When the Music Needs Us
Standing in Solidarity with Cali’s Artists, Musicians, Arts Educators, and Cultural Community
This initiative is deeply personal to me. Cali is my hometown, my first home before building a new life in the United States. It's where so much of my identity, my love for music, and my connection to community were first shaped.
Seeing people from my city suffer after the earthquake has been heartbreaking. Behind every image of damage, there are families, artists, musicians, educators, neighbors, friends, and communities trying to recover and rebuild. For me, this is not a distant story. It is about my people, my memories, and a place that will always remain part of who I am.
From Washington, D.C., I hope to use my voice and my connections within the arts and education community to help bring attention and support to those affected. Even from far away, I believe we can create bridges of solidarity, compassion, and action.
Cali will always be HOME, and when my community hurts, I feel that pain too.
Video Credits: TELEPACÍFICO
The emergency may have faded from the headlines. The recovery has not.
Following the devastating earthquake that affected Cali and communities throughout southwestern Colombia, thousands of people have faced the difficult process of rebuilding their homes, livelihoods, and everyday lives.
Among those affected are musicians, artists, arts educators, cultural workers, technicians, producers, and families whose work contributes every day to the extraordinary cultural identity of Cali and Colombia’s Pacific region.
Reconstruction is not only about rebuilding walls.
It is also about helping people rebuild their lives, their work, and the cultural ecosystems that hold communities together.
Photo credit: Sergio Lynch
In Collaboration with Grupo Bahía
I am sharing this campaign in collaboration with Grupo Bahía and Fundación Bahía Pacífico, an organization and musical community whose work I have known, followed, and deeply admired.
For many years, I have followed the artistic trajectory of Maestro Hugo Candelario González, founder and director of Grupo Bahía, whose lifelong work as a musician, composer, educator, researcher, and advocate for the musical traditions of Colombia’s Pacific region has helped preserve and bring this extraordinary cultural heritage to audiences in Colombia and around the world.
Through our recent conversations following the earthquake, Maestro Hugo Candelario and I agreed on something very important:
The initial wave of attention may eventually diminish, but our responsibility to advocate for our communities' well-being and solidarity should not.
Together, we decided to keep raising awareness and advocating for the musicians, artists, arts educators, cultural workers, and families still navigating the long process of recovery.
This campaign is part of that continuing commitment.
Photos Credit: Grupo Bahia
The People Behind the Music
Cali is internationally recognized for its extraordinary musical and cultural heritage.
Generations of Afro-Colombian musicians, traditional artists, dancers, educators, community leaders, cultural workers, and families have shaped its identity, connecting Cali with the Colombian Pacific.
Many artists and cultural workers depend on teaching, performances, festivals, community programs, rehearsals, workshops, cultural events, and independent creative work to earn a living.
When an earthquake damages a home, it can also damage an artist’s rehearsal space.
It can affect an educator’s ability to teach.
It can destroy instruments, equipment, materials, workspaces, or the economic stability that lets someone keep practicing their profession.
And long after emergency coverage ends, those losses remain.
That is why Fundación Bahía Pacífico and Grupo Bahía created a solidarity initiative to support members of the artistic and cultural community affected by the earthquake.
Listen to the Music Behind This Call for Solidarity
Music has always helped communities tell their stories, preserve memory, grieve, heal, celebrate, and rebuild.
For this moment, Maestro Hugo Candelario González has also created music connected to this call for solidarity.
I invite you to listen before continuing.
Music by Maestro Hugo Candelario González / Grupo Bahía
“Sometimes a song can communicate what statistics cannot.
Behind every number is a home, an educator, an artist, a musician, a family, and a story.”
Why I Am Sharing This Campaign
As a Colombian musician, arts educator, cultural strategist, and advocate for cross-cultural collaboration and educational partnerships, I believe our responsibility to the artistic community extends far beyond celebrating performances, festivals, school assemblies, concert tours, and cultural achievements. It is also about building meaningful connections, creating opportunities, preserving cultural heritage, and standing in solidarity with the artists, educators, and cultural practitioners whose creativity, knowledge, and dedication keep our musical traditions alive, especially when their communities face adversity.
Our commitment is also about building bridges of solidarity, preserving cultural heritage, amplifying voices, and standing alongside artists and communities when they need us most. Music and the arts are more than expressions of creativity and beauty. They connect generations, preserve collective memories, strengthen cultural identities, and offer hope, resilience, and healing during times of uncertainty.
Having been born and raised in Cali, Colombia, a city whose extraordinary musical heritage has profoundly shaped my identity as an artist and educator, I carry a deep sense of connection to the people and cultural traditions of my homeland. Although my professional journey has taken me to the United States, my roots remain firmly connected to Cali and the communities throughout Colombia whose creativity, resilience, and cultural richness continue to inspire my work.
Supporting those who dedicate their lives to music, education, and the arts is not simply an act of generosity. It is an expression of gratitude, shared humanity, and responsibility toward the communities that have shaped who we are.
