Ciudad Sonora: Labor Practices and Aesthetic Creation among Chisga Musicians in Bogotá

Abstract

This article presents the findings of a project that combined research-creation with interviews and life narratives, among other methods, to examine the labor and aesthetic practices of musicians working across various musical genres. The author collaborated with four musicians, with whom four original songs were composed and produced, and a four-episode documentary was developed. The findings allow for an understanding of the chisga as a non-conventional work setting in which practical knowledge, community networks, and subsistence strategies are articulated in tension with academic models and the logic of the music industry.