WEBVTT 00:00:07.500 --> 00:00:09.350 Arequipa, 333 Puente Bolognesi Street 00:00:09.380 --> 00:00:11.160 Inspiration -The inspiration came mainly 00:00:11.230 --> 00:00:16.320 from a desire to promote the visual arts, music, drama, 00:00:16.416 --> 00:00:19.527 all types of artistic expression in the city. 00:00:19.530 --> 00:00:21.858 This is what led to the birth of 00:00:21.858 --> 00:00:23.149 Tambo de Bronce. 00:00:23.149 --> 00:00:24.620 -It has been here for three years. 00:00:24.690 --> 00:00:28.213 We hold digital photography workshops, 00:00:28.213 --> 00:00:31.840 I teach the music workshop, workshops for percussion, 00:00:31.840 --> 00:00:33.864 for different types of instruments. 00:00:33.864 --> 00:00:36.646 We also hold concerts, exhibitions, etc. 00:00:36.646 --> 00:00:40.071 -Our principles, which we've held from the start 00:00:40.071 --> 00:00:41.674 and which we want to maintain, 00:00:41.674 --> 00:00:45.717 are self management and alternative education. 00:00:45.717 --> 00:00:47.945 Tambo de Bronce is independent 00:00:47.946 --> 00:00:52.483 but it's open to any proposals, which can be put to us 00:00:52.483 --> 00:00:56.110 and if they're for the good of the community 00:00:56.110 --> 00:00:58.649 and society, then they are very welcome. 00:00:59.059 --> 00:01:00.688 History 00:01:00.688 --> 00:01:02.228 -Tambos have existed since early times, 00:01:02.228 --> 00:01:07.079 since the times of the Incas, or even earlier. 00:01:07.089 --> 00:01:09.376 They are places where travellers 00:01:09.376 --> 00:01:12.018 stop to rest after their journey. That's a tambo. 00:01:12.018 --> 00:01:14.766 There was one here; all around here were tambos. 00:01:14.766 --> 00:01:16.838 That's why it's called Tambo de Bronce. 00:01:16.847 --> 00:01:19.615 It started off as a sculptor's workshop. 00:01:19.616 --> 00:01:23.141 Then we came with a friend to see it 00:01:23.141 --> 00:01:25.258 and there were sculptures. The place was abandoned. 00:01:25.258 --> 00:01:27.183 It hadn't been used for a long time. 00:01:27.197 --> 00:01:31.187 Then they let us have the place. 00:01:31.187 --> 00:01:33.294 As the rent is so cheap, 00:01:33.314 --> 00:01:37.766 it's affordable for us to self-manage it. 00:01:37.766 --> 00:01:40.282 Then the idea occurred to us, three years ago, 00:01:40.282 --> 00:01:44.403 that we should use it to hold workshops and concerts, etc. 00:01:44.403 --> 00:01:46.880 Three years ago there was nothing. 00:01:46.880 --> 00:01:49.056 -We often want to do new projects. 00:01:49.066 --> 00:01:51.607 We have asked for a children's home, 00:01:51.607 --> 00:01:53.324 and a gallery to hold exhibitions, 00:01:53.324 --> 00:01:55.198 and often, because of the bureaucracy, 00:01:55.198 --> 00:01:56.518 the process is long. 00:01:56.522 --> 00:01:59.540 Just like the initiative to open this venue 00:01:59.540 --> 00:02:01.750 was delayed by bureaucracy. 00:02:01.750 --> 00:02:03.992 If you have a work of art, a project 00:02:03.992 --> 00:02:05.414 you can come and exhibit it here. 00:02:05.414 --> 00:02:10.046 The Audience Our stated aim was to work 00:02:10.061 --> 00:02:14.607 mainly with children, young people and teenagers. 00:02:14.633 --> 00:02:20.649 But we also see adults and older people, 00:02:20.684 --> 00:02:22.660 and children come to see what we offer, 00:02:22.668 --> 00:02:24.288 and we see their interest. 00:02:24.298 --> 00:02:27.178 We involve all sorts of people, because of their interest, 00:02:27.204 --> 00:02:31.344 their love and their passion for something, 00:02:31.344 --> 00:02:33.726 whether it's photography, painting or music. 00:02:33.726 --> 00:02:36.666 They're all here, which is a good thing. 