In the text, the Colectivo Des-carrilados (created in 2005) describes the project they selected to submit to the curators of the XI Salón Regional de Artistas Zona Pacífica (2005)—entitled 7 (Salón) de Octubre Zona Pacífica—as a proposal with origins in the community. This was somewhat sui generis for Cali, since the artists were focusing on the public space, the history of a working class neighborhood, and the memories of its inhabitants. The group performed several events with the community, but the most significant was El tren de los curados, work done for a thesis, presented by the group at the Instituto Popular de Cali (IPC). (The IPC is a public agency that has been providing informal, traditional art training to working class residents of Cali since 1947.) In general, an important aspect of the projects is that they seek to question the traditional art instruction imparted at the institution. In particular, the project El tren de los curados arose from a work of ethnographic research performed in the Jorge Isaac’s neighborhood (and adjacent areas in Northeast Cali). This is an important district in Cali history, because several blocks disappeared in the event known as the “Cali Explosion,” when six trucks loaded with dynamite that were located near the Cali Railroad Station exploded (on August 7, 1956).
For the eleventh round of the regional artists salons (2006)—in the framework of the 40 Salón Nacional de Artistas (that same year)—, the Ministry of Culture of Colombia (the organizing agency) asked the various regions to submit curatorial projects. The Salón de Octubre Zona Pacífica (which includes the departments of Chocó, Cauca, and Valle del Cauca) emerged from a union between what was called the Salón de Octubre (organized by the Cali Chamber of Commerce) and the Salón Regional de Artistas (organized by the Ministry of Culture). In 2005, at the time of the seventh presentation of the Salón de Octubre, its structure was radically changed, starting with the name, 7 (Salón) de Octubre (with “Salón” crossed out and in parentheses). That was when it went from issuing a traditional invitation to submit works to organizing a specifically curatorial event. That year, the theme for both individual and group projects was art and city history.
As of 2007, the members of the Colectivo Des-carrilados were: Diana Carolina Torres (b. 1979), Viviana Guarnizo (b. 1982), Florencia Mora (b. 1956), Alfonso Correa Valencia (b. 1983), Jaes Caicedo (b. 1980), and Gonzalo González (b. 1960), all Colombian artists. The Colectivo Des-carrilados participated in the X Bienal de La Habana (2009) with Proyecto P5 and in the 41 Salón Nacional de Artistas (2008−9). It also submitted the proposals Canómada and Poética de la Calle (2006) to the Programa ProCurar 2006 at the Fundación Lugar a Dudas in Cali.