Since I came to this platform, I confessed that one of the rhythms that I like the most is the Ska, for that same reason I published several articles related to this genre. Also for this reason this post of today is going to be a bit longer than usual for #danceweekend and I will separate each language in a individual publication.

There is a saying that says "Do what you love, and you'll never work another day in your life." I've had that luck and most of my life I've been in what I like, and that's why I've developed in almost all areas related to music and I've liked them all.

Among those activities is also included Artist management and I also had the opportunity to do it with one of the most important groups of the ska world scene, the Venezuelan group Desorden Público, one of my favourite bands.

^Source

¡La versión en español está disponible en este enlace!

Deutsche Version bald zur Verfügung!

I still remember the day I saw them for the first time performing on television. They were still a few boys playing rebellion, with a rather crude sound, a punk rock scene and a little bit naive global concept. But it was the first group that was completely dedicated to ska and I liked that already.

In 1985, which is when the group was born, I had already 3 years of professional experience in music and had an event production company. So at the first opportunity that was presented to me, I hired them and our first contact was established.

The name "Desorden Público" (Public Disorder) was selected as the opposite to "Orden Público" (Public Order) which was the motto of the National Guard, which was responsible for repression

Group origins

^{Dick Pérez, image of Desorden Público (Source)}

Something that is often criticized, can eventually become something admirable. When they started with the group neither Horacio Blanco nor José Luis Chacín "Caplis" they knew how to play any instrument, but they dedicated themselves to learning and, without a doubt, they learned ... In that sense it is funny a story that Once commented Caplis, about Antonio Rojas, who was guitarist of the band at the beginning, is that he had studied a bit of guitar and he knew some scales well, so to them he seemed to be like an enlightened one, like a master.

But the initiative to create a band, had been developing from the moment these two boys formed their discplay, which was called "Aseo Urbano", which played punk and British ska music, new wave and reggae, which were the rhythms that, in short, marked the course of this Caracas group.

When joined Danel Sarmiento "Dan Lee" on drums, Oscar Alcaíno "Oscarelo the magníficent" on percussion, Víctor Contreras on keyboards and Francisco Núñez "Kico" on sax, the group was conformed, and they quickly sneaked in the programming of night venues, punk parties and some theaters.

The transnational record labels had the "bad habit" of settling in countries like ours, only to sell their foreign products and signed some national artists, only to "justify" their presence in the country. With that spirit they signed in 1988 this group, that had been acquiring prestige in the Venezuelan music scene and, surprisingly, achieved sales levels that the label was not expected. The success in the radio was immediate and the group happened to enter completely in the Venezuelan show business.

Raw lyrics, humorous and highly critical politically became the central axis of the group's lyrics, as in the case of "Políticos Paralíticos" (Paralytic Politicians):

^{Desorden Público, 1988}	^{Yo quisiera que los políticos fueran, fueran paraliticos Evitaríamos que nos robaran y que luego corriendo se largaran, evitaríamos que nos estafaran y se rieran en nuestras caras...}	^{I wish the politicians to be paralytic We would avoid being robbed and then they run away, we would avoid being cheated by them while laughing in our faces...}

The entry of new members, some with much more experience and musical training, leads them to search for new sounds and concepts. The recording of a second album is then considered, under the production of Gerry Weil, a prominent musician, educator and jazzist. It is the album "En Decomposición", which, despite being the album that the group least likes, seems to me to lay the foundations for what would be the original, mature sound of the group from then on. And it is precisely that disc that opens the doors to internationalization.

This stage is framed in the need to leave the country looking for economic alternatives, which is well explained in the reference of the Wikipedia in Spanish It says:

A terrible economic crisis ravages Venezuela, the generalized inflation shoots up the prices until the clouds, and the industry of the disc and the spectacle suffer hard dejected.
In this period the group begins its projection in the international ska movement, and begin to be the target of numerous interviews for skazines and fanzines of Hispano-America, the USA and Europe. In addition, a song from the album "En Decomposición" called Ska de Acá is included by a German label in a ska compilation of the world (United Colors of Ska, by Pie).

The world projection has led them to work with the best musicians and groups of the genre, as well as with the most outstanding musical producers.

The successes have been countless, however the theme "Allá cayó" (There he fell) has been the song that became the "anthem" of the group.

Allá cayó

What about me?

The year 2002 was a politically complicated year in Venezuela and a high level of conflict. Just that year they raised me the possibility of becoming their manager. I accepted and was with them for a year with that work.

That year, as a response to the country's conflict, they recorded for the first time with Pablo Dagnino, singer of a legendary rock band in Venezuela, "Sentimiento Muerto", the song "Mirándonos" (Looking at us), with the goal to contributing to "pacifying" the environment .

Mirándonos feat, Pablo Dagnino (Sentimiento Muerto)

We also started the plans of the celebration of the group's 18 years that would be fulfilled in 2003 and it was when I talked them the possibility of doing it in the Teresa Carreño Theater, the most important in the country. At that time it still seemed impossible for Desorden to play in that place, but we began conversations with the theater and, although I was not at the front of the celebration anymore, the event was held there.

Those were times of changes of members in the group, back to presentations in the United States and a re-boost of the group.

Nowadays Desorden Público enjoys a great international prestige in that genre and in any part of the world that they perform, they make everyone dance.