VALPARAISO – Break-dancers, DJs, graffiti artists and rappers from all parts of the globe will be showcased Nov. 20 to 22 in Valparaíso, as Chile’s leading port city hosts its first internation hip-hop festival.

Sponsored by the Council of Culture and Arts, the event will take place at Valparaíso’s Plaza Sotomayor and the Parque Cultural Ex Carcel, Valparaíso’s former-prison-turned-community center. Featured acts include Chilean hip-hop pioneer Jimmy Fernandez and half-French, half-Chilean South American superstar Anita Tijoux.

The Council of Culture and Arts says it helped organize the event in the hopes of reaching out to some of the more troubled youth of Valparaíso. By showcasing the elements of hip-hop in an artistic manner, the Council hopes to shed the culture’s (often erroneous) association with violence and crime.

The festival’s opening day session will feature a play depicting the 25-year history of hip-hop in Chile. The second day, hosted in Plaza Sotomayor, will be devoted exclusively to break-dance, a dynamic style of dance which originated in the United States during the 1970s.

The final day will take the festival to the Parque Cultural, where local students will demonstrate the dance skills they have learned at hip-hop workshops from industry professionals. Foreign and domestic hip-hop stars will close the festival with a series of performances, spanning from improvised freestyle rapping to DJ turntable sets.

Locals are welcoming the festival, despite the negative stigma often associated with hip-hop.

“It will be a great opportunity for youth to get involved in something interesting,” Valparaiso resident and school teacher Ana-Belén Zúñiga told the Valparaíso Times. “The workshops being offered will hopefully leave a legacy in the community. Besides, it should provide a great show for everyone in the area. Some of these artists are really popular in Chile, and whether you like hip-hop or not, you’ve got to appreciate the energy involved.” 

SOURCE: EL MERCURIO
By Thomas Derricott ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )