MIAMI (CelebrityAccess) — As the COVID-19 pandemic began to take root in Colombia in March, Spin Agency, the Colombian branding and marketing agency, and Move Concerts Colombia teamed up to throw a lifeline to concert and event production staff in the form of La Morada.
The initiative, led by Nicolas Martinez, who is a marketing director at both companies and a partner at Spin, was prompted by the realization that production staff, known as Chinomatics in Colombia, receive income on a per-show basis and had received no help from the government.
“I found out that Teo Echevarria, our head of production and Maluma’s production manager, was linked to an association, IPEE – Industria de Produccion de Eventos y Espectaculos – a union for production personnel) that was compiling a database of all the Chinomatics who were going through a difficult time, and who were not even able to purchase basic food products for themselves and their families,” Martinez said. “To date, the database has a listing of more than 3,000 people.”
Using the compiled data, Martinez began working on a project – La Morada – that would create work for staff at Spin Agency and Move Concerts Colombia busy over the quarantine and help pay the office bills plus generate some basic assistance for the Chinomatics and their families.
La Morada is a digital space where people can access free entertainment content during the lockdown, while allowing those who are financially able to do so to donate money to provide a “cesta basica” (The monthly basic basket which contains the basics for a family: grains, eggs, tuna, essential hygienic products, etc.) for the Chinomatics and families.
Content offerings on La Morada include live music, comedy, yoga, psychology, meditation, fitness classes, cooking, video games, and interviews. Over 300 hours of free content was created for the initial life span of the project, which was originally programmed to run for one month until May 17. However, due to the response to La Morada, it has been extended through June 17th.
All the artists’ and professionals that appear in programming created for La Morada, including the likes of J Balvin, Juanes, Carlos Vives, and Fonesca among others, have donated their time and talent for free, either for performances or interviews.
As well many influencers, celebrities, professional chefs have also joined the effort, with programming ranging from Playstation Online football matches between Colombia and Peru, or production focused educational programming covering everything from rigging safety to production design led by Teo Echevarria.
Fernando Escobar, Talent Director for Move Concerts Colombia, who assumed the role of General Manager for La Morada said, “We are essentially running a TV station that airs on a digital platform and social media with a programming grid that extends 7 AM to 11 PM daily. This is non-stop.”
To date the project has donated over 900 food baskets out of a goal of 1,500 to hand out before the project ends and over 600,000 viewers across all the platforms (web, IG, social media) have visited La Morada.
La Morada, which kicked off on April 17, 2020, can be accessed by using either www.lamorada.com.co or IG #lamoradaco.
