2024 Women of Live International: Luz Angela Castro Almanya

Director | OCESA Entertainment Colombia
Bogotá, Colombia

If a major publication names you CEO of the Year, you’re obviously doing big things. That was the honor Forbes Colombia bestowed to Luz Ángela Castro Almanya, an exec who has helped put the South American country on the live entertainment map.

For over a decade, Castro Almanya and her team at OCESA have worked with local authorities to facilitate policies, attract more artists and develop a vision in entertainment sponsorship brands that not only generate revenue but build relationships. The hard work paid off as Colombia has become a popular destination for the world’s biggest acts.

“When you achieve epic firsts like Madonna in Medellín in 2012 and the following years with U2, Coldplay, Rolling Stones, Foo Fighters, Bruno Mars, One Direction, among several artists who had never set foot in Colombia into tour routing, you manage to demonstrate what it means to put a country on the map, open the public’s eyes to our industry and visualize the impact we generate on a country’s economy,” Castro Almanya tells Pollstar.

No act was bigger for OCESA than Mexico’s RBD, who became the first to play four consecutive stadium shows in the same city. Castro Almanya said the milestone serves as evidence of “the impact of the live entertainment industry on the economy of a city and country, revitalization of commerce and related industries, tourism with 100% occupancy, employment and overwhelming happiness for an entire generation.”

Castro Almanya has experienced great success, and she hopes to pass it on to others with the launch of an initiative that empowers and mentors women interested in the live entertainment industry. She also wants to give back to Bogotá, economically and ecologically, with Distrito Verde (Green District), a 59-acre site “that would allow the convergence of music, art sustainability and respect for the environment.”

“Distrito Verde will be an inclusive and diverse place where we all take Bogotá to another level in the region, generating new content, expanding cultural offerings and once again demonstrating the impact of live entertainment on building a society with happiness but also with economic impact, revitalization of commerce, international image, tourism and employment,” Castro Almanya says.