By Geovanny Cabezas Rodriguez
Discovering new cultures – through photography, music, film, or any other art form – and the way those cultures are presented often shapes how we understand them: what we imagine about their people, their values, even their safety. In Colombia’s case, the growing popularity of series such as Narcos has reanimated a global fascination with Pablo Escobar – trapping the country in a representational shorthand of violence and criminality in the rest of the world’s imagination. This hyperfixation on the country’s narcopolitics has overshadowed almost everything else about Colombia, good or bad. This fictional caricature has very real consequences. For years, this essentialist idea has made outsiders wary of visiting, investing, or imagining Colombia beyond its past. When a country is repeatedly depicted as dangerous and impoverished, it is unsurprising that such portrayals discourage people from visiting.
However, this narrative is changing. Over the past decade a new generation of artists and creatives have worked to rewrite the script – not by denying history but by painting their own future. For decades, Colombia’s global reputation was once defined almost entirely by the brutality of the Escobar period and the decades-long conflict between the state, cartels and armed groups. Colombia is increasingly seen as a country of festivals, films and galleries; a place where creativity and hospitality sit alongside resilience. The implications are not only cultural. A better story leading to positive PR can attract people – and investors.
From music stages to museum floors, Colombian creatives are reshaping how the world sees their country. Reggaeton musicians such as Feid, Karol G and J Balvin front a self-assured, modern Colombia that now exports rhythm, style and identity rather than headlines about conflict and gang violence. Feid’s rise has been particularly symbolic: he has been branded as the first Latin artist to curate his own stage at Japan’s Summer Sonic festival. On top of that, he has a collaboration with the French outdoor brand Salomon and he has turned a signature colour – the now-familiar “FERXXO green” – into shorthand for a broader aesthetic. Karol G, meanwhile, has crossed long-closed thresholds, from headlining Coachella to performing at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in Spanish. Years earlier, J Balvin’s Air Jordan 1 collaboration marked a breakthrough for Latin culture in global fashion, signalling that Colombian artists are now taking a seat at the design table.
But this cultural renaissance is not only musical. Filmmaker Ciro Guerra’s El abrazo de la serpiente (Embrace of the Serpent) – a stark meditation on colonialism and the Amazon — became the first Colombian film nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category and attracted much praise at Cannes. In the visual arts, Doris Salcedo’s monumental Shibboleth – a 548-foot crack running through the floor of London’s Tate Modern – confronted histories of exclusion and cemented her status as one of the world’s leading conceptual artists. Together, these figures offer a richer, truer picture of Colombia than the old clichés allowed.
Visibility matters because perception affects behaviour – and, ultimately, balance sheets. Colombia’s Orange Economy – what many nations simply call the creative economy – strategy to professionalise and export creative industries is now coming to full fruition. Cultural and creative activities have accounted for roughly 2.7% of national value added in recent years; in Bogotá the footprint is larger still, with 17.2 trillion pesos of value added in 2022, about 5.3% of the city’s economy. Digital markets amplify the effect: streaming makes up about 78.6% of recorded-music revenue in Colombia, around 10 percentage points higher than the global average, helping local artists reach overseas audiences quickly and monetise at scale.
A sold-out arena night doesn’t just fill seats – it supports crews, sellers and a network of small creative firms. Investors interpret these signals as performance and audience depth, which in turn reduces the risk of future sponsorship and co-production agreements. Feid’s curated stage in Tokyo or a J Balvin sneaker selling out in Paris are not mere stunts; they function as market tests which expand Colombia’s commercial reach. The challenge now is to turn these milestones into recurring opportunities – touring circuits, festival residencies, export-ready labels – so the industry’s growth compounds rather than fades.
However, despite a massive surge in popularity, the benefits of the success of Columbia’s creative industry are not shared evenly within the country. According to the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce, nearly 55% of Colombia’s creative-industry value added is concentrated in Bogotá, with much of the remainder centred in Medellín. Outside those hubs, recording studios, venues and cultural infrastructure remain scarce, limiting participation and regional diffusion. The new cultural economy has improved global perception, but it risks reinforcing domestic inequality if the ecosystem remains narrow.
There is a second caution. Cultural booms are, by nature, temporary. Trends shift; audiences move on. The current wave of global attention cannot be Colombia’s only economic engine. Relying on a handful of stars to sustain interest risks turning national reputation into a passing trend rather than a durable asset. To keep momentum, Colombia needs the endlessly repeated yet nevertheless essential work: investment in education and regional creative hubs, better infrastructure, stronger intellectual-property rules, and policies that help small creative firms access finance and export markets. The aim is resilience so that when playlists change, Colombia’s cultural and economic relevance endures.
In short, Colombia’s cultural renaissance has achieved what decades of attempts to reshape Colombia’s image struggled to do: it has shifted the lens from fear to fascination. That is real progress. But perception, on its own, is not prosperity. Converting cultural capital into broad-based opportunity will decide whether this moment becomes a growth model, or just another story or trend that faded as soon as the music became passé.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own, and may not reflect the opinions of The St Andrews Economist
Photo credit: Complex – Colombian singer and songwriter Feid is photographed with Salomon sneakers, reflecting the brand’s collaboration and the cultural significance of the partnership.