Tambo de bronce - Arequipa, Perú

Arequipa,
333 Puente Bolognesi Street

Inspiration
-The inspiration came mainly

from a desire to promote
the visual arts, music, drama,

all types of artistic expression
in the city.

This is what led
to the birth of

Tambo de Bronce.

-It has been here
for three years.

We hold digital photography workshops,

I teach the music workshop,
workshops for percussion,

for different types
of instruments.

We also hold concerts,
exhibitions, etc.

-Our principles, which we've
held from the start

and which we want
to maintain,

are self management
and alternative education.

Tambo de Bronce
is independent

but it's open to any proposals,
which can be put to us

and if they're for the good
of the community

and society, then they are
very welcome.

History

-Tambos have existed
since early times,

since the times of the Incas,
or even earlier.

They are places where travellers

stop to rest after their journey.
That's a tambo.

There was one here; all
around here were tambos.

That's why it's called
Tambo de Bronce.

It started off as
a sculptor's workshop.

Then we came with a friend
to see it

and there were sculptures.
The place was abandoned.

It hadn't been used
for a long time.

Then they let us have
the place.

As the rent is so cheap,

it's affordable for us
to self-manage it.

Then the idea occurred to us,
three years ago,

that we should use it to hold
workshops and concerts, etc.

Three years ago
there was nothing.

-We often want to do
new projects.

We have asked for
a children's home,

and a gallery
to hold exhibitions,

and often, because of
the bureaucracy,

the process is long.

Just like the initiative
to open this venue

was delayed by bureaucracy.

If you have a work of art,
a project

you can come and
exhibit it here.

The Audience
Our stated aim was to work

mainly with children,
young people and teenagers.

But we also see
adults and older people,

and children come
to see what we offer,

and we see their interest.

We involve all sorts of people,
because of their interest,

their love and their passion
for something,

whether it's photography,
painting or music.

They're all here,
which is a good thing.

Organisation

Now we're working on
becoming an association.

That will give us the tools
we're looking for

to obtain grants
for all sorts of things

that we need in order to
expand the project further.

Decisions are always taken
by all of us together.

We discuss things a lot.

Communication

The Tambo's
communication networks

are mostly virtual ones,
which are faster

and we also network through
other cultural centres

and television, as we have
slots in the programmes

that are made in Arequipa.

What I am slightly critical of
is that

we need more mass
communication media,

like radios, to have
a real impact

but in our work it's difficult.

To secure truly mass media
is very difficult

as it's expensive; it's like
a closed door to us.

-We work with a few
other cultural centres

that have opened
over the last few years.

One is called Pucara Bulls,

and we mostly work with them
on promotion.

They promote their events
through our channels,

and we promote
our events through theirs.

As we and they have
different databases,

in this way we can
reach more people.

Sustainability

Speaking of the Tambo's
sustainability,

at the moment it is
self sustaining.

It has been self managed
since it opened, until now.

-Sometimes we do work
for events;

There's a part of the Tambo
that makes

stretched canvases
for events,

and part of the income earned
goes to the Tambo.

We put on shows
every Thursday

that we call the
Tambo Sessions.

We also sell things,
like food and drinks.

All of this, and the fact that
this place is so cheap to rent,

make it possible for us
to continue working.

If, for some reason,
something happens,

and we need money,
we put on an event.

Integration

The idea was just to
create a venue

for small audiences,
but the moment that

people see that it's something
different in the city,

and that there's
nothing like it,

they decide that
Tambo de Bronce

is one of their favourite
cultural venues.

We always have plenty
of activities.

It's the only cultural venue
to stay open

for three years in Arequipa;
it has not closed,

and continues to promote
new alternatives

and culture in general.

-We've worked with schools,
and brought children here.

-We work with
cultural groups.

There are independent
festivals organised

in the city that often ask us
to work with them.

We are prepared to help with

the logistical side,
the production,

the work that is our
area of expertise.

Culture in Arequipa
There are fewer and fewer

venues open
to the people of the city.

There are venues
possibly, which

you can access if you have
an invitation,

or you are a member,
or you can pay.

We think art should be
among the people,

in the neighbourhoods,
where it belongs

and where it's most needed.

Arequipa's cultural centres,
one by one,

have been closing down.

We used to have one
dedicated to theatre,

called La Comuna;
it closed two years ago,

due to problems with the local
council, that sort of thing.

It's illogical that
the local councils,

instead of promoting us,
and realising

'They're doing our work, so

give them the permits
and support they need',

they shut us down;
it's illogical.

They won't do it, and they
won't let us do it.

-There was a story
in the newspaper

that the council had
one and a half million dollars

as a budget for culture

and they returned it
to central govenrment

in Lima because they didn't
know how to use it.

The same officials
in charge of culture

have been there for 20 years.

They just rotate posts
so that it looks like

they're not in the same post
for 20 years.

-Sadly, where culture is
concerned, it seems

the only thing the council
sees as important is

the festival for the Day of
Arequipa, the parades.

Although there are other important things,

all the money goes
to that,

all the budget goes there,
all the logistics,

and all the human resources.

And the other things,
the alternative culture,

just have to be undertaken
by the artists themselves.

-To be really effective in
a job like that,

a person must be
a cultural manager,

they need to have
studied the subject.

They must have experience
and be an artist.

They also need to know
what they're doing.

