ROCK AL PARQUE BOGOTA, COLOMBIA

“It’s the largest system we’ve ever brought to Colombia. Almost 150 acoustic enclosures”

Rock al Parque is a rock festival held annually in Bogotá since 1995, except for the pandemic years. In 2025 it reached its 29th edition, consolidating its position as the largest free music event in Latin America. It was also the first time the festival was powered by DAS Audio systems.

Over three days, from 21 to 23 June, 40 music groups performed on the stages of Simón Bolívar Park. The edition gathered more than 250,000 people over the weekend.

Headlining the bill were emblematic bands from the Colombian scene such as La Derecha and Don Tetto, alongside internationally renowned artists including Los Cafres (Argentina), A.N.I.M.A.L. (Argentina), Los de Abajo (Mexico), El Cuarteto de Nos (Uruguay), Black Pantera (Brazil) and Madball (USA).

Our sound systems were deployed on two of the three stages of the festival, in a large-scale technical set-up. The event also marked the debut of LARA systems in Colombia and MARA systems in Latin America.

This milestone was made possible thanks to the impeccable joint work of Stage Entertainment, the company in charge of the technical production, and Gómez Naranjo Ltda., DAS Audio’s official distributor in Colombia. Both companies played a key role in planning, logistical coordination and project execution, leading one of the most complete and demanding deployments ever undertaken by DAS Audio in the region.

As Fernando Nanao, part of DAS Audio’s technical support team for Latin America, noted: “We were using the largest system we’ve ever brought to Colombia. Almost 150 acoustic enclosures to cover a huge area. It’s a really big event”.

Juan Antonio Carulla, director of the music-dedicated channel El Enemigo, summed it up: “Rock al Parque is definitely a benchmark both locally and regionally. Possibly the largest free rock festival of all, the one that draws the most people—around 300,000 attendees. Every year, people come to Rock al Parque”.

More than 250,000 attendees in a vast venue surrounded by residential areas

The 2025 edition of Rock al Parque required a production of enormous scale. In just three days, the festival brought together more than 250,000 people, demanding clear, powerful and even sound coverage across the two stages managed by DAS Audio.

Simón Bolívar Park, located in the heart of Bogotá, covers more than 113 hectares and is surrounded by residential areas and buildings. Within this space lies the Plaza de Eventos, with a capacity for around 100,000 people. This urban context demanded a solution capable of covering long distances without affecting adjacent areas.

As Julio Correal, co-creator of the festival, pointed out: “People want to feel it hit their chest—you know? If sound has no power, it has no impact. You need power across subwoofers, mids, highs—everything. That’s what really moves people. Rock and roll needs emotion, and sound delivers that emotion”.

Juan Camilo Fernández, system tech for the event, explained that our sound system was key for both its power and its resilience: “It has an impressive throw capability and performs really well over long distances. It’s a very powerful and solid system. We’re talking about an event that can hold 80,000 to 90,000 people under very rough conditions. It’s sunny, then it rains, then sunny again—and the system holds up incredibly well. It’s very stable”.

“What I really love about these systems is that they are cardioid, reflections from the rear are minimised”

Our systems played a leading role on two of the three stages of the festival, with configurations tailored to the specific needs of each area and the scale of the event.

On the main stage, the sound structure consisted of 28 LARA-80 and eight LARA-100, supported by 24 flown LARA-SUB and another 20 stacked on the ground. Four LARA 100 units were used as front fill.

The delays were positioned in two strategic points: the first with 20 LARA-80, four LARA-100 and 12 LARA-SUB; the second with 20 MARA-100 and six LARA-SUB. This configuration ensured clear and powerful coverage over a vast area. Fernando Nanao commented: “With three clusters and delays, we covered about 311 metres. It’s a considerable distance, but the most important thing was that the audio reached with full force”.

The mixing area featured two ARA-P28.74 and two SARA-SUB. Stage monitoring was handled by 12 ARA-M210. “The monitor system was incredible. You could feel the guitar vibrating through the floor and the kick drum in your chest”, said Antonio Urdaneta, leader of the Bogotá-based band Urdaneta.

On the second stage, the system included 28 AERO-50 (14 per side), 32 LX-218A subwoofers with the support of People Light, 14 AERO-20A for front fill and eight AERO-12 for side fill.

The cardioid design of the LARA and MARA systems ensured high sound pressure and clarity while minimising spill into undesired areas—vital in an urban setting like Simón Bolívar Park. As Geovanni Ortiz, from DAS Audio USA’s technical support team, noted: “What I really love about these systems is that they are cardioid, reflections from the rear are minimised”.

Jaime Dussan, manager of Stage Entertainment, added: “As you can hear, we’re right next to the stage, and you barely notice the sound thanks to the cardioid system. It prevents the rear from being loud and overwhelming so people can actually talk backstage, and all the sound projects forward, as it should”.

Fernando Cabrera, FOH sound engineer for Don Tetto, highlighted the confidence the system gave him: “When I saw on the rider that the system was LARA, I felt at ease, because I’ve had great experiences with it in other countries. It’s not the same as just hearing about it—you have to test it yourself. Not just hearing it, but pushing it: What happens if I do this? What happens if I do that? And having it respond beautifully. It’s extremely rewarding for any engineer or audio operator”.

“If it handles this festival, it handles everything”

The 2025 edition of Rock al Parque set a new benchmark for DAS Audio in large-scale outdoor events. The response from technicians, musicians and attendees was unanimous: the system delivered power, clarity and reliability in a highly demanding environment.

The combination of cardioid technology, even sound pressure and long-distance coverage allowed every corner of the venue to be reached with exceptional sound quality. “From day one there was a reaction from the audience, from the musicians, from the technicians… Everyone was impressed by the sound”, summarised Juan Camilo Fernández.

Álvaro Llano, professional audio consultant, noted: “I was really impressed by the headroom—tons of it. Even when they were pushing it hard, I could see there were still 12 to 14 dB of headroom before any amplifier clipped. That really surprised me”.

José David Romero, engineer for the band Piel Camaleón, shared his experience: “I find this sound system extremely interesting. I had never heard it before, and the moment I opened the master fader, I instantly felt everything I had imagined in my headphones before. It really has a wide dynamic range”.

Juan Camilo Fernández also praised the ALMA software: “When you’re tuning a system, you need tools that simplify your life and your workflow. ALMA is lightweight, user-friendly, with a very simple graphic interface, which is really appreciated because it lets you work efficiently and intuitively”.

Finally, he summed up the impact of DAS Audio’s systems with one clear statement: “If it handles this festival, it handles everything”.