This responsibility becomes especially meaningful when the people who have spent their lives bringing joy, inspiration, and cultural experiences to others suddenly find themselves facing hardship and uncertainty.
In the immediate aftermath of a disaster, an extraordinary wave of public attention, compassion, and generosity often emerges. Communities mobilize, stories are shared, and people come together to offer support.
But eventually, the headlines fade. News cycles move forward. Daily routines resume.
For those directly affected, however, the journey toward recovery is often only beginning.
Rebuilding a home, recovering essential equipment, restoring a livelihood, or returning to artistic and educational work can take months or even years. For musicians, artists, and cultural workers whose livelihoods depend on their instruments, creative spaces, and community networks, the consequences of a disaster can extend far beyond the initial emergency.
During these quieter moments, when public attention begins to diminish, sustained solidarity becomes especially important. Small acts of kindness, meaningful connections, and collective efforts can help ensure that affected communities are not forgotten.
Through my work connecting culture, education, artists, and communities between Latin America and the United States, I hope to help carry Grupo Bahía's solidarity initiative beyond geographic borders, reaching fellow educators, musicians, cultural organizations, and friends throughout the Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) region and beyond.
My hope is not only to encourage contributions but also to raise awareness, strengthen connections, and remind others that cultural solidarity does not end when a performance concludes, a festival closes, or a tragedy disappears from the headlines.
It continues through the relationships we nurture, the communities we support, and the bridges we choose to build.
Because when we stand with the people who make music possible, we help preserve not only their livelihoods but also the cultural voices, memories, and traditions that enrich our collective humanity.
The Arts Community Can Support the Arts Community
If you are a:
Musician
Music educator
Teaching artist
Artist
Arts administrator
Cultural organization
University or school
Ensemble
Producer
Cultural advocate
Member of the Colombian or Latin American diaspora
or simply someone who believes that CULTURE and ARTS matters…
I invite you to stand with us.
Your contribution does not have to be large.
Collective giving becomes powerful when many people participate.
And if donating isn't possible right now, sharing this campaign with your networks can also make an important difference.
Support the Fundación Bahía Pacífico Solidarity Campaign
DONATE NOW
You can make your contribution securely through Vaki, a crowdfunding platform widely used in Latin America.
In the most difficult moments, music brings us together, embraces us, and reminds us that there are always reasons to keep moving forward.
Today, those who have dedicated their lives to creating that hope also need our support. Together, we can stand alongside musicians, artists, technicians, producers, and music industry professionals affected by the earthquake in Colombia.
If you are able, please consider supporting this initiative. And if you are unable to contribute financially at this time, sharing this message is also a meaningful way to help.
Because we need music, and today, we have an opportunity to support those who make it possible. Every contribution and every act of solidarity makes a difference. 💛💙❤️
Donating from the United States or another country
International supporters can contribute directly through the campaign page.
Click DONATE NOW above.
Select “APORTAR” / “Contribute.”
Enter the amount you would like to give.
Provide your basic contributor information.
When asked for your country, select “Otro (Worldwide)” if you are outside Colombia or Mexico.
Choose the available international credit or debit card payment option.
Review your contribution and complete the payment.
Vaki will send a confirmation and receipt to the email address you provide.
Is Vaki safe?
Vaki is a crowdfunding platform that processes and organizes contributions while providing transparency to donors.
The platform publicly displays the amount raised by each campaign and uses established payment-processing services to handle transactions.
Vaki also verifies campaigns and beneficiaries. Before funds can be withdrawn from a verified campaign, Vaki requires documentation confirming the beneficiary and the bank account where the funds will be deposited.
This campaign is associated with Fundación Bahía Pacífico, and donations made through the Vaki link are processed through the official campaign page, not through Sandra Granobles or this website.
For additional peace of mind, you can always confirm that the web address begins with vaki.co before entering your payment information.
Your support goes beyond a donation
You can also help by sharing this campaign with:
musicians and artists
music and arts educators
universities and schools
arts and cultural organizations
Colombian and Latin American associations
community organizations
friends and colleagues who believe in the power of culture to strengthen communities
A donation of any size can help. Sharing the campaign can also introduce it to someone else who may be able to contribute.
From the DMV to Cali, every act of solidarity helps keep our cultural communities connected.
Music Has Always Carried Communities Through Difficult Times
For decades, Grupo Bahía and Maestro Hugo Candelario González have dedicated their work to sharing, teaching, preserving, and reimagining the musical heritage of Colombia’s Pacific region.
Today, music is once again becoming a bridge.
A bridge between those who need support and those who can help.
A bridge between Colombia and its diaspora.
A bridge between artists and audiences.
A bridge between empathy and action.
Please consider donating, listening, and sharing this campaign.
Because supporting culture also means supporting the people who keep culture alive.
With solidarity from Washington, D.C. to Cali and the Colombian Pacific
Sandra Granobles
Cultural Liaison | Music Educator | Cultural & Educational Partnerships
Washington, D.C. / Colombia
