. What are they going to be called and also if you prepared a soundtrack for them and if you wrote the music? Tell us about the musical part of the documentaries.
YE: Of course, all of them have a very important soundtrack that we hope will also serve as a tool for promoting the film or connecting with it, because here in Colombia it is a very musical country. I have tried to inspire us through music, and especially through music that has inspired us.
Bomba Estéreo is a band that comes from the indigenous and Afro world, since their music has roots in the folk music of Colombia and Latin America. So, of course, now we have a soundtrack that I made and next year both documentaries will be released. The one about the Magdalena River is called “Yuma,” and the one about the leaders has a partial name, it will probably change, which is “Guardianas.” Both will be released in 2024.
To watch the trailer for Yuma and support Simón Mejía's documentary, click the following link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yumariosonoro/yuma-sonic-river-yuma-rio-sonoro/description?lang=es.
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