Jessie Akin shows a day in the life of Folkhop, a band who busk for money on the trains through the suburbs of Buenos Aires. Folkhop is made up of two folk muscians – Francisco from Salta and Alejandro from Jujuy – and rapper Israel from Buenos Aires. Their music combines Argentine folk rhythms such as chacarera and samba with hip hop and the fusion of Buenos Aires’ street culture and folklore is also expressed through their lyrics. Both Francisco and Alejandro have been playing folk music for many years both in their native provinces and around Buenos Aires, and Israel has been rapping since he was 12 years old. The band, which can be heard every day on the Retiro-Tigre train, was formed two years ago, and they are currently recording a new album.
Rapper Israel
The band play in the train
Folkhop logo stuck on Alejandro’s traditional ‘bombo’
Francisco sings backing vocals
Passengers look on as Israel fuses hip hop vocals with folk rhythm
Francisco and Israel wait for the next train after a short rest
Israel looks at his fellow band members as the sing their interpretation of 'Ojos de Cielo'
Alejandro plays the bombo
Alejandro on lead folk vocals
Israel collects change from passengers
The band poses at San Isidro station before heading on to Tigre
Israel walks off the platform at Retiro into the night
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