La Niña Gina
Founder of the first picó* installed in Paris, “El Elegante, la maquina del ritmo.” Originally from Cartagena, she grew up immersed in the warm rhythms of Colombia’s Caribbean coast. Her 100% vinyl sets evoke nostalgia for the times when a picó (or sound system) on a street corner was all it took to spark a neighborhood party or verbena. Her inspiration comes from the streets, from unpretentious and carefree celebrations, and from her deep love for popular music, both past and present. She dances barefoot to the rhythms of salsa, charanga, merengue, soukous, highlife, cumbia, bullerengue, boogaloo, and other Afro-rooted, Latin folk, and Latin/Afro-jazz genres.
*Picó refers to customized sound systems from the working-class neighborhoods of Colombia’s Caribbean coast. These “walls of sound” enlivened free parties or verbenas (block parties). The El Elegante event highlights the Africa-Caribbean connection: Latin grooves, Afro-Caribbean psychedelia, and vintage tropicalism.
Turbomaradona
Turbomaradona is a Picó Sound System founded in 2022 by Druidiscos HI-FI, a dj-duo and soundsystem collective active from 2018 in Italy.
Turbomaradona has been a present driving force in the creation of a new scene of Picó sound system culture in Italy and Europe participating, among others, at some important festivals such as Roskilde Festival, Antillianse Feesten, Maloka Festival and many other gigs between Croatia, Germany, France and Italy. The aim of Turbomaradona project is to promote the musical culture of the Colombian Picó and the sound system parties where the music is meant to unite and amuse, to explore and discover.