Ai-Maako: The Super Electroacoustic Festival with a Strange Name

Abstract This article examines the most renowned electroacoustic music festival in Chile so far, from its first edition in 2001 to 2012, when its continuity was interrupted. It focuses on two aspects that appeared relevant and took place consistently during the period under study: (1) the generation of networks, circulations and aesthetic crossovers that were favoured by the festival; and (2) the perspective of the electroacoustic concert as a space for research and experimentation in devices and formats deemed appropriate for a particular experience of music. To this end, primary and archival sources of the article’s author as well as other direct participants in the festival’s organisation were reviewed. Based on this, the relevance of these types of activities in the dissemination of these art forms is determined, as well as the need for proper management to grow and consolidate these spaces.