ABSTRACT
On Valentine’s Day in 2002, I attended a concert of Ecuadorian popular music (EPM) at the Coliseo Julio César Hidalgo, an aging sports arena located in Quito’s historical center. The event was organized by Radio Presidente, a local AM station known as “the taxi driver’s radio station.” Tickets were $3 for general admission and $5 for assigned seating. The concert, scheduled for noon, started an hour late due to sound problems. Several EPM artists and bands participated, some with a long trajectory in the entertainment business and others amateur musicians trying to get their artistic career off the ground. They performed a varied repertoire of tecnocumbias, rocolera songs, and chichera music. Some sang to backing tracks, while others played live. The song lyrics addressed heartbreak and longing for loved ones who had left the country in the aftermath of the economic crisis that affected people from all walks of life. At times, the sound system did not work well, to the audience’s dismay. It was obvious that a local liquor company had sponsored this concert because two huge plastic bottles bearing the liquor brand’s logo flanked the stage and informal vendors circulated the premises selling the product, in addition to sodas and typical snacks.
