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Lollapalooza
Chile
Santiago, Chile — March 29-30
Our journey begins on March 29 at a familiar forum to many Americans: Lollapalooza. But this isn’t the Grant Park version, with the Chicago skyline peeking up in the background behind the stage. The capital of Chile, Santiago, instead appears as the setting, tall buildings backed against snowcapped mountains. The festival came to Chile first in 2010 as part of Lolla’s South America Tour, an extension of the Chicago-based festival that makes stops in Argentina and Brazil too. The Chilean spinoff began just four years ago. Beyond the traditional show stopping performances — many familiar to the Grant Park stage as well — the festival offers a taste of Chilean culture. A tented “Food Zone” features authentic Chilean cuisine, and farm-to-table products can be found in an area called the Art Market. It’s a good place to start our trip, with a familiar festival setup and brand, but with a Chilean twist. According to Esquire, The Grant Park version of the festival actually began as a traveling show in 1991, started by Jane’s Addiction front man Perry Farrell. 1997 brought a cancellation of the U.S. fest due to low attendance, and it returned for a brief stint in 2003 before finding a permanent “park to call home” in Chicago in 2005. O’Higgins Park, where the Chile fest occurs, is the second largest public park in the country. 2014 Lolla Chile will feature six stages and more than sixty-five acts, according to Lolla.
Estéreo Picnic
Bogotá, Colombia — April 3-5
After Lolla-ing in Chile, travel north on the western coast of South America, through Peru and Ecuador, and you’ll find yourself in Bogotá, Colombia. Often known as the site of drug war tensions, The New York Times “36 Hours in Bogotá, Colombia” confirms the city’s changed for the better, in quite colorful terms: “In just a few years, this subtropical city has clamped down on violence, cleaned up its act and emerged as the trendy capital of Colombian cool, safe enough to visit but still seedy enough to feel far from home.” There’s no better indicator of the newfound “trendiness” of the city than Estéreo Picnic, a 3-day festival that takes place in the evolving city. A reporter for Vice traveled to the festival and referred to it as Colombia’s version of Coachella. She references another fest that started in Bogotá in 1995, Rock al Parque, which attempted to use the “power of music” to heal the city ruled by drug trafficking. She believes it has. In 2012, UNESCO recognized Bogotá as a “City of Music” and the newest addition to the org’s Creative Cities Network. The now more than 30 cities in the network are recognized for creative efforts in music, film, literature, and a vast array of crafts. According to UNESCO, Each “creative city” is recognized as a “creative hub” that promotes “socio-economic and cultural development” as well as a “socio-cultural cluster” that brings together diverse groups of people in one urban environment. Bogotá joins Sevilla, Bologne, Glasgow, Gand and Brazzaville in the “City of Music” category.
Estéreo Picnic takes place 40 minutes outside of Bogotá, hosting more than 22,000 festivalgoers each day of the 3-day affair. In addition to an array of international acts, the Vice reporter noted cultural quirks, like flowers littering the festival grounds, local food stalls and art stands, and a “ball pool” a la McDonald’s playground for grown adults to play in. Another event in Bogotá not to be missed when in town: a Sunday in the city, when over 70 miles of the streets become dedicated solely to bicyclists from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. in an event called Ciclovia.
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