It is not easy to justify today an event with the characteristics of the Canary Islands Music Festival. A "high culture" festival, aimed at a cultural elite, has a difficult fit in a community with so many shortcomings and inequalities not only in the cultural sphere, but in others such as education, labor or social. Despite this, I am going to advocate in this article for not dismantling the Festival, but for making a deep revision of its objectives, its financing and its management. A change of course is necessary that involves the modification of its three pillars: The programming, the implementation in the territory and the management.
The Festival was born with the objective, or at least that is what we have been told, of promoting the Canary Islands brand internationally. In that aspect we have to recognize both the failure to achieve the objective and the error in the approach.
In most countries of the world, including some European countries, the Canary Islands Festival is not known. Without going any further, if you search the internet for the ranking of the best classical music festivals in the world, or in Europe, ours does not appear.
Something has not been done well, because after thirty years of investment and enjoying one of the highest budgets in the world, the Festival should be world-renowned.
Perhaps the reality is that, simply, the Festival was not born to project the name of the Canary Islands abroad, but to satisfy the aspirations of a small circle of people who aspired to listen at home to the best orchestras and soloists in the world. Because, let's not fool ourselves, the Canary Islands Festival hardly sells tickets in Central European countries. It would not be logical, on the other hand, that the Germans, who enjoy one hundred and thirty symphony orchestras and forty and seven opera houses (only in Berlin there is the same opera offer as in all Spain), would go to the Canary Islands to listen to the Berlin Philharmonic or to see Ann Sophie Mutter play.
It is necessary, for its long-term sustainability, that the Festival renounce its delusions of grandeur and adapt to the real needs of Canarian society and the present time. It cannot be allowed that the Festival spends almost ten percent of the budget for culture in the Canary Islands and that only 0.3% of the population can have access to the main programs.
The programming of foreign orchestras has to disappear, because it is not tolerable that we have two wonderful orchestras in the islands and we have to continue importing. That is an inadmissible waste. It would be almost cheaper to pay the trip abroad to the entire public than to bring all those orchestras from such distant points of the globe. In addition, at least half of the programming should be constituted with Canarian artists and creators, of which there are more than enough, and many of them with great international careers. What better way to sell the brand Canary Islands than through its artists and creators?
In addition, the Festival has to acquire a serious and responsible commitment with the education and training of new audiences, it should work on public and private funding, and carefully study the direct, indirect and induced economic impact.
In summary: I believe that it is essential to reinvent the Festival, filling it with new contents, and not only cultural, but also educational, social, identity and cohesion... and why not: of external promotion of the Canary Islands brand.
It is necessary to open the windows and let the air flow. We deserve a Festival of Canary Islands and the Canarians. A transparent Festival of which citizens know everything about its management, what its real budget is and what it is used for. And, above all, what results do we obtain with it.
Nino Díaz, Multidisciplinary artist and cultural manager