00:02:36.676 --> 00:02:38.066 Organisation 00:02:38.096 --> 00:02:40.394 Now we're working on becoming an association. 00:02:40.404 --> 00:02:43.625 That will give us the tools we're looking for 00:02:43.634 --> 00:02:45.876 to obtain grants for all sorts of things 00:02:45.876 --> 00:02:49.371 that we need in order to expand the project further. 00:02:49.381 --> 00:02:51.871 Decisions are always taken by all of us together. 00:02:51.881 --> 00:02:53.851 We discuss things a lot. 00:02:53.851 --> 00:02:54.951 Communication 00:02:54.951 --> 00:02:57.171 The Tambo's communication networks 00:02:57.181 --> 00:03:00.184 are mostly virtual ones, which are faster 00:03:00.184 --> 00:03:03.469 and we also network through other cultural centres 00:03:03.469 --> 00:03:07.135 and television, as we have slots in the programmes 00:03:07.155 --> 00:03:09.125 that are made in Arequipa. 00:03:09.125 --> 00:03:10.676 What I am slightly critical of is that 00:03:10.716 --> 00:03:13.476 we need more mass communication media, 00:03:13.486 --> 00:03:16.318 like radios, to have a real impact 00:03:16.318 --> 00:03:19.625 but in our work it's difficult. 00:03:19.625 --> 00:03:22.509 To secure truly mass media is very difficult 00:03:22.509 --> 00:03:25.904 as it's expensive; it's like a closed door to us. 00:03:25.914 --> 00:03:29.932 -We work with a few other cultural centres 00:03:29.932 --> 00:03:34.157 that have opened over the last few years. 00:03:34.157 --> 00:03:35.961 One is called Pucara Bulls, 00:03:35.961 --> 00:03:40.445 and we mostly work with them on promotion. 00:03:40.445 --> 00:03:43.017 They promote their events through our channels, 00:03:43.017 --> 00:03:45.767 and we promote our events through theirs. 00:03:45.767 --> 00:03:47.937 As we and they have different databases, 00:03:47.947 --> 00:03:51.485 in this way we can reach more people. 00:03:51.500 --> 00:03:52.820 Sustainability 00:03:52.820 --> 00:03:56.189 Speaking of the Tambo's sustainability, 00:03:56.189 --> 00:03:58.649 at the moment it is self sustaining. 00:03:58.659 --> 00:04:02.449 It has been self managed since it opened, until now. 00:04:02.472 --> 00:04:04.053 -Sometimes we do work for events; 00:04:04.063 --> 00:04:06.533 There's a part of the Tambo that makes 00:04:06.533 --> 00:04:12.173 stretched canvases for events, 00:04:12.197 --> 00:04:14.877 and part of the income earned goes to the Tambo. 00:04:14.877 --> 00:04:16.627 We put on shows every Thursday 00:04:16.627 --> 00:04:20.643 that we call the Tambo Sessions. 00:04:20.653 --> 00:04:25.953 We also sell things, like food and drinks. 00:04:25.963 --> 00:04:30.043 All of this, and the fact that this place is so cheap to rent, 00:04:30.043 --> 00:04:32.873 make it possible for us to continue working. 00:04:32.873 --> 00:04:34.922 If, for some reason, something happens, 00:04:34.922 --> 00:04:37.262 and we need money, we put on an event. 00:04:37.262 --> 00:04:38.372 Integration 00:04:38.372 --> 00:04:40.722 The idea was just to create a venue 00:04:40.739 --> 00:04:42.729 for small audiences, but the moment that 00:04:42.729 --> 00:04:44.910 people see that it's something different in the city, 00:04:44.910 --> 00:04:46.808 and that there's nothing like it, 00:04:46.808 --> 00:04:48.491 they decide that Tambo de Bronce 00:04:48.491 --> 00:04:52.295 is one of their favourite cultural venues. 00:04:52.335 --> 00:04:54.805 We always have plenty of activities. 00:04:54.805 --> 00:04:56.779 It's the only cultural venue to stay open 00:04:56.779 --> 00:04:59.365 for three years in Arequipa; it has not closed, 00:04:59.365 --> 00:05:02.618 and continues to promote new alternatives 00:05:02.618 --> 00:05:05.038 and culture in general. 