10 years ago, independent music in Latin America was going through a difficult time, with a digital ecosystem where music blogs and free downloads were dying out with the arrival of the first paid streaming services. At the same time, the prevailing Vice-style cultural journalism was insufficient to critically and carefully understand what was happening in the parallels of the big lists.
Meanwhile, in Colombia, a group of young students formed a cultural magazine that would soon integrate parties and new music releases under the name In-Correcto. The premise then as today, in the words of one of its founders, was “the combination of all forms of cultural struggle”.
Since then, Santiago Álvarez and Gregorio Hernández have embarked on a musical history that has given rise to dissident artistic expressions, where noise coexists in a playful way with all possible ways of imagining cumbia, or where Latin American sound traditions are reinterpreted with musical avant-gardes from around the world.
To date, the face of In-Correcto and its contribution to the contemporary culture of the region has been defined with the release of nearly fifty albums, 21 EPs, ten compilations, two books, six print magazines and one virtual one, as well as 18 long-term festivals and countless events inside and outside Colombia, demonstrating that a collective with a clear vision can make self-management a world possible.
A sector that despite all the difficulties, Álvarez assures, challenges the conventional structures of the sector. “This set of creations affirms the founding philosophy of the project: to be a space full of critical sense, going beyond the limits of mainstream create its own vibrant cultural structure.”
When asked about the lessons that these first 10 years of existence have left them, its founder, who is also involved in all the artistic, logistical and operational processes of what is now considered one of the most respected musical endeavors in Latin America, recognizes that the most complicated thing was conquering new listeners, forming an audience.
“We operate in such a self-managed way that the impact we manage to have on people is limited. Added to this is that – by our decision and by our style – the music we promote is not exactly the easiest to move. However, this path we have developed has allowed us to generate something invaluable: a small mass of people who follow us and have full faith in our musical criteria.”
To celebrate its first 10 years, In-Correcto organizes a festival of kilometers, a specialty of the house, which includes names such as Chico Trujillo and Matías Aguayo from Chile, Dengue Dengue Dengue (Peru), Conjunto Media Luna and Chúpame el Dedo from Colombia, among others.
Regarding the present and future of musical culture in Latin America, Santiago Álvarez is cautious but firm. “It’s getting harder and harder to see, but what I’m sure of is that Latin America will be the last remnant of the habitable world. And I think musically it will happen the same way.”
