"Pilot" one of the best b-boys in Bogota, elevating his weight on the stop pole in one of the oldest colonial barrios in Colombia, La Candelaria.

A grafitti writer tags on a building during a free concert in "the Little Bronx of Colombia", forgotten streets of Colombia infested with drugs and gamins roaming the streets of Bogota. The hip hop community organized free concert on theme entitled "Respect to Life" for the people living in this area.

Diana and Lucia, a rap group known as Por Rasones de Estado, perform at a free concert themed ÒRespect to All Life." This concert was organized by three hip hop groups uniting efforts for the kids and people of this forgotten part of the city, known as "the little Bronx of Colombia," or ÒEl Cartucho,Ó infested with drugs and violence. Diana and Lucia are 19 years old, still going to college and working on putting their demo out.

A break freeze with B-boy ÒPilotÓ and ÒElÓ, two well known b-boys strike a pose with a former dancer now homeless resident living in the street of "little Bronx of Colombia," an area in the city of Bogot‡ infested with drugs and gamins.

Children from the neighborhood watch as a teenager freestyles while the other sniffs glue during the set up of a Hip Hop street concert themed " Respect to All Life."

Colombia's youth hanging out in a run down building in an area knows as ÒEl CartuchoÓ or "The Little Bronx of Colombia" where drugs are always accessible and streets are filled with gamins.

Residents of these forgotten streets gather around for a free hip hop concert organized by three conscious hi hop groups coming together for a common cause, ÒRespect to All Life.Ó

Flaco Flow & Melanina, one of the most popular rappers in Colombia, record a sample song for their music compilation CD in Switzerland. They are the only group to have traveled twice to Switzerland through a non- profit organization serving displaced people of color. They hope to break through the hip-hop market in Europe with their upcoming CD.

Walter Fernandez, a DJ for a weekly hip hop station at the House of Culture in innercity SUBA, an established hip hop information center in Bogota's Casa de Cultura de Suba. Here kids can record music, read magazines and use the internet to learn about underground hip-hop and life skills.

Murals with political satires and graffiti fill the walls of the most preserved streets of La Candelaria, one of Colombia's colonial barrios and the oldest part of the city of Bogot‡.

Batalla, a member of Cescru Enlace, among the few established hip hop groups in Bogot‡, sits in front of his clothing store "Vietnam" in San Andresito's shopping center in the capital city of Bogot‡. They are one of the few hip hop groups carving out a living through hip hop by selling hip hop clothes in their store and being owners of an independent record label.

B-Boy ÒPilotÓ break dancing and earning his daily living while the traffic light is red at one of Bogot‡'s busy intersections.

Fondo Blaco, a rap group since 1990, in the city of Bogota, Colombia. This is one of many hardcore rap groups with explicit lyrics against the Colombian government and a completely independent.

Onlookers watch as the Colombian soldiers vacate indigents from Òel CartuchoÓ an area of Bogot‡ that has been infested with drugs and gamins roaming the streets.

Even in the mountains of Bogota, hip hop can be heard within the walls of these homes.

Por Rasones de Estado and Cescru Enlace, two rap groups, have a freestyle session and practice for their upcoming performance in an apartment in Bogota. Both groups possess a strong political ideology against the Colombian government and want to bring hip hop to the forefront as an emerging culture from the streets.

Rap group, La Sepia, hang out and smoke while waiting to record their CD in Bogot‡. They arrived from Medellin, the second largest city after Bogot‡, to record. Rappers often times move to the capital because there is more movement and availability of resources among the rap community.

Camaraderie is the code of staying alive in Colombia when living in these unforgiving streets, Nariño Sur Colombia.

Backstage, two MC's get ready to perform on the last day of Soacha's Hip Hop Festival--"Que no Calle el Arte de la Calle" - "Don't Stop the Art of the Streets." Each weekend in February celebrates the four elements of hip hop; graffiti, breakdancing, MC'ing, and DJ'ing and invites the best local talent.

"Que no Calle el Arte de la Calle" is a Hip hop Festival in Soacha celebrating a month long gathering around the four elements of hip hop, including graffiti. This celebration featured some of the best local talents and was sponsored by cultural organizations of Soacha.

The finalists of the break-dancing battles compete to win in the "Que no Calle el Arte de la Calle" Hip Hop festival (Don't Stop the Art of the Streets). It's the 4th Hip Hop Festival in Soacha and each weekend in February celebrates the elements of hip hop; graffiti, breakdancing, MC'ing, and DJ'ing.

An All Day Hip Hop Concert in Funtibon showcasing up and coming local talents. The theme of the concert is "Cuando Las Calles Hablan," "When Streets Talk."

The hyped audience cheers the last hip hop act performing at Funtibon's Hip Hop Concert. Each year the hip-hop movement continues to grow but is not yet taken seriously in society. Rap al Parque, the biggest Hip Hop event of the year in Colombia, attracts15, 000 people yearly.

A room filled with graffiti walls surrounds b-boy ÒPilotÓ in Narino Sur, Bogot‡ where he resides. His sanctuary is inside these four walls that he calls home.

A night scene outside in Soacha, a city out on the outskirts of Bogota that supports hip hop as a powerful alternative for Colombian youth.