Al Sur del Cielo

The festival Al Sur del Cielo (also known as Festival de la Concha Acústica Villa Flora), is a free concert of Ecuadorian bands of the metal, punk and hardcore genres that takes place every December 31 in the park of Villa Flora, located on Alonso de Angulo Avenue, in the southern sector of the city of Quito, since 1987.

The event is organized by the Corporación Cultural Al Sur del Cielo, which is also responsible for the events Semana del Rock Ecuatoriano (Ecuadorian Rock Week) and the concerts Rock en Vivo and Rock Sinfónico.

History
Inspired by the Woodstock festival of 1969, a group of musicians from Quito organized in 1972 the event Festival de Música Moderna in the acoustic shell of Villa Flora, a neighborhood in the south of the city of Quito, avoiding the possible censorship of the military dictatorship of that time, headed by Guillermo Rodríguez Lara. Between 1974 and 1985 several of these young people, including singer-songwriter Jaime Guevara repeated the experience in several sporadic shows, until December 26, 1987, when the first Rock for Life and Peace festival was made official, organized by the collective then called Defensores del Rock, with the participation of the band Luna LLena.

In September 2013, the municipality of Quito remodeled the stage of the Concha Acústica. That same year, the festival presented a lineup with 17 groups.

Bands present since 1987
Luna Llena, Ramiro Acosta, Jaime Guevara, Corazón de Metal, La Tribu, Narcosis, Mozzarella, Wizard, Espada Sagrada, Euforia, Abadon, Toque de Queda, Celeste Esfera, Cuerdas Asesinas, Falc, Resistance, Almetal, Mortal Decision, Southern Cross, Lost Innocence, Chancro Duro, Eternal Sleep, Ente, Amazon Rock Vital, Metamorphosis, Lachard, Hittar Cuesta, CRY, Muscaria, Basca, XXX, Sparta, Hiddenland, Salt and Miletus, Sarcasm, Deathweiser, Extreme Attack, Avathar, Demolysis, Anima Inside, Cabal, Straightjacket, Sudden Death, Total Death, Malak, Kush, Zadkiel, Tarkus, Deseret, Aztra, Crossfire, Cuerdas Negras, Delicado Sonido del Trueno, Johny Gordón, Perpetua, Triskel, Imperio Negro, Eskathón, Descomunal, Los Catzos, Disbrigade, Devastated, Cadaverous, Brigada Roja and more.

News
After holding the festival virtually during the years 2020 and 2021 due to the global pandemic of coronavirus and the death of two of its main managers and promoters, Diego Brito and Pablo Rodriguez, the concert returned to be held in person on December 31, 2022, with the participation of the bands Muerte Súbita, Pablo T TokedeKeda, Letharia, Diablo Huma Rock, Dama Solitaria, Luna Llena, Ódica, Coraje and La Tribu.