{"id":4415,"date":"2018-09-03T11:55:25","date_gmt":"2018-09-03T19:55:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/?p=4415&lang=en"},"modified":"2018-09-03T11:55:25","modified_gmt":"2018-09-03T19:55:25","slug":"the-music-scene-in-xela","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/the-music-scene-in-xela\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"The Music Scene in Xela"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By Sergio de Le\u00f3n<\/p>\n

It is not news that being a musician in Guatemala is a difficult job, especially for those who take a gamble on originality. There still exists a certain conservative social stigma towards having such a profession. I can guarantee, however, that all deficiencies in our fledgling \u201cmusical industry\u201d have not been an obstacle for the interesting musical scene that is flourishing in this city and its surroundings, which does not just give me hope but is also something I find admirable: that there are those who continue on this sonorous and lyrical path in which few obtain their deserved success and recognition.<\/p>\n

I think it is necessary to point out some aspects of our current musical scene, which for certain is no longer so fledgling and that\u2014in a very personal opinion\u2014is always at risk of stagnating and dying, not for the lack of creativity or originality but rather due to the lack of incentives that permit and facilitate the creative work of so many emerging musicians and bands. In the first place, there are sufficient bands to create a more solid and energetic movement, but movements are formed by a number of additional actors, like the public, the media, both for- and not-for-profit private initiatives and public institutions dedicated to the promotion of culture.<\/p>\n

If we truly want to turn our local music production into an artistic platform, into a live musical beat, we should find alliances between all of these actors and take the risk of betting on the present and future of many artists who truly have something great to offer. I think that there is an ever-growing openness to new proposals, if we compare our present situation with that of some five years ago, everything has been facilitated by the massive use of social networks. Thus, artists are finding it easier to spread their work, whatever the discipline may be, but it is also necessary for the public to be willing to pay to appreciate said work in real life, be that by listening to or acquiring the album.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Quetzaltnango has a lot of talented musicians<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The cost doesn\u2019t just fall on the listening public, there can also be immense support from private initiatives (like restaurants, bars, event promoters, NGOs for the development and spread of culture) and of course there can also be a cultural agenda that is better structured and dedicated to the spread of local musical works in which the media can be key. Institutional support is also critical for the spread and publication of new musical projects in the population; let\u2019s be clear: artistic support is both a right and obligation at the same time.<\/p>\n

In general, there are many ways to support the musical scene, and these are only a few ideas that I have discussed with other musical colleagues, cultural agents, businessmen and civil servants; as it isn\u2019t about placing or not placing responsibilities on an artist, but rather offering them better conditions so that they may focus on what is truly good: dedicating themselves to their own musical and creative work, with the discipline and effort necessary so that it may be personal work of high quality; rather, I\u2019m referring to a business model in which all of us can win through art, but also where each actor contributes something in order to obtain benefits.<\/p>\n

The potential that music and art have in Xela is enormous, rich and very diverse, and for that it seems to me a real shame that if we continue with almost the same conditions as those of a few years ago, that will only accelerate the exodus of minds and hearts from this place which historically has been known as the cradle of culture, but still has serious ideological and racial difficulties in recognizing its own local artistic production. It is not possible to continue living in the past and not change the disastrous idea that \u201conly the artist that leaves from here is able to reach recognition and visibility;\u201d we ought to change the perception of music in the face of the proud conservative Quetzalteca society. If we want to truly turn to the arts, making them a distinctive part of the identity of this city and its surroundings, I have here the sonorous narrative, fresh and born in this same place that can contribute to reaching it.<\/p>\n

