During the nineteenth century, there was a large       migration of slaves to Latin America, especially to Brazil,       Ecuador, Peru and Colombia. To this latter nation came a group       from the Congo, to a town known today as Villa Rica, close to the       coast and 36km from Cali (Colombia).
       
       Interview: Pablo Sabugo
       Photos: Eddie-Lee Lawrence
       
       From that moment onwards these Africans, and later their       descendents, have had to fight against a series of problems that       have presented themselves throughout their history and which are       today more apparent than ever. One of the descendents of these       slaves is Jota Ramos, a young man of 24 years who, through       hip-hop, is speaking out against the injustices that his people       are suffering. A student of political science at the University of       Santiago de Cali, Jota started to sing and protest from an early       age against the inequalities that existed in his town, and       together with friends created the group 'Soporte Klan'.
       
       As time went on they became famous in the local area and       nationwide.  This situation started to create problems with the       people and groups who were blamed in the band's message, so much       so that even Jota Ramos began to receive death threats. In light       of these threats, he decided to leave his country with the       intention of telling the world about what is happening in Villa       Rica.  He began a tour in March this year called "Haga que pase"       ('Make it Happen') that has taken him to diverse countries such as       Argentina, Uruguay and Spain, amongst others.
       
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       Without doubt the music has been very effective at reaching the       youth. A while ago the Catholic Church had a priest who sang       reggaeton, and got closer to young people this way.
       
       Exactly, it's a good medium. Now, with regard to the Church, it       makes me laugh, because previously they said that hip hop and rap       were the work of the Devil, but when they realised the power of       this music, there began to appear many Christians with huge       followings making religious hip hop.
       
       Another of your criticisms is that young people absorb everything       that the mass media shows them.
       
       Today the media is controlled by capitalism, a model that I don't       agree with. Through this strategy the media influence the youth       and control them. The people hang off the media's every word, and       end up losing their own customs and culture. In Villa Rica you can       sometimes see fashions and you don't know where they've come       from.  For this reason we have a programme where we give cameras       to young people, telling them, "Record your reality, record what       is happening to you".
       
       In this way we take advantage of technological advances and we are       educating more. While before kids used to play outside, what       happens today is they're now addicted to Playstations or some       other type of video game.  Before, kids used to make up games and       play in the street more.  It's even worse in the cities.
       
       Have any of you been victims of paramilitary violence?
       
       In 2007 I was at a party in a place called "paso de la bolsa" near       Villa Rica, in an area controlled by the paramilitaries, which I       didn't realise at the time.  On the way back I was leaving to take       my car, and when I was walking in the street I found myself in       front of a paramilitary group, and I was scared.
       
       They stopped me and started to ask me a lot of questions, like who       I was, where I was going, etc.  I'm very well known in the area       and told them I was Jota Ramos from Villa Rica and that I didn't       want any problems. They carried on asking what I was doing at that       time of night.  Suddenly, one of them appeared with a machete and       started to attack me with it.
       
       I managed to dodge the first blow, but the second cut my fingers.       I didn't lose them, but I was left with injuries, and even now I       have mobility problems in some of them, and on one finger they had       to attach a wood extension.  I was also left with scars on other       parts of my body.
       
       How did you survive?
       
       Luckily their boss arrived and they stopped abusing me. I told       them I was from Villa Rica, and they told me to leave straightaway       or they would kill me.  Totally confused (because they'd also hit       me with the butt of a pistol), I ran away hearing shots; later I       reached a bridge a kilometre away, in an Army-controlled zone.       There they helped me and called an ambulance.
       
       They also asked who had done it to me. I told them what happened,       but they didn't do anything. The truth is that I don't understand       why they didn't kill me – normally you don't come out of that type       of situation alive.
       
       After this I started a campaign called "Youth Not War", because       the people who'd done this to me were adolescents, as young as me,       and through this I met people from War Resisters International. I       travelled throughout Colombia, with big concerts in Cali,       Medellín, etc. I'd recently had an operation and did the concerts       wearing bandages and everything. The tools I used to carry my       message were art and culture.
       
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