00:05:05.041 --> 00:05:08.679 -We've worked with schools, and brought children here. 00:05:08.679 --> 00:05:11.685 -We work with cultural groups. 00:05:11.685 --> 00:05:14.445 There are independent festivals organised 00:05:14.466 --> 00:05:17.786 in the city that often ask us to work with them. 00:05:17.807 --> 00:05:19.657 We are prepared to help with 00:05:19.707 --> 00:05:21.427 the logistical side, the production, 00:05:21.473 --> 00:05:23.473 the work that is our area of expertise. 00:05:23.473 --> 00:05:26.591 Culture in Arequipa There are fewer and fewer 00:05:26.591 --> 00:05:29.631 venues open to the people of the city. 00:05:29.639 --> 00:05:31.569 There are venues possibly, which 00:05:31.579 --> 00:05:33.859 you can access if you have an invitation, 00:05:33.859 --> 00:05:36.856 or you are a member, or you can pay. 00:05:36.856 --> 00:05:40.126 We think art should be among the people, 00:05:40.126 --> 00:05:41.976 in the neighbourhoods, where it belongs 00:05:41.997 --> 00:05:43.316 and where it's most needed. 00:05:43.316 --> 00:05:45.574 Arequipa's cultural centres, one by one, 00:05:45.595 --> 00:05:46.964 have been closing down. 00:05:46.975 --> 00:05:50.284 We used to have one dedicated to theatre, 00:05:50.284 --> 00:05:52.325 called La Comuna; it closed two years ago, 00:05:52.325 --> 00:05:56.435 due to problems with the local council, that sort of thing. 00:05:56.454 --> 00:05:58.715 It's illogical that the local councils, 00:05:58.725 --> 00:06:00.644 instead of promoting us, and realising 00:06:00.644 --> 00:06:02.634 'They're doing our work, so 00:06:02.638 --> 00:06:05.338 give them the permits and support they need', 00:06:05.338 --> 00:06:07.108 they shut us down; it's illogical. 00:06:07.128 --> 00:06:09.002 They won't do it, and they won't let us do it. 00:06:09.012 --> 00:06:11.898 -There was a story in the newspaper 00:06:11.898 --> 00:06:14.388 that the council had one and a half million dollars 00:06:14.418 --> 00:06:15.996 as a budget for culture 00:06:15.996 --> 00:06:18.016 and they returned it to central govenrment 00:06:18.033 --> 00:06:20.213 in Lima because they didn't know how to use it. 00:06:20.223 --> 00:06:22.054 The same officials in charge of culture 00:06:22.064 --> 00:06:24.753 have been there for 20 years. 00:06:24.783 --> 00:06:27.543 They just rotate posts so that it looks like 00:06:27.554 --> 00:06:30.744 they're not in the same post for 20 years. 00:06:30.754 --> 00:06:33.344 -Sadly, where culture is concerned, it seems 00:06:33.344 --> 00:06:36.633 the only thing the council sees as important is 00:06:36.633 --> 00:06:41.283 the festival for the Day of Arequipa, the parades. 00:06:41.283 --> 00:06:43.386 Although there are other important things, 00:06:43.406 --> 00:06:44.699 all the money goes to that, 00:06:44.749 --> 00:06:46.717 all the budget goes there, all the logistics, 00:06:46.728 --> 00:06:48.608 and all the human resources. 00:06:48.608 --> 00:06:51.328 And the other things, the alternative culture, 00:06:51.328 --> 00:06:54.558 just have to be undertaken by the artists themselves. 00:06:54.578 --> 00:06:58.664 -To be really effective in a job like that, 00:06:58.684 --> 00:07:01.324 a person must be a cultural manager, 00:07:01.365 --> 00:07:02.615 they need to have studied the subject. 00:07:02.644 --> 00:07:04.824 They must have experience and be an artist. 00:07:04.835 --> 00:07:07.685 They also need to know what they're doing. 