The music festival La Bamba for Playa, for Mexico, and for Peace, which was born in response to violent events that have plagued Playa del Carmen, is now in its seventh year of being organized uninterruptedly in the Mexican Caribbean.
The initiative was born in 2018, after violent events in the Riviera Maya affected tourism, such as the attack on the Blue Parrot bar and an explosion on a ferry serving Cozumel. Both events left several injured and dead and damaged the destination’s image.
In response, Daniel Pacheco, a musician and reporter from Veracruz based in Playa del Carmen, gathered various groups to create the event in the tourist area of this town, where everything from son jarocho workshops to stellar concerts have been offered, all for free.
In the seven years the festival has been held, only interrupted in-person by the pandemic in 2020 but later resumed in normal format, bands and artists such as Noé González from Los Cojolites, Sonex, Los Aguas Aguas, the Mayan hip-hop artist Pat Boy, Kill Aniston, María Moctezuma, among others, have appeared.
“Music is medicine, it’s not just entertainment; music has truly healing effects,” said Daniel Pacheco.
This year, the festival has a partnership with Colombian artists who will showcase Afro-Caribbean percussion. Activities began on Wednesday with talks, workshops, and tours with son jarocho musicians along Fifth Avenue in Playa del Carmen.
The main concert will be this Saturday starting at 5 PM at Fundadores Park, in front of the pier that connects Playa del Carmen with Cozumel by sea.
The lineup is headlined by the band Viento Wirikuta from Monterrey and the Colombians Bantú and Kumandaay. At the end of the concert, as has been traditional since the festival’s founding, all invited artists along with the audience will sing La Bamba to the rhythm of son jarocho. A reminder, said Daniel Pacheco, that music has no borders and is an agent of social change.
Source: Proceso
