Twelfth International Conference on The Image

Abstract

This research studies the vinyl covers of Champeta and the posters for Sound Systems, two graphic expressions derived from the “champetúo” phenomenon in Cartagena (Colombia). The visual analysis is based on iconographic methods and archival research (referring to vinyls), while ethnography was used to address the sound system posters. Both supports were broken down from the visual, from their creators and the history of the champeta genre in Colombia, finding their relationships with the culture and the space in which they were produced. These relationships are the reason for the final reflections, where contemporary graphics of gender and cultural values expressed in the so-called “champetúa graphics” are addressed. This with the purpose of showing how an identity for the Champeta genre can be obtained from the visual through hybridization processes.