The director of the Queen's Gala of the Arrecife Carnival, Willy Díaz, feels deceived by what happened in the contest held on Sunday and supports the jury's decision to withdraw the title from the first lady, Melody Sánchez, for wearing the same dress as in the Telde contest in 2013. He believes that the only person responsible is the designer, Juan Francisco Sánchez, and assures that he neither gets the companies nor the candidates, but dedicates himself to making "the script of the gala". He states that he did realize that "unprecedented it was not", but thought it could be recycled.
What do you think of the decision adopted by the jury to disqualify the first lady?
I think the determination of the jury and the Arrecife City Council is perfect. I think it is logical that the title be withdrawn from this person, because there are rules that must be followed. Also, I found out yesterday and they told me that the designer had requested the contest rules in the Festivals department, so the logical thing was to comply with the rules like the rest of the participants.
How does the presentation of this candidate at the last minute come about?
I have no idea, because I am in Las Palmas with the Carnival issue. I knew there were three or four candidates, but I had no idea about companies, or when the candidates signed up or registered. They called me and told me that there were four queens, so I organized and made my gala script. I know that they were the ones who contacted the City Council. Then they spoke to me, but I don't think it was at the last minute. The news I had was that there were four candidates.
A week before the contest, the City Council said there were three candidates and finally four were presented. Didn't this make you suspicious? The designer Jaime Romero assures that it is impossible to create an unprecedented work in a week...
I am a designer and I can assure you that a dress can be made in a week, without any problem. That's a lie. I disagree on this issue, because a dress can be made in a week having your team. I do not agree with the statements made by Jaime. This did not make me suspicious, of course not. I knew that unprecedented it was not either, because when you see an unprecedented dress the material is new. I am a designer and I notice if something is new or recycled, it is logical. I thought it was recycled, like the rest, but I did not think it was a work that had already been presented in another Carnival.
Therefore, did you not realize during the development of the gala?
Let's see, how was I going to know if I'm not a fortune teller! In Las Palmas there is the Telde gala, the Maspalomas gala, the Arucas gala, the Gáldar gala, Agüimes, Ingenio... There are ten or twelve galas that I don't follow, because they are town galas. I don't know who presents or who doesn't present.
Didn't anyone from the City Council realize either?
But, how are they going to realize! Neither I, nor anyone, because those carnivals are not televised and I am not going to see the town galas.
However, the designer Jaime Romero assures that as soon as he saw the candidate parade, the dress began to sound familiar.
I saw one more dress and that's it. All the dresses that were there were recycled, because it is possible, but I had no idea if it had come out in Telde, in Vecindario or whatever. I don't follow it, but there are people who live with Facebook and are looking at this all day. I worry about my work and what I have to worry about and I'm not going to be following town galas now.
Did you know the designer Juan Francisco Sánchez?
I know him because the first time I participated in Las Palmas, I was with him, but that's where the contact ended. I have no contact with the designer, because he only presented a fantasy the first year I came to the Carnival of Las Palmas, he has never presented again.
As director of the gala, do you think you have any kind of responsibility in what has happened?
No, because I direct the gala, I don't get companies or candidates. I have no responsibility in this regard at all. I didn't call him, or anything at all. I think the responsibility lies with the gentleman, the designer, and no one else. If you have rules, you have to abide by them.
Do you feel deceived?
Of course, of course. I was stunned when I saw the photos yesterday. I couldn't believe it. I thought, 'this is incredible'.
Do you know of any similar precedent?
As far as I know, I am not aware that it has ever happened anywhere in the Canary Islands. There are places where the fantasies have to be unprecedented and in others they don't. For example, if your dress has not been awarded in Las Palmas, you can participate in any other gala. Normally, unprecedented there is no dress, because they are usually recycled. But the one in the case of Arrecife I think was the same, because the photos I saw for me was the same as the one that the same candidate had worn in Telde.
In addition to this controversy, there has also been much questioning of the time and day on which the gala was held, which was marred by the lack of public. Why was a Sunday night chosen to hold the contest?
I have no idea, nor can I say anything, because the one who sets the time and day is the City Council, not me. They told me the 23rd and that day it was done. It is logical that there were not so many people because it was a Sunday and on Monday people work, but the important thing was to recover the Queen's Gala and... look what a way to recover it, with a gentleman who did what he did to us!
And, given everything that has happened, what is your assessment of the gala?
I have not been too happy. You have a meeting with designers and put a proposal on the table and then you see that the designers themselves do not go to the contest and the rest ignore many things. There were designers who attended the meeting and who later did not participate, such as a new boy who had his company who was going to participate and at the last minute did not participate. Another designer was also going to come, who had been on the island for 12 years, but in the end he did not participate either.
From next year, if there is a Queen's Gala, we will have to go through the workshops of the different designers to see if the fantasies are unprecedented and if they are not, not let them present themselves, that's clear. Or change the rules.
Will you also think about changing the gala day for next year or will it be held again on a Sunday?
The problem is also the Drag Gala, because the one in Lanzarote is open and people from anywhere in the world can participate. Dates have to be found that do not harm when organizing an event.