00:07:07.685 --> 00:07:09.255 But if you talk to those people, 00:07:09.275 --> 00:07:12.885 they know nothing about it, so they can't make 00:07:12.925 --> 00:07:18.985 an informed decision on any problem they face in their job. 00:07:18.985 --> 00:07:22.885 There's also the fact that the universities 00:07:22.885 --> 00:07:24.845 are not interested either. 00:07:24.865 --> 00:07:27.095 So the public are not trained in this either; 00:07:27.108 --> 00:07:32.698 it's as if in this area everything is decaying. 00:07:32.718 --> 00:07:36.628 There needs to be a change in the form of a national policy. 00:07:36.628 --> 00:07:38.346 Struggles 00:07:38.346 --> 00:07:40.596 Integration was a problem at the start. 00:07:40.636 --> 00:07:42.456 This is a traditional neighbourhood 00:07:42.476 --> 00:07:45.486 in which people are used to a quiet life. 00:07:45.486 --> 00:07:47.466 We musicians came along, 00:07:47.466 --> 00:07:52.476 making a racket every day, playing drums; 00:07:52.476 --> 00:07:54.676 the first problem is being accepted. 00:07:54.676 --> 00:07:56.436 It's the same with other cultural centres. 00:07:56.486 --> 00:07:59.006 In Lima there was a lady, who sang in a Blues band, 00:07:59.019 --> 00:08:00.899 who told me that with her centre 00:08:00.899 --> 00:08:03.869 the first problem, apart from the council, was the residents, 00:08:03.906 --> 00:08:07.667 getting them to understand that what we do is our job. 00:08:07.667 --> 00:08:12.247 It's not just a bit of fun or something casual. 00:08:12.247 --> 00:08:14.617 I believe that's the first barrier 00:08:14.617 --> 00:08:16.147 that slowly had to be overcome. 00:08:16.147 --> 00:08:18.827 We've lasted three years and we're still going. 00:08:18.827 --> 00:08:23.487 The council is one endless problem and the other 00:08:23.487 --> 00:08:28.026 is communication with other cultural centres. 00:08:28.026 --> 00:08:30.622 Communication is lost, I don't know 00:08:30.632 --> 00:08:33.602 whether through envy or through personal inclination. 00:08:33.622 --> 00:08:35.552 We get dragged into it a lot. 00:08:35.622 --> 00:08:37.013 Perhaps if each centre were ... 00:08:37.023 --> 00:08:40.102 'Your centre is for theatre, mine is for poetry', 00:08:40.102 --> 00:08:41.862 we'd get on better together; 00:08:41.902 --> 00:08:44.980 'My centre is underground, yous is half naturist'. 00:08:44.990 --> 00:08:47.010 No, we won't go down that road, 00:08:47.020 --> 00:08:51.301 and there are many disputes; it holds back progress 00:08:51.378 --> 00:08:54.308 and is one of the biggest tests 00:08:54.418 --> 00:08:58.858 we face, because the people and the artists 00:08:58.918 --> 00:09:03.508 are not used to working together. 00:09:03.524 --> 00:09:06.344 Instead of uniting, they become divided, 00:09:06.344 --> 00:09:07.934 that is the great problem. 00:09:07.934 --> 00:09:11.804 -I believe another problem is how to reach more people, 00:09:11.804 --> 00:09:15.314 to have better means of communication, 00:09:15.314 --> 00:09:17.984 because our networks are wide, but they don't really 00:09:17.984 --> 00:09:20.784 reach far enough,and for the people we want to reach 00:09:20.784 --> 00:09:23.675 the social network doesn't seem to work. 00:09:23.675 --> 00:09:25.315 And to make flyers and so on 00:09:25.345 --> 00:09:27.125 you have to invest money, 00:09:27.147 --> 00:09:29.677 but it doesn't guarantee many people. 00:09:29.712 --> 00:09:32.832 We need access to radios, 00:09:32.852 --> 00:09:35.909 or mass communication, or programmes 00:09:35.909 --> 00:09:39.188 that have a mass audience at peak viewing times. 00:09:39.198 --> 00:09:41.038 Our work has taught us 00:09:41.038 --> 00:09:43.273 that the street is the most immediate 00:09:43.273 --> 00:09:45.443 and is where the large-scale action happens. 