This time I'll talk about a dvd. More specifically, a nice documentary about the rise of the Medellin punk scene titled "Mas Alla Del No Futuro". Assembled by José Posada, a guy who used to play in bands like IxRxAx and Dexkoncierto, names that should mean something to you if you're even only vaguely into south american hardcore.
The documentary itself is not that long so you modern dumb punx with a low attention span cannot complain at all. It lasts indeed only 40 minutes and it hasn't been shot and edited that well. It's all about interviews with people who were there back in the day and they were all interviewed in dark spots or outdoor by night. Nonetheless, this is absolutely a must see if you know what I mean.
While most of us were living our oh, so rebellious years in the comfort and safety of a western country, some guys in Colombia were facing death every day. Medellin, between '88 and '92, was in the middle of an extremely violent drug war between the Pablo Escobar's drug cartel and illegal paramilitar army hired by the government. Becaming a sicario (hitman) was an easy choice to make good money for teens who lived in hopeless slums. Here José show us that a bunch of pissed off, scared and bored kids decided to use their anger and energy in a smarter way, starting their own punk/hardcore scene out of literaly nothing to survive the hopeless and extremely violent environment that surrounded them. After hearing what these guys (well, the ones who survived) had gone through, you'll immediately stop idealizing all the boring bullshit about how punk was dangerous back in the '80s in USA, Japan or Europe. Just check the trailer to get an idea:
While being mainly focused on interviews, there are a lot of great live footages from the incredible bands that sprouted from this extremely poor city. After seeing it, you'll beg for the entire BSN, Crimen Impune or Imagen live sets. Indeed, even if the balance between interviews and live footage is quite equilibrated, my only real complain about this dvd is that the clips are definitely not enough, I want more!!!!!
You can still get a copy for quite cheap directly from the director's blog. Definitely not a rip-off, but please keep in mind that he's quite slow when it comes to shipping (my copy took 9 months to be sent out!!). Anyway, I know at least 4 people who ordered it directly from him and, sooner or later, everyone got his copy in the end. Absolutely worth the waiting, in my opinion....