Concert of Ishto Juevez in Quetzaltenango. Cover Photo: Jos\u00e9 Moreno<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sergio de Le\u00f3n It is not news that being a musician in Guatemala is a difficult job, especially for those who take a gamble on originality. There still exists a certain conservative social stigma towards having such a profession. I can guarantee, however, that all deficiencies in our fledgling \u201cmusical industry\u201d have not been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4453,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[409,449,1,435],"tags":[1015,1259,560,65,1361,1304,313,1360,107,1359,121],"class_list":["post-4415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-music","category-uncategorized","category-xela-en","tag-culture","tag-entremundos","tag-guatemala-en","tag-guatemala","tag-instruments","tag-magazine","tag-music","tag-musicians","tag-quetzaltenango","tag-talent","tag-xela"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/2018-06-28-07-33-58-1200x797.jpg?fit=1200%2C797&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7ljt7-19d","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5219,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/travelling-long-distance-around-guatemala\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":4415,"position":0},"title":"Travelling Long Distance around Guatemala","author":"EntreMundos","date":"18 diciembre, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"THERE ARE TWO MAIN WAYS TO GET YOURSELF AROUND IN GUATEMALA: CHICKEN BUS (PUBLIC TRANSPORT) PRIVATE SHUTTLE (THROUGH TRAVEL COMPANIES) This guide will detail all the places you can visit around Guatemala from Xela, detailing both transport options and what you will find there. This is meant as an overview\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abTransport and travel\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Transport and travel","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/xela-guide\/transportandtravel\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/chicken-bus-1.jpg?fit=949%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/chicken-bus-1.jpg?fit=949%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/chicken-bus-1.jpg?fit=949%2C480&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/chicken-bus-1.jpg?fit=949%2C480&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4622,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/pagetwo-en\/4-cultural-places-to-visit-around-xela\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":4415,"position":1},"title":"4 Cultural Places to Visit around Xela","author":"EntreMundos","date":"2 febrero, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"We may not have the plethora of colonial buildings to match Antigua here in Xela, but it doesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t interesting historical sites and beautiful buildings to visit here. This article gives you an idea of some places you can look around Xela to find history and culture. Iglesia\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abPageTwo\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"PageTwo","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/pagetwo-en\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/iglesia-del-calvario.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/iglesia-del-calvario.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/iglesia-del-calvario.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/iglesia-del-calvario.jpg?fit=960%2C720&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9007,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/xela-en\/pop-wuj-spanish-school\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":4415,"position":2},"title":"Pop Wuj Spanish School","author":"EntreMundos","date":"21 julio, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Pop Wuj Association Spanish Studies Centre is a school that was founded in 1992 and is located in the heart of Quetzaltenango, very near to markets, theatres, and the city\u2019s nightlife. It offers Spanish language classes to international students, from a social impact perspective. The idea behind its establishment\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abPageTwo\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"PageTwo","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/pagetwo-en\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pop-wuj.png?fit=1200%2C1165&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pop-wuj.png?fit=1200%2C1165&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pop-wuj.png?fit=1200%2C1165&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pop-wuj.png?fit=1200%2C1165&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pop-wuj.png?fit=1200%2C1165&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4943,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/xela-guide\/craft-beer-in-xela\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":4415,"position":3},"title":"Craft beer in Xela – where to go and what to drink","author":"EntreMundos","date":"14 noviembre, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"With the ubiquity of Guatemalan mainstays Cabro and Gallo, it's easy to feel like cheap lager is all that the country's breweries have to offer, but this is simply not the case. We've put together a list of the best places in Xela to find great artisanal and craft beers,\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abNightlife\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Nightlife","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/xela-guide\/nightlife\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/artisanal-beers.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/artisanal-beers.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/artisanal-beers.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/artisanal-beers.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/artisanal-beers.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5118,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/xela-guide\/transportandtravel\/airport-transport-travelling-to-and-from-guatemala-city-private-bus\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":4415,"position":4},"title":"Airport transport – Travelling to and from Guatemala City (Private bus)","author":"EntreMundos","date":"12 diciembre, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the only times where you\u2019ll find Chicken Buses at similar prices to private buses. Shuttles to and from Guatemala normally offer more comfort, generally get you there faster as they are direct and tend to drive in a slightly less dangerous fashion! If you are catching a flight\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abTransport and travel\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Transport and travel","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/xela-guide\/transportandtravel\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/una-via.jpg?fit=570%2C457&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/una-via.jpg?fit=570%2C457&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/una-via.jpg?fit=570%2C457&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1389,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/uncategorized\/luis-grijalva-wins-race-for-mayor-of-xela\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":4415,"position":5},"title":"Luis Grijalva wins race for mayor of Xela","author":"EntreMundos","date":"10 noviembre, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Quetzaltenango - 7 September 2015 By Richard Brown Xela\u2019s mayor-elect, Luis Grijalva, appeared in the Central Park this afternoon to thank supporters. Grijalva won a decisive victory, receiving twice the votes of his closest rival. With his party, Encuentro por Guatemala, Grijalva ran a small-budget campaign that, he says, spent\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abPolitics\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Politics","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/politics\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/img_21001.jpg?fit=839%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/img_21001.jpg?fit=839%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/img_21001.jpg?fit=839%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/img_21001.jpg?fit=839%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4415"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4415\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4416,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4415\/revisions\/4416"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}