CAMERINO No. 46 The Prodigy

At the beginning of 2019, the Estéreo Picnic Festival faced one of the most difficult situations in its history: the suicide of Keith Flint. The musician and frontman of the legendary British band The Prodigy, whose performance at the festival had already been confirmed and announced to the public, took his own life in the early hours of March 4, just 32 days before his concert in Colombia, leaving a huge void in the heart of the entire electronic music scene and an unprecedented challenge for the event organizers.

Without a doubt, The Prodigy was one of the most anticipated artists at the festival's tenth edition. And not only by the fans, but also by the bookers at Páramo Presenta, who had been trying for several years to bring this global rave icon to the country. But when things finally fell into place and everything was ready for an epic show, that tragic call came that changed everything: Keith Flint had died. His piercing voice and eccentric movements had come to an end, making us reflect once again on the eternal fragility and vulnerability of humankind.

Now, only a profound sadness remained, along with many unanswered questions: Would the festival be able to find an artist of The Prodigy's caliber to fill his place as the headliner? And if so, would it be possible to finalize such a crucial deal in less than a month? At this point, it wasn't simply a matter of finding a replacement. It had to be an artist of the same historical stature as The Prodigy, one who would pay true tribute, not just replace him.

There were several options under consideration, but after numerous meetings and intense internal deliberations, the chosen act for the tenth edition of the Estéreo Picnic Festival was Underworld. The duo of Karl Hyde and Rick Smith not only represented the vibrant scene that had helped build The Prodigy in England during the 90s, but their manager also had a background as a festival promoter. He was very understanding of the circumstances surrounding the invitation and readily accepted the conditions and the limited time they had to prepare the show.

In the end, despite not having a planned tour of Latin America, Underworld agreed to play an exclusive concert in Colombia. Their powerful beats and impressive light show transformed into a memorable party, "Un Mundo Distinto" (A Different World), which paid tribute to The Prodigy's legacy and the memory of Keith Flint as he surely would have wanted: experiencing the music in a frenetic night.