International Urban Art Festival Closes With Successful Concerts in La Paz and El Alto

Chargé d’Affaires John S. Creamer with U.S. hip hop artist George Martinez in El Alto.

Bolivia’s first International Urban Art Festival concluded last weekend with three well-attended hip hop events in La Paz and El Alto. Co-sponsored by the U.S. and Spanish Embassies, the week-long series of concerts and workshops celebrated La Paz’s bicentennial and promoted hip hop as a positive tool for youth empowerment and education.
Chargé d’Affaires John S. Creamer and his family attended the Hip Hop Festival in El Alto on Friday, October 2. More than 250 youth filled COMPA Foundation’s cultural center for the event. The highlight of the evening was the break-dance competition, which involved “battles” between 16 teams of two until a winning team was declared.

George Martinez performs with a Bolivian rapper before a large crowd on Paseo El Prado in La Paz.

On Saturday, October 3, La Paz City Hall opened up its beautiful municipal theater, Cine 6 de Agosto, for an international concert that featured performances by U.S. group George Martinez and the Global Block Collective, Spanish rap duo Dos Hermanos, and several Bolivian hip hop artists.
On Sunday, October 4, George Martinez and Dos Hermanos were the main attraction of a huge outdoor concert along Paseo El Prado. Several Bolivian youth competed in a simultaneous graffiti contest.
More than 3,600 people attended the International Urban Art Festival, which also received extensive media coverage from Bolivia’s largest television stations and newspapers.