Sixty Colombian artists from around the country on Tuesday launched the song “Un paso hacia la paz” (A step towards peace) in an attempt to promote peace and end the country’s 50-year-long armed conflict.
Carlos Vives, Juanes, Andrea Echeverry (Aterciopelados) and Andres Cepeda are among the artists who recorded the song as part of the “Soy Capaz” (I Am Able) campaign.
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The song, composed by Vives and produced by Ivan Benavides , is inspired by the iconic “We Are The World”, produced 29 years ago by Quincy Jones and written by Michael Jackson and singer Lionel Richie.
The project emerged as a way to move Colombian society towards a peace that is more than a “signed paper between the government and illegal armed groups” referring to the ongoing peace negotiations between the state and FARC.
In an attempt to have a greater significance in Colombian society, the producer called “artists of all genres and all regions,” so that in the end they have brought together musicians linked to pop, “but also urban music, folk singers and vallenato” between 16 and 81 years of age. It is this country-wide collaboration that has granted the song its optimistic character “that invites people to be able to believe that peace is possible.”
When constructing the message the organizers of the campaign felt that music was a good way to bring Colombian society together as it is one of the great points of contact for the country.
Furthermore, according to Benavides, the song sends the message that “peace is not something far away,” but “everybody’s business”.
In this regard the song can promote peace in “a different way because the music connects us all” in a manner that is not rational but emotional and sentimental.