Ciudad Espesa (Dark City) Radio Drama

Ciudad Espesa was the result of a year of community dialogues and regional workshops held as part of the Our Voices Educational Entertainment (EE) and community mobilisation methodology developed and promoted by Media Impact globally. Drawing on stories gathered in meetings with audiences in cities throughout Bolivia, Dark City is designed to capture and represent the real life experiences and stories of its listeners and how they survive in a climate of political corruption, exclusion, and intolerance. According to PCI-Media Impact, because of this process, the audience identifies with the characters and adopts the behaviour changes promoted in the drama.

Ciudad Espesa was recorded and broadcast in Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara (two indigenous dialects), and thirty-five stations throughout Bolivia are broadcasting the show. The drama takes place in a fictional city in the heart of Latin America; a marginalised space characterised by the indifference shown to it by the metropolis. It is a place where extortion, kickbacks, and corruption dominate, and where its mayor, Celia Lima, faces a daunting challenge in managing the crumbling bureaucracy that governs it. It is the kind of place where Margarita, a struggling law student, must also work at a nightclub called "The Rose", just to support herself. When Margarita is murdered, her friends Ursula and Pacheco develop a plan to catch her suspected killer. In their quest, the team must overcome prejudice, fear, and corruption to stand up for what is right.

Governance, Corruption

PCI-Media Impact's Our Voices programme is a 3-year initiative to strengthen the capacity and independence of community radio stations in Bolivia. The programme strives to build the professionalism of Bolivian radio stations to broadcast high-quality independent programming in native languages; strengthen networking among community radio stations; increase access of indigenous Bolivian citizens to independent media; and improve understanding of media freedom and civic participation among indigenous Bolivian citizens.