Despite being dubbed by some as "the festivals of controversy", the Councillor for Festivities of the Arrecife City Council, Miguel Ángel Ferrer, says he is satisfied with the results of these Sangineles. "Everything has gone smoothly, there have been no serious incidents and I think people have been satisfied even with the fireworks, despite the economic cutbacks."
Miguel Ángel Ferrer has insisted on the high participation in these festivals. Full houses at the concerts of La Mala Rodríguez and Shaila Dúrcal, at the Farmer's Festival or at the Queen's gala, and a good response from the residents of Arrecife when attending events such as the jolateros regattas, the popular barbecue or the fireworks.
However, the councillor already has his sights set on the future. "We need to fix two things for the coming years," he explains. "On the one hand, to extend the festivities to the neighborhoods, and on the other, to consider returning some activities to the Islas Canarias and Ramírez Cerdá parks, as long as they do not bother the residents."
Many inhabitants of Arrecife nostalgically remember the atmosphere of the Sangineles that were celebrated in the center of Arrecife. Miguel Ángel admits that "it gives the feeling that the city is not celebrating, there is no decoration or activities in the center." That is why he is considering taking a further step and bringing some activities, such as parades, street theater or even some stalls, to the parks located in the center.
"It's complicated, because the residents who live in the center don't want to be disturbed, but these activities would always be during the day," the Councillor for Festivities pointed out. As for the neighborhoods, there is a project that could not be launched this year due to lack of time, but which is planned to be carried out next year, and which consists of bringing some San Ginés activities to the neighborhoods of the capital. Activities such as summer cinema, charangas or theater that would sacrifice some concerts, as Miguel Ángel Ferrer has explained.
FAIRS AND STALLS
One of the most controversial issues that has accompanied these Sangineles has been the payment of municipal fees by the fairground operators. Once the issue has been resolved ("the fairground operators have already paid," Ferrer has confirmed), it seems that the stalls are resisting paying. "I hope they end up doing so," Ferrer explained, "because otherwise they will be left with debts to the Department of Finance, and they will have a hard time receiving subsidies in the future, if not impossible."
The amount set is 150 to 300 euros for each stall for the entire festival. "We consider it a bit unfair that they refuse to pay this amount when professionals pay up to 1,200 euros; we do not intend to recover all the money from San Ginés, we only defend that they pay that symbolic fee to the City Council, just like everyone else who is occupying public land."
The explanation that has been offered by the groups that run these stalls is that they did not know about this economic measure before installing them. Ferrer has alleged that it is a "strategy" since "with the profits they have made in other years, of up to 24,000 euros net, I don't think they would have stopped setting it up this year for having to pay 300 euros." Another of the reasons that led the City Council to introduce this measure was the intention to avoid the "picaresque" of some people, who use the name of a group to set up a drinks stall without paying the fees, as the Councillor for Festivities has explained. For this reason, this year also the stalls installed in the dome of the Fairgrounds have had to deposit 96 euros in the municipal coffers.
ACN Press
