This weekend, kicking off Friday and ending on Monday, is Rock Al Parque. Rock Al Parque is an annual music festival held in Bogotá that features some of the best local and international talent around at the moment. It’s being running for 16 years, attracting names such as Asian Dub Foundation, Fito Páez, Bloc Party, Coheed and Cambria, Fear Factory and many more. Rock Al Parque takes place in Bogota’s biggest park, Parque Simon Bolivar.
Keen readers of the blog will remember that we went last year, and that then the festival boasted a formidable lineup of artists, including ChocQuibTown, Bomba Estereo, Fisherspooner and Buraka Som Sistema. Needless to say, a great time was had by all.
This year also promises to be a rollicking good time, with Colombian favourites Systema Solar performing alongside punk-pop legends NOFX, hardcore superstars Dillinger Escape Plan, talented rap artist Saul Williams and the Argentinian legend Charly Garcia, who will close the show. As the name suggests, most the artists lean toward the heavier side of the musical spectrum, so for those not inclined towards head banging for 3 days straight it might be worth checking out the full schedule for when to show up. That can be found here: Rock Al Parque 2012 Line-Up.
The whole event kicks of on Saturday at 2pm and finishes up on Monday evening at 11pm (it’s a bank holiday in Colombia). As always with events in Colombia, the atmosphere is great. What you should note is that there are a few rules that you wouldn’t get at festivals in Europe, for example:
No belts. Take your belt off before you go, otherwise you’ll lose it forever.
No drink. While drink is available inside (on the sly) it’s hard to find on-site, and illegal to take in.
Other than that, get on your dancing shoes and prepare yourself to enjoy Rock Al Parque 2012!
Paul
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