The series is inspired by the music and trajectory of ChocQuibTown, offering a look at racism in Latin America and what it means to be Afro-Latino.
Sony Pictures Television (SPT) Latin America, today announced during the American Black Film Festival (ABFF) the development of Somos Los Prietos (We are the Black Ones), a new drama series inspired by Afro-Colombian Sony Music Latin group, ChocQuibTown.
The project is being developed in coordination with Sony Music Latin and marks the first cross-company collaboration (referred to as “One Sony” internally) between SPT international production and Sony Music in Latin America. The series is inspired by the music and trajectory of ChocQuibTown, offering a look at racism in Latin America and what it means to be Afro-Latino.
“We are thrilled to partner with Sony Music Latin and ChocQuibTown to develop this project with the aim of shedding light on a taboo topic in Latin America: Racism,” said Ana Bond, SVP and MD, International Production and US Hispanic, SPT.
“Latin America’s music is astonishingly diverse, and so much of it is influenced by the historical Afro-roots in the region. ChocQuibTown’s Colombian Pacific genre enters the spectrum of popular music, and it’s a point of pride for a population that has long been relegated. It is important for us to be able to share this story with our diverse audiences, especially as the discussion of race and discrimination in the global landscape are front and center.”
“Diversity is the biggest advantage that Latino culture has. Telling a story of inclusion and fighting racism with ChocQuibTown and Sony Pictures will be a milestone in our industries,” said Alejandro Jiménez, VP A&R, Sony Music Latin – Iberia.
The project will be written by award-winning Afro-Venezuelan writer, playwright, film and tv scriptwriter, Karin Valecillos (“El Amparo,” “Luis Miguel, La Serie”). “Somos Los Prietos” takes place in Condoto, a town in the Colombian Pacific, where a group of adolescent friends of Black race and Afro-Latin descent will find a way to get rid of the recruitment of armed commandos in their area or the determinism of poverty, pursuing the idea of forming a musical band and be part of a festival organized by their favorite group: ChocQuibTown. Along the way they will confront their family, friends, underhanded racism, the power of violence and their own fears to finally define their identity and find their place in the world.
Choc (Choco) Quib (Quibdó) Town (our town), is a Colombian hip hop and alternative music group. Internationally renowned, their mixture of urban sounds and folklore from the Pacific coast led them to success independently at their start and now, together with Sony Music Latin, they have become ambassadors of Colombian music around the world. Their sound fuses funk, hip hop, reggae, pop, and elements of electronic music to produce elaborate beats. ChocQuibTown are winners of two Latin GRAMMY® Awards and multiple nominees for the prestigious GRAMMYs® Awards.
