They initially sought to gain the support of Bogota's Institute of Culture and Tourism, to help establish the festival.

It was held across several venues including 'La Media Torta', Simón Bolívar Park, the 'Olaya Herrera' stadium, and the 'Santa María Bullfighting' ring.

The last venue asked for admission fees, and was excluded after 1996 to keep the festival free of charge.

Rather than grouping genres together, the festival's organizers promoted diversity by scheduling different types of musicians to participate alongside one another.

After 1997, artists were selected by a jury after an open multi-stage process (pre-selection, presentation and live auditions).