Last October I spent
two weeks in Colombia covering the underground hip-hop scene from Bogota to
Medellin. In the outskirts of Bogota is a majestic Spanish colonial pueblo named
"Chia" that’s hidden under the mountains like a precious jewel. It’s a tranquil
setting for one of Colombia’s most progressive deejays that goes by the tag name
of “DJ DHAGO”.
I
first heard of DJ DHAGO through the hip-hop group Tres Coronas (Parcero
Production), who call on DJ DHAGO’S turntable skills for their live
performances. He’s regarded as one of Latin America’s best deejays and was
recently crowned “Campeon Scratch Battle 2010” (Septimazo Bogota) in Colombia.
I spent the day with
DJ DHAGO, DJ DAP, and Renzo Devia taking photographs and learning the craft of
turntablism from two of Colombia’s finest. To get to their level of skills is
more than just a science, it’s a spiritual journey through music. One of my
favorite DJ DHAGO quotes is “El Turntablism es mi Religion…” on this memorable
day I was a deejay DHAGO disciple.
