The Titeroygakat collective has denounced that the government group of the Arrecife City Council has "appropriated" the project carried out by this association in tribute to those who died in the Cruz del Mar. According to its president, Antonio Leal, Titeroygakat presented this initiative, which also included the participation of the artist Juan Brito, almost four years ago, despite the fact that the City Council made the announcement this Monday.
The association's project was rejected in three different plenary sessions in 2007 by the PIL and the PSOE. However, according to Leal, now the Department of Local Development, led by Isabel Mesa, "has included this project in the public tender without consulting us and has not even named us."
"We proposed this initiative to Juan Brito, who designed the sculpture. We developed the project and presented it in the plenary session. It was rejected by the same people who are now approving it, they make it their own and don't even mention the promoters," said Antonio Leal, who has called for the resignation of Isabel Mesa. "The fact is unprecedented and is unworthy of a representative of an official body," he stressed. According to a statement, the Arrecife City Council "has allegedly tried to usurp, plagiarize and appropriate an idea that does not belong to it."
In addition to presenting this sculpture by Juan Brito to honor the fishermen who died in the Cruz del Mar, Titeroygakat also proposed a second project called "Plaza Cruz del Mar" on March 10, 2010 in the Department then led by the PIL councilor Antonio Machín. According to the president of the collective, the content of this project "coincidentally appears in the bases of the contest held" by the Department of Local Development of Arrecife. "It mixes projects without basis or foundation", Leal denounced.
"Very serious irregularity"
For Leal, what happened with this project requires "an immediate action that prevents events like this." And it is that the "very serious irregularity committed by members of the government group", according to the president of Titeroygakat, "cannot go unpunished, nor can it happen again.
For all these reasons, the collective considers that the attitude adopted by the PIL councilor Isabel Mesa is "so base that it is unqualifiable and inadmissible due to its inadequacy." "This type of action should be unworthy of a representative of an official body. From a public institution, one cannot proceed in such a shameful and incorrect manner," the association denounced.
Intellectual Property Registry
Given this situation, Titeroygakat has advised the citizens of Arrecife that before submitting a project to this institution, "they should first go through the Intellectual Property Registry because they run the risk of losing it or having an idea stolen and trying to make it their own."
For all these reasons, Titeroygakat has assured that it is the only collective that "officially" has presented this project, has described the behavior of the PIL councilor as an "authentic mockery" and has considered that Isabel Mesa is not "legitimized" to use this initiative.
Requirements
In addition to asking for the resignation of the councilor Isabel Mesa, Titeroygakat has demanded that the City Council recognize in plenary and publicly in the different media that the "true promoters of the idea" are the members of this collective. "We demand that they apologize for the incorrect way of proceeding of the Department of Local Development of the Arrecife City Council, for not mentioning in the bases who are the promoters of said idea," the association requested.
