Jack Magazine – Issue 14

We are very proud to present the new issue of Jack Magazine. Issue #14 Fall/Winter 2011.

Here at Jack we’re all about digging through the mud to find Colombia’s many unseen treasures, and this time we really got our hands dirty in trying to extract the best stories we could find for this final issue of 2011.

When you dig, you find roots, and many of the stories we found for Jack #14 feature people and projects that are looking to the future while maintaining a close connection to cultural and historic roots. Talk to any tree and you’ll learn that this is a great formula for long-term success; roots man, roots!

We are especially fortunate to have a sizzling team of contributors on this one; first, Los Angeles-based Josh Weiss (aka DJ Gozar) traveled to Barranquilla for a story on the colorful picó sound system culture, and the part it has played in maintaining the Atlantic Coast’s musical connection to Africa and the Caribbean. Not to be outdone, Miami-based correspondent Camila Álvarez sat down with De Juepuchas, a DJ and production duo from Bogota who are transforming deeply national pop cultural audio references like telenovela samples and Miss Colombia speeches into modern dance floor cuts that are rocking clubs from here to Texas.

Professional photographer Federico Rios went way up to the literal northern tip of Colombia for a look at La Guajira’s fascinating desert peninsula, where a large indigenous population is co-existing with a major excavation industry bent on sucking the land dry of its vast coal, natural gas and salt reserves. We also found time for a trip to Manizales, where we discovered that there’s more to this emerging town than the rich flavorful beans that grow in its famed coffee-rich highlands.

Finally, we’ve got an exclusive look at Barro de Medellin (literally “Mud of Medellin”), a live musical adaptation of an award-winning children’s novel that will open late in November. Go ahead and read through this issue, then wash your hands, rinse, and repeat.