Champeta music and El Runner (Colombia)
On my tour through the Bazurto market with @eltonystark, which I highly recommend, I learned not only about the market but also about a Cartegenan cultural touchstone, Champeta.
History
Cartagena’s African descendants brought African music with them to Colombia. Here it evolved into a special type of music over the years in the coastal areas around Cartagena. Champeta is a word for a knife that was utilitarian. A champeta knife was very versatile. It would be used for chopping plants in the field, chopping food in the kitchen, and as a weapon. Champeta then became s a derogatory term for the poor African descendants of former slaves who used that type of knife.
Like the Spanish word salsa evolved from being “make the music spicy” to being the name of the music. So champeta, once a derogatory term for the poor African descendants became attached to the music they developed. And this is now the most popular music in the area.
Champeta music posters
Champeta is a major music attraction in venues across Cartagena. The signs distinguish these parties from those with other types of music. Many (most?) of the signs are made by a group led by a man named El Runner. He is so-named because that’s what he was told his last name meant in English. He used to make all the signs himself in his signature style, but now he teaches children how to do it and rarely paints them himself. It gives a paying skill to impoverished kids. His team can turn out many hundreds of posters every day for champetas, like this one that I found in the Old Town of Cartagena:
El Runner has a tattoo of the Nautica logo on his neck (it’s his favorite brand). He works nearly daily in the Bazurto market in paint adorned clothing. Always surrounded by many teens working on posters in the style he developed. His business developed from one single ad he made for free for a local music party. That one free poster has become a multi-person poster making industry. He also has a group of young kids learning to draw sitting on stairs in his area of the market.
My champeta style poster made by El Runner:
