El hip hop es desahogo, es convertir un reclamo social en canto; un instrumento de lucha de los jóvenes como Abraham Bojórquez, el legendario vocalista de la banda hiphopera Ukamau y ké. Sus letras contestatarias, rebeldes a gran velocidad son parte del legado del rapero boliviano. Y aún con las diferencias marcadas por una nueva década, la idea de decir las verdades, de expresar, continúa vigente dando espacio a una vertiente hiphopera con enfoque de género en El Alto.
It was 2003, the year of the “Gas del Gas”, when hip hop catapulted in the city of El Alto, dozens of young people began to meet on the Radio Wayna Tambo, in the area of Villa Dolores, to discuss politics, resistand share music with social content.Luis Fernando Choque, today known as Fado Flow, was one of the young - at that collegiate moment - that was impacted by the Hochépero alteño movement that was created.
“At that time I listened to Ukamau, Renzone, invisible, El Choclito, to the insane Bolivia.To several cumpas that told us come to the radio we are going to chat, bring ideas, bring music.I took a cassette with one of our compositions, we had recorded it with a karaoke microphone, and we got some bits, of the few who had, at the July 16 fair to 50 Bolivians, ”says Fado Flow, activist and one of theFounders of the Rima Rima rapper duo, name in honor of the area where it lives.
For years the radial program El Rincón Callejero was the informal headquarters of the Hiphoperos.The program organized debates, activities and disseminated information and cultural material.“From the beginning we seek to feed young people with political and social consciousness.In addition, we show the story of Bolivia to understand each other better, ”says Fado Flow.
During that time songs such as Blood Brothers, we will get together, by Ukamau and Ké, which speaks of the violent events of October 2003 and includes some phrases by Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, ambient sound of clashes in the streets, gun shots and gunfire,Helicopters, and inspired others such as black October, rack.
"Abraham Bojórquez was a gear, a resistance symbol."The unexpected death of Bojórquez, the leader of the Hip Hop movement in El Alto, who also sang in Aymara, in 2009 marked another stage in the cultural movement and baffled several Alteño groups that little by little they stopped frequenting the debates in the areaVilla Dolores.These meetings began to occur in more dispersed spaces.“At that time, if we wanted to gather we had to make breads, photocopying them and taking them to the fairs, schools.Today they are connected to the Internet, there you find all kinds of material, ”says Fado.
After 18 years of the Hiphopro Alteño outbreak, the cultural movement that does not need to dominate the traditional song techniques and that encompasses different manifestations (DJ, Break-Dance, Graph and MC or person who interprets the musical genre known as rap), remains activeand visible national, local and personal problems.
“Generations are changing.It is not the same as 2004, that of 2010 or the generation of 2021, but the concept basically did not change;The hip hop gives young tools of cultural artistic expression so that they can let off steam, inform, self -cultivate and collectivize, ”adds Fado.
Between the 2020s and 2021, mainly during quarantine and as one of the few good activities it brought, allowed the hypoperos to rearticulate through social networks.They started with the emissions of Facebook programs (the word of hip hop, from the eye of the streets and culture Hip Hop Bolivia, among others).And the recording of new themes such as El Alto de Pie, by Fado Flow that stands out to a "city with tenacity, multicultural and aguerrida."
There is latent fight in its people awake, aware, a president trembles repress with deaths and the people become stronger (Fado Flow)
"We were all locked in our homes, and because they also closed the Ministry of Cultures, we began to rearticular to some cumpas, and with the Pioneers of Hip Hop who had more time," says Fado.As part of the impulse that arrived, Bolivia Rhapsistence, a group of rappers and rappers, resumed their debates, productions and formation of new artists.
“The conscious rappers continue to write about our historical memory.That is, they make up for the people to know their history, and so they do not repeat the same mistakes, ”says Silvana Lipa, known as Pandora MC, Bolivia raptor coordinator.She arrived with the idea of enhancing rap that denounces the violation of women's rights, from the LGBT community.To give greater support to the voice of the hipporas and claim the fifth element of hip hop or knowledge about their history and objectives.
“Art is born from the need to publicize reality.And my lyrics, for example, denounce the violence that women suffer and at the same time I propose to fight together, because we are all against a system that oppresses us, ”says Pandora.
The idea found support;Modify the lyrical that encourage violence or alcohol or drug use, and also those that violate human rights, but without losing the power of words and the expression of ideas.
“The Hip Hop initiative without violence had no need to turn reality.We see that more men access art, there are more rappers, dj or graphs and less women.So we want there to be more raperas in the city and with that approach we carry out artistic training courses for the companions that we are finding along the way. ”Pandora was a victim of violence and through her rap "she took out all the weight she kept.Being a woman and hiphopera "is not easy", there are several prejudices that fall on them, from criticisms of the style of clothing they wear or doubts about the ability to improvise and the speed of rapping they have.
Enough of so much androcentrist language is enough of so much exclusion of so much discrimination (Pandora MC)
“In 2000 there were few women;Of 10 cumpas only one era woman, and sometimes she didn't rapped, just accompanied.Today there are girls who make freestyle (rap down improvisedly), organize events, write their lyrics.But hip hop is still a predominantly male movement, ”says Flow.
Santa Mala, Safa Mc, Hela, Natural Poetry, Song to Resistance, Noisy MC, Double Girl C, Lu Sudakas Clan, Imilla MC, Voices of Rap, are some Bolivian rappers.
“There is a phenomenon with women who enter rap;They are a while on stage, but over time they leave the music aside.And that must also be resolved, you have to see what happens to the sisters.I think it is also the social pressure they suffer, ”says Fado.
For the raperas, the social, political, economic and cultural problems of the country are important, although sometimes these issues are overshadowed by the need to open space in a society that they recognize as patriarchal and misogynist."Hip hop goes beyond a musical genre, of many that there are, it is the only style of music that the truths can tell you in your face," says Jhoselin Roque, 23 -year -old composer and hippopera.She is known as Yoss, she began writing about love and heartbreak, today recounts the experiences she lives.
“I do not grab the microphone and say what types of violence there are or what young people should do or why men are like that.What I want is to express myself, make me listen, ”explains Jhoselin.
Hip hop changed my life because yes ... it took me out of the routine to which I was used to it and the rap did not see my only company (Yoss) (Yoss)
Hip Hop goes beyond singing and is not directed exclusively to men, it is for all those who want to let off steam and transmit a social demand.
“This project is for young people to be aware that through art, music and rap, we can free our tensions.Sometimes we cannot count our frustrations, our future plans, we cannot even talk about our partners with our parents due to lack of confidence.We can do it through hip hop, ”says Fado Flow.
