The Decontextualization of the City Through Music and Street Sounds

Rou Rodríguez captures Bogotá’s dynamic street culture, showcasing its fusion of architecture, nature, sounds, and people. From the bustling avenues to the historic buildings frozen in time, each photo tells a story of the city’s vibrant life. Through their lens, he highlights the contrasts and harmonies of the city’s urban landscape, celebrating its culture and music scene.


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Bogotá is a unique city due to its myriad cultural diversities, particularly found in its streets. It represents a perfect fusion of architecture, nature, sounds, noise, and people. Despite its chaotic nature, the same disorder imparts a magical touch to this city that never sleeps.

It is a city teeming with movements that generate expansive sounds throughout its streets. The sun illuminates every detail of the buildings, and the reflections of light play with the windows, moving like waves and creating a unique harmony with the city. The avenues are crowded with people striving to secure their daily sustenance through shouts, conversations, and street vending, appropriating public spaces to survive day by day.

There are buildings where architecture and history seem to have frozen in time, telling stories passed down by grandparents and peddlers. The noise and music never cease; you can get lost in a giant cosmopolitan atmosphere and explore sounds in new spaces where you can listen to and buy vinyl records. Observing how spaces change and sound differently at specific hours is fascinating.

There’s a lot of street vending, and the traffic is insane due to frequent jams, with public transportation consistently packed every day. It’s a contrast between chaos, art, noise, people in the streets, bizarre things, and nature. As daylight fades, the night displays emotions and euphoria, where a wide range of sounds and genres create a counterculture. People reclaim spaces as a gesture of free expression, releasing everything they feel through dance, glances, and sounds that pause at dawn, enchanting a chaotic city into a harmonized one through culture and music.


Rou Rodríguez captura la dinámica cultura callejera de Bogotá, mostrando su fusión de arquitectura, naturaleza, sonidos, ruido y personas. Desde las bulliciosas avenidas hasta los edificios históricos congelados en el tiempo, cada foto cuenta una historia de la vida en el centro de la ciudad. A través de su lente, destaca los contrastes y armonías del paisaje urbano.

Bogotá es una ciudad única debido a su diversidad cultural, especialmente presente en sus calles. Representa una perfecta fusión de arquitectura, naturaleza, sonidos, ruido y personas. A pesar de su naturaleza caótica, ese mismo desorden le da un toque mágico a esta ciudad que nunca duerme.

Bogotá está llena de movimientos que generan sonidos expansivos a lo largo de sus calles. El sol ilumina cada detalle de los edificios, y los reflejos de luz juegan con las ventanas, moviéndose como olas y creando una armonía única con la ciudad. Las avenidas están llenas de gente que lucha por asegurar su sustento diario a través de gritos, conversaciones y ventas callejeras, apropiándose de los espacios públicos para sobrevivir día a día.

Hay edificios donde la arquitectura y la historia parecen haberse congelado en el tiempo, contando historias transmitidas por abuelos y vendedores ambulantes. El ruido y la música nunca cesan; puedes perderte en una atmósfera cosmopolita gigante y explorar sonidos en nuevos espacios donde puedes escuchar y comprar discos de vinilo.

Es fascinante observar cómo los espacios cambian y suenan de manera diferente a ciertas horas. Hay mucha venta callejera, y el tráfico es una locura debido a los frecuentes atascos, con el transporte público constantemente abarrotado cada día. Es un contraste entre caos, arte, ruido, gente en las calles, cosas extrañas y naturaleza. A medida que la luz del día se desvanece, la noche muestra emociones y euforia, donde una amplia gama de sonidos y géneros crea una contracultura. La gente reclama espacios como un gesto de libre expresión, liberando todo lo que sienten a través de la danza, las miradas y los sonidos que se detienen al amanecer, una ciudad caótica armonizada a través de la cultura y la música.


More Works by Rou Rodríguez

Read more: Santiago Cembrano: «Sello INDIO presenta: ‹Todo por Nada› – Error999 (prod. Ruzto)» (Medium)

Directors: Rou Rodríguez, Maria Paula Murcia
Producer: Rou Rodríguez
Cinematography: Nano Carulla
Editors: Nano Carulla, GOZ
Animations: Jim Palacio, Camilo Ruíz
Stylist: Alimaña Clothing
Mix: Ruzto
Master: Santiago Morales
Special thanks: Token Audiovisual

Read more: Sara Kapkin: «‹Merca› fue pura casualidad» (Medium)

Directors: Rou Rodríguez, Maria Paula Murcia
Cinematography: Maria Paula Murcia, Rou Rodríguez
Camera Assistant: Kadir Molano
Editor: Maria Paula Murcia
Color Grading: Maria Paula Murcia
Analog Photos: David Pérez «Lowkid», Maria Paula Murcia
Lyrics and Interpretation: Ríal Gawankó, N. Hardem
Music: Ríal Gawankó
Mix & Master: Rob Ramos, Ríal at Magna Records
Graphic Design: Nélson Martínez «N. Hardem»
Special Thanks: La Séptima Letra

Director: Rou Rodríguez
Creatives: Jorge Rocha, Ernesto Lafaurie, Juan Manuel Cortés, Pedro Pizarro, Overcast
Cinematography: Leandro Alza Traslaviña
Camera Assistants: Santiago Cormané, Juan Carlos Díaz
Editors: Aicardo Zapata, Martín Sánchez
Music: Lunate
Sound Design: Amaury Hernández 60HZ Studio
Talents: Dani Boom, Saga, Mansur

This photo series is part of the virtual exhibition «Norient City Sounds: Bogotá», curated and edited by Luisa Uribe.

Biography

Rou Rodríguez is a Colombian filmmaker and visual artist that has been involved in projects encompassing audiovisual direction, photography, creation, and content production for social media and on-air channels. This includes advertising campaigns, communication, and editorial content. As an audiovisual producer, his work delves into both analog photography and various video formats. He explores his city through live-action and real characters, capturing its essence and presenting it in a unique and admirable way. Influenced by skateboarding, music, fashion, and art, they draw inspiration for portraits, documentaries, video clips, movie trailers, and fashion films from these sources. Follow him on Instagram, Vimeo, or VSCO.

Published on August 22, 2024

Last updated on August 30, 2024

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