The Pirate Media Economy and the Emergence of Quichua Language Media Spaces in Ecuador

Abstract

This paper gives an account of the pirate media economy of Ecuador and its role in the emergence of indigenous Quichua‐language media spaces, identifying the different parties involved in this economy, discussing their relationship to the parallel “legitimate” media economy, and considering the implications of this informal media market for Quichua linguistic and cultural reproduction. As digital recording and playback technology has become increasingly more affordable and widespread over recent years, black markets have grown up worldwide, based on cheap “illegal” reproduction of commercial media, today sold by informal entrepreneurs in rural markets, shops and street corners around Ecuador. Piggybacking on this pirate infrastructure, Quichua‐speaking media producers and consumers have begun to circulate indigenous‐language video at an unprecedented rate, helped by small‐scale merchants who themselves profit by supplying market demands for positive images of indigenous people. In a context of a national media that has tended to silence indigenous voices rather than amplify them, informal media producers, consumers and vendors are developing relationships that open meaningful media spaces within the particular social, economic and linguistic contexts of Ecuador.

Communication Networks, Cities and Informal Economies

“…11 Another example of a hybrid pirate circuit can be found in Floyd's (2008) research into the pirate economy of Quichua DVDs in Ecuador, which examines the production and circulation of low-budget videos, documentary films and music videos for an indigenous community that rarely has the opportunity to hear their own language on national TV. The economy is totally pirate, however the producers don't mind as they use the DVDs as a way to promote concerts and other events, which is where they make their money.…”

Bill Gates speaks K'ichee'! The corporatization of linguistic revitalization in Guatemala

“…They can also enhance community control of linguistic resources and make them easily available to members. The rise of pirate media in Ecuador, for example, shows how the emergence of new media technologies, even when controlled by corporate interests, can be subverted by indigenous communities and used for their own cultural and political agendas (Floyd, 2008). Furthermore, they can even reconcile the interests of academic linguists and activists, producing digital resources useful for both academic and pedagogical goals (Jaffe, 1999;Moore and Hennessy, 2006;Fernando et al 2010;Bischoff and Fountain, 2013).…”

Afecto y modalidad en la revalorización lingüística del kichwa del Alto Napo

“…La música y la musicalidad son campos importantes de la vida diaria en muchas casas de la región amazónica, pero esto también está cambiando, pues, hoy en día, mucho de la música que se oye en las casas kichwa de Napo son transmisiones radiales que emergen de celulares, radios portátiles y aparatos estereofónicos grandes. También suena música pregrabada, que circula por las comunidades en dispositivos USB, CD piratas (Floyd, 2008) y por internet. Algunas familias siguen haciendo música en casa o durante fiestas locales u otros eventos.…”