Picós: Colombian sound systems

At the end of the 60’s the afro population of the Colombian Atlantic Coast developed an alternative to enjoy, and in turn, locally spread their preferred music; they built hand-made sound systems capable of triggering a huge party. These sound systems are known in the Colombian Caribbean as Picós. These Colombian sound systems were known, among other things, for having their own name (El Timbalero, El Coreano, El Isleño) as well as for their over-the-top appearance, and for having audio components that magnified their sound power to the maximum.
The so-called Picós, as mobile stations, began in the 60’s to create the basis of an urban, popular and contemporary culture that expresses itself through these powerful sound machines. The sound systems became the center of social and economic networks of craftsmen DJs, owners, music sellers, producers and purchasers, which together, on a small scale, make up an informal economy generated specifically to build, transport and operate these "mobile cultural spaces" which were popularly baptized as Picós.
The PICÓ documentary aims to tell the story of the Maury family in Barranquilla, Colombia, who for 40 years have lived in a house in the La Magdalena neighborhood, which in turn they transformed into a place where people gather, known as "La isla del encanto (the Island of enchantment)."
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