00:09:45.463 --> 00:09:48.472 Put on concerts and festivals in the street, 00:09:48.482 --> 00:09:50.262 because that is where democracy is. 00:09:50.292 --> 00:09:53.409 In the street people walk, people of all social levels. 00:09:53.419 --> 00:09:56.109 So it's the best option, especially when 00:09:56.119 --> 00:09:58.869 the communication media don't offer any alternative, 00:09:58.869 --> 00:10:01.869 The street is the last resort, so that the person 00:10:01.869 --> 00:10:03.999 walking along there sees something new. 00:10:03.999 --> 00:10:07.959 -It's also a great weakness that so far, no business 00:10:07.959 --> 00:10:10.129 has become involved with Tambo de Bronce. 00:10:10.129 --> 00:10:11.527 The interest is there; 00:10:11.527 --> 00:10:13.232 friends have come from the brewery, 00:10:13.232 --> 00:10:15.952 from large companies, from the brickworks, 00:10:15.962 --> 00:10:18.546 but they don't really believe that art is necessary 00:10:18.566 --> 00:10:22.212 or they don't believe it so far. It's illogical. 00:10:22.232 --> 00:10:26.114 They say, 'If I give this money to your cultural centre, 00:10:26.154 --> 00:10:28.456 so that you can work with these young people, 00:10:28.466 --> 00:10:30.219 no-one will see it, so it's better if I pay for 00:10:30.234 --> 00:10:32.972 a football pitch, although there are many already, 00:10:32.972 --> 00:10:34.652 or another monument, and then 00:10:34.674 --> 00:10:37.384 people say, ''Oh thank you, you've helped me!'' ' 00:10:37.384 --> 00:10:43.294 It's a big problem, because we need money, grants. 00:10:43.324 --> 00:10:45.743 -Now there is a Law of Cultural Patronage, 00:10:45.763 --> 00:10:51.082 but we don't have the tools to secure patronage. 00:10:51.142 --> 00:10:52.952 So we've started using the association 00:10:52.982 --> 00:10:55.322 as a means to obtain that too. 00:10:55.352 --> 00:10:58.672 And the major problem is that the PR director 00:10:58.690 --> 00:11:01.583 of a given company operates as if 'You are a friend, 00:11:01.583 --> 00:11:04.476 so I do you a favour,' and there's never a contest 00:11:04.476 --> 00:11:07.370 for projects to compete for grants 00:11:07.373 --> 00:11:10.163 in places such as Arequipa. 00:11:10.183 --> 00:11:14.889 Education in art and music is very poor. 00:11:14.889 --> 00:11:17.679 In the biggest universities here, there are no faculties, 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:20.866 for example, of philosophy, music or art. 00:11:20.906 --> 00:11:23.368 There are only faculties of studies that generate 00:11:23.368 --> 00:11:26.588 immediate income such as engineering, law, medicine. 00:11:26.618 --> 00:11:30.238 This puts us, in Arequipa, in a situation where 00:11:30.238 --> 00:11:32.067 we are penned in, because the universities 00:11:32.084 --> 00:11:36.644 don't produce people who can appreciate culture. 00:11:36.656 --> 00:11:41.026 So the task is left to us, to show them 00:11:41.026 --> 00:11:42.414 that there is an alternative. 00:11:42.414 --> 00:11:45.324 At the Tambo we've lasted a long time 00:11:45.324 --> 00:11:47.324 but really we do everything ourselves. 00:11:47.334 --> 00:11:49.534 On one hand that a bad thing, and we suffer, 00:11:49.534 --> 00:11:51.638 but we've managed it alone so far 00:11:51.638 --> 00:11:54.266 but what we have learnt from being alone 00:11:54.266 --> 00:11:57.552 is that we can do it, so with support we could do 00:11:57.573 --> 00:12:00.353 a thousand things, we could do wonders. 00:12:00.353 --> 00:12:02.133 If we had support and funding 00:12:02.133 --> 00:12:03.843 we'd know how to use them, as we've 00:12:03.843 --> 00:12:06.038 managed with nothing, and still done things. 