Hand-painted sound systems, often adorned with dazzling colours and striking imagery, each with its own name and sonic identity: for decades, the Picó mobile discos have become the heart of neighbourhood bailes on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. The sounds of genres like champeta, highlife, soukous, mbaqanga, zouk, soca, and cumbia would turn every street corner, market, and terrace into a dancefloor.
For Le Guess Who? 2025, Berlin-based Colombian DJ, producer, and curator Edna Martinez brings the sonic journey into the electrifying world of Picó to Utrecht. Today, she releases the compilation album Picó: Sound System Culture From The Colombian Caribbean via Strut Records.
From its roots in the working-class neighbourhoods of Colombia’s Caribbean coast to its deep connections with Africa and the Caribbean, this compilation captures the pulse of a culture where music is played at full volume, rhythms travel across oceans, and dance is both a form of celebration and storytelling.
Initially built by local craftsmen using modified speaker components, Picós became legendary for their powerful bass and exclusivity, with DJs sourcing rare vinyl from African and Caribbean ports and rebranding them with unique piconemas—new names adapted to local slang, making the tracks instantly recognisable within the community.
Edna Martinez presents a special program about Picó culture from the Colombian Caribbean at Le Guess Who? on Saturday, 8 November in Utrecht, The Netherlands. It features performances by ARN4L2, BCLIP, Edna Martinez, Nayi Lokura and Wilfred Guerrero (El Dragón) as well as the Colombia-built La Saramuya picó.
