The Colombian Space Communication Centre, which was opened on March 25, 1970, near the town of Chocontá, was a source of national pride and a popular tourist attraction. But its giant satellite dishes became obsolete and dilapidated with the passing of time. A monument of progress became a majestic ruin, symbolising the unfulfilled hopes of the twentieth century. The Colombian creative duo Calderón & Piñeros (La Decanatura) is particularly interested in the contradictory nature of progress and its consequences. For their video about the Space Centre, the duo engaged a local youth orchestra to perform something like a sentimental requiem for the captivating image of a future that never became the present. Gloomy weather adds to the atmosphere of the piece: the mountainous landscape seems poised to swallow up the abandoned research complex.

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