For nearly a century, leisurely strolling through the Colombian cities of Cartagena and Barranquilla has meant being ready to party on any given corner. Booming from colorful sound systems known as picós, the sticky coastal air buzzes with a dizzying mix of Jamaican soca, Ghanaian highlife, Congolese soukous, Arab disco, and local staples like salsa and champeta.
These mobile discos, usually family-owned and passed down through generations, are synonymous with the neighborhoods where each clandestine party was formalized into a micro-economy. Picós are emblazoned with cheeky names and flashy visual identities, with the entrepreneurial selectors known as picoteros gaining notoriety with “exclusive” record collections procured…

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