00:12:06.039 --> 00:12:07.991 All this has given us great strength. 00:12:07.991 --> 00:12:10.531 Having the chance to learn more and more, 00:12:10.531 --> 00:12:14.221 you survive in permanently difficult conditions, 00:12:14.237 --> 00:12:16.657 and it makes you strong, so that you survive, 00:12:16.657 --> 00:12:18.647 you become like this, you protect yourself, 00:12:18.657 --> 00:12:20.217 and you can do it because you know how. 00:12:20.237 --> 00:12:22.077 -I'm not from Arequipa, I'm from a place 00:12:22.077 --> 00:12:25.578 that mainly makes its living from fishing and mining, 00:12:25.578 --> 00:12:28.486 and I didn't have access to a cultural centre. 00:12:28.486 --> 00:12:32.724 There was a municipal arts centre; every district has one 00:12:32.724 --> 00:12:35.893 But when you go in, there's just a desk and bare walls, 00:12:35.893 --> 00:12:37.933 and if you open up those venues, 00:12:37.934 --> 00:12:39.964 you give people opportunities. 00:12:39.984 --> 00:12:44.544 With just one open venue we may be influencing 00:12:44.564 --> 00:12:47.904 the future of at least 200 or 300 children 00:12:47.944 --> 00:12:49.854 and young people, with no more than 00:12:49.904 --> 00:12:52.904 the interest, will and inspiration that drive us. 00:12:52.924 --> 00:12:54.334 The future 00:12:54.334 --> 00:13:01.395 We hope to find a business that will give us a grant, 00:13:01.395 --> 00:13:05.472 so that we will be free to work with any young people, 00:13:05.482 --> 00:13:08.879 and most of all with children, so that we can train them 00:13:08.879 --> 00:13:11.869 to continue our work when we are no longer here. 00:13:11.889 --> 00:13:13.905 We want to train children so that 00:13:13.925 --> 00:13:15.585 they can use what we have taught them, 00:13:15.605 --> 00:13:17.775 not only in the practical aspects of their lives, 00:13:17.805 --> 00:13:19.975 but also to inform their values. 00:13:19.995 --> 00:13:23.935 Right now the demand from the people who come here, 00:13:23.935 --> 00:13:29.455 whether as visitors, or as exhibitors, is so great 00:13:29.455 --> 00:13:34.626 that we see a need for another venue. 00:13:34.627 --> 00:13:36.647 A venue that can accommodate all of this, 00:13:36.647 --> 00:13:41.897 as well as theatre, music, exhibitions, a bigger place. 00:13:41.897 --> 00:13:42.886 Advice 00:13:42.896 --> 00:13:44.606 At the outset you always have to be 00:13:44.616 --> 00:13:48.026 humble in your ideas and flexible in your thinking, 00:13:48.046 --> 00:13:50.236 because in the end, my idea is better 00:13:50.246 --> 00:13:52.766 if there are other people involved. 00:13:52.776 --> 00:13:55.255 And it always enriches the project. 00:13:55.255 --> 00:13:57.695 I believe we must always be inclusive. 00:13:57.705 --> 00:13:59.662 -Most of all, believe in what you are doing. 00:13:59.662 --> 00:14:02.772 There will always be ups and downs, things that 00:14:02.772 --> 00:14:06.913 discourage us from continuing with our work. 00:14:06.913 --> 00:14:09.790 The only thing to do is to press on, 00:14:09.790 --> 00:14:13.308 believe in your dreams and your desires. 00:14:13.318 --> 00:14:14.978 No more than that. 00:14:14.998 --> 00:14:17.948 Just go on, constantly working, 00:14:17.958 --> 00:14:21.470 and always use the centre as a place for production. 00:14:21.490 --> 00:14:24.490 Often leisure and enjoyment distract us, 00:14:24.490 --> 00:14:26.370 but we must fight against that. 00:14:26.370 --> 00:14:28.269 It must be a place for the production 00:14:28.279 --> 00:14:30.469 and dissemination of our ideas, nothing else. 00:14:30.489 --> 00:14:33.209 Do it and believe in it. That is what works.