8 November 2023

At the end of this month inside Auckland’s characterful waterfront silos, the Silo 6 gallery, journalist and producer Kadambari Raghukumar showcases a series of her documentary images and short films on a lesser-known part of Colombia- El Pacifico, the Pacific region; and San Basilio de Palenque. Through a long-held interest in Colombia’s forms of music and communities and a chance friendship formed with singer Nidia Gongora, Kadambari went on a solo trip of curiosity, and got invited into this world on the other side of the Pacific.

“I was raised in Goa, south India, and as far stereotypes go, I constantly found myself compelled to having to explain them… it’s familiar. There are too many tired stereotypes around Colombia! My interest in Colombian music over a few years always took me well beyond those stereotypes and perhaps, this exhibit became a natural outcome of a desire to show the depth of that experience…and my love for the people and place I got to see through a different lens,” says Kadambari.

The exhibit takes us to riverside town of Timbiqui, synonymous with music of the Pacific region, and to San Basilio de Palenque, considered the first free town for Africans in all the Americas.

“For the show I got to continue engaging with the small community here in New Zealand. and it’s been invaluable to have them involved in this as well on this side of the Pacific, in particular Beatriz Arboleda from Tumaco,” Kadambari says.

Pueblo de Tambores – Images and sounds from Afro Colombia is an exhibition that brings together music, photography and stories from the lives of musicians, singers and percussionists – artists who have been championing the culture of their communities. “As interests between New Zealand and South America grow, art and documentary as a vehicle offers insights into culture there, and they come to hold even more pertinence and value,” Kadambari says.

The exhibit has contributions by Beatriz Alboreda, was co-designed by Pia Sidhwa and runs 2pm – 6pm, 23 -30 November. The event is supported by Latin American Centre for Asia Pacific Excellence and the Consul for Colombia in Auckland.