But if you talk to those people,

they know nothing about it,
so they can't make

an informed decision on any
problem they face in their job.

There's also the fact
that the universities

are not interested either.

So the public are not
trained in this either;

it's as if in this area
everything is decaying.

There needs to be a change
in the form of a national policy.

Struggles

Integration was a problem
at the start.

This is a traditional
neighbourhood

in which people are used
to a quiet life.

We musicians came along,

making a racket every day,
playing drums;

the first problem is
being accepted.

It's the same with
other cultural centres.

In Lima there was a lady, who
sang in a Blues band,

who told me that
with her centre

the first problem, apart from
the council, was the residents,

getting them to understand
that what we do is our job.

It's not just a bit of fun or
something casual.

I believe that's the first barrier

that slowly had
to be overcome.

We've lasted three years
and we're still going.

The council is one endless
problem and the other

is communication with
other cultural centres.

Communication is lost,
I don't know

whether through envy or
through personal inclination.

We get dragged into it a lot.

Perhaps if each centre
were ...

'Your centre is for theatre,
mine is for poetry',

we'd get on better together;

'My centre is underground,
yous is half naturist'.

No, we won't go down
that road,

and there are many disputes;
it holds back progress

and is one of the biggest tests

we face, because the people
and the artists

are not used
to working together.

Instead of uniting,
they become divided,

that is the great problem.

-I believe another problem
is how to reach more people,

to have better means
of communication,

because our networks are
wide, but they don't really

reach far enough,and for the
people we want to reach

the social network
doesn't seem to work.

And to make flyers and so on

you have to
invest money,

but it doesn't guarantee
many people.

We need access to radios,

or mass communication,
or programmes

that have a mass audience
at peak viewing times.

Our work has taught us

that the street is the most
immediate

and is where the large-scale
action happens.

Put on concerts and festivals
in the street,

because that is where
democracy is.

In the street people walk,
people of all social levels.

So it's the best option,
especially when

the communication media
don't offer any alternative,

The street is the last resort,
so that the person

walking along there
sees something new.

-It's also a great weakness
that so far, no business

has become involved
with Tambo de Bronce.

The interest is there;

friends have come from
the brewery,

from large companies,
from the brickworks,

but they don't really
believe that art is necessary

or they don't believe it so far.
It's illogical.

They say, 'If I give this money
to your cultural centre,

so that you can work with
these young people,

no-one will see it, so it's
better if I pay for

a football pitch, although
there are many already,

or another monument,
and then

people say, ''Oh thank you,
you've helped me!'' '

It's a big problem, because
we need money, grants.

-Now there is a Law of
Cultural Patronage,

but we don't have the tools
to secure patronage.

So we've started using
the association

as a means to obtain that too.

And the major problem is that
the PR director

of a given company operates
as if 'You are a friend,

so I do you a favour,' and there's never a contest

for projects to
compete for grants

in places such as Arequipa.

Education in art and music
is very poor.

In the biggest universities
here, there are no faculties,

for example, of philosophy,
music or art.

There are only faculties
of studies that generate

immediate income such as
engineering, law, medicine.

This puts us, in Arequipa,
in a situation where

we are penned in,
because the universities

don't produce people
who can appreciate culture.

So the task is left to us,
to show them

that there is an alternative.

At the Tambo we've lasted
a long time

but really we do
everything ourselves.

On one hand that a
bad thing, and we suffer,

but we've managed it alone
so far

but what we have learnt
from being alone

is that we can do it, so with
support we could do

a thousand things,
we could do wonders.

If we had support and funding

we'd know how to use them,
as we've

managed with nothing, and
still done things.

All this has given us
great strength.

Having the chance to learn
more and more,

you survive in permanently
difficult conditions,

and it makes you strong,
so that you survive,

you become like this, you
protect yourself,

and you can do it because
you know how.

-I'm not from Arequipa,
I'm from a place

that mainly makes its living
from fishing and mining,

and I didn't have access
to a cultural centre.

There was a municipal arts
centre; every district has one

But when you go in, there's
just a desk and bare walls,

and if you open up
those venues,

you give people opportunities.

With just one open venue
we may be influencing

the future of at least 200
or 300 children

and young people, with
no more than

the interest, will and
inspiration that drive us.

The future

We hope to find a business
that will give us a grant,

so that we will be free to work
with any young people,

and most of all with children,
so that we can train them

to continue our work when
we are no longer here.

We want to train children
so that

they can use what we
have taught them,

not only in the practical
aspects of their lives,

but also to inform
their values.

Right now the demand from
the people who come here,

whether as visitors, or as
exhibitors, is so great

that we see a need
for another venue.

A venue that can
accommodate all of this,

as well as theatre, music,
exhibitions, a bigger place.

Advice

At the outset
you always have to be

humble in your ideas
and flexible in your thinking,

because in the end,
my idea is better

if there are other
people involved.

And it always enriches
the project.

I believe we must
always be inclusive.

-Most of all, believe
in what you are doing.

There will always be
ups and downs, things that

discourage us from
continuing with our work.

The only thing to do
is to press on,

believe in your dreams
and your desires.

No more than that.

Just go on,
constantly working,

and always use the centre
as a place for production.

Often leisure and enjoyment
distract us,

but we must fight against that.

It must be a place for
the production

and dissemination of
our ideas, nothing else.

Do it and believe in it.
That is what works.