William “El Maestro” Gutierrez Peñaloza - The Roots of El Gran Mono

William “El Maestro” Gutierrez Peñaloza is the most celebrated picó sound system artist on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, and the leader of the art movement behind the revival of the 'golden-era' picó sound systems.

Master William designed and painted the artwork of El Gran Mono, which incorporates a large ape-like beast towering over the iconic Flinders Street Station of Melbourne, Australia.

Produced in partnership with Organic Photo & VR, this clip is part of a series of short interviews featuring some of the key influences behind building El Gran Mono, a picó sound system in Australia.

Interview conducted by Tom Noonan and Fabian Altahona Romero in Barranquilla, Colombia in February 2018.

🎥 Organic Photo www.organicphoto.com.au

EL GRAN MONO
EL MAS GRANDE DE MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA

El Gran Mono is the first picó sound system built outside of Colombia. Picó are huge, hand-painted fluorescent speaker stacks, often found playing tropical music in the barrios of cities such as Barranquilla, Cartagena and Santa Marta.

Decorated in animals, aeroplanes, dragons, revolutionary figures or other psychedelic scenes, each picó sound system has its own distinctive identity (such as ‘The Monster of Sound,’ ‘The War Tank,’ or ‘The Great Wolf’) represented by this distinctive artwork.

El Gran Mono, or ‘The Great Ape,’ features stunning artwork painted by the great Colombian sound system artist William ‘El Maestro’ Gutierrez. The result is a collaboration between Melbourne record collectors Tom Noonan and Johnny El Pájaro in consultation with key members of the picó community in Colombia, making El Gran Mono Australia's own authentic picó,

El Gran Mono pays tribute to the great original picó sound systems, but also seeks to move the culture forward into the international spotlight. El Gran Mono has been able to share the sight and the sounds of the picó experience with Australian audiences.

Boasting 20,000 watts of raw amplified power, the DJs or ‘picótero’ playing on El Gran Mono play upbeat tropical music - mostly African and Afro-Colombian vinyl records. Styles such as champeta, cumbia, zouk, soukous, rhumba, benga, afrobeat. The music of Capo Verde and West Africa, The Congo, Trinidad, Haiti, and of course the Caribbean coast of Colombia.

Please join us in celebrating the sound of the picó and the sound of Colombia.

www.elgranmono.com.au
@elgranmonomelb #elgranmonomelb​​​

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Видео William “El Maestro” Gutierrez Peñaloza - The Roots of El Gran Mono канала El Gran Mono