El Fraile experienced a day of immense tension this Tuesday, including physical assaults and verbal insults, due to the cancellation of the popular events of the Fiestas de Santa Isabel de Portugal, which were set to begin this Thursday but had to be called off due to issues unrelated to the Arona City Council.
All this stems from the outrage of residents of this neighbourhood in the municipality of Arona, in the south of Tenerife, and other affected individuals by a neighbour who presented himself months ago as the organizer of the events without being officially part of the festive committee and who allegedly scammed them.
According to some affected individuals and the City Council itself, this man charged money for setting up the stalls and other services, and ultimately, failed to provide the required documentation to obtain the festival’s authorization, did not prove his membership in the official organizing committee, and claims he cannot refund all the money he received for public celebrations that the City Council was forced to cancel this very Tuesday due to organizational chaos and signs of serious irregularities.
The man who masqueraded as a committee member charged money for setting up the stalls and other services, but did not provide the required documentation to obtain festival authorization
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The situation escalated to the point that on the same Tuesday afternoon, residents of El Fraile and other affected individuals, who had paid this man for various services and had not received any guarantees of refunds, gathered at the festival venue on Villa Isabel street to protest their predicament.
After locating this individual near the event location, with many attractions and stalls already set up, the gathered individuals confronted him, demanding explanations and refunds. Some even verbally abused and attacked him. Local Police from Arona and the Civil Guard had to intervene and take the man away to prevent further escalation.
Individuals affected by the cancellation of El Fraile festivities gather at the festival grounds to voice their discontent. / El Día
The Arona City Council has initiated an investigation to clarify the events. Alexis Gómez, Councilor of Festivities, assured EL DÍA that all necessary measures will be taken to determine what occurred and hold those responsible accountable, particularly focusing on the role of this neighbour who acted as the organizer and representative of the committee without official membership. “We will bring the case to the security forces or justice if we see indications of potential criminal activities,” underlines Gómez.
These statements from the Councilor of Festivities and the gathering of affected individuals came shortly after the Arona City Council itself communicated through its official website the cancellation of all popular events of the Santa Isabel de Portugal festivities in El Fraile due to the mentioned issues with the management of the organizing committee, including with the fair vendors who had already paid over 60,000 Euros in total to set up their stalls and are unsure if they will be refunded.
The Festivities Department of Arona announces that all necessary measures will be taken to determine what occurred and hold those responsible accountable
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This is the statement released by the Arona City Council late this Tuesday afternoon regarding these festivities. “The Festivities Department informs that, due to management issues of the Sociocultural and Festivities Association of El Fraile, and thus unrelated to this Department, all popular events related to the Santa Isabel de Portugal festivities in the El Fraile area are suspended.”
The Sociocultural and Festivities Association of El Fraile, the organizers of the popular events program, “have resigned from organizing these festivities due to the aforementioned problems.” “The Councilor of Festivities, Alexis Gómez, emphasized that the City Council worked until the last minute to ensure these festivities could take place, but given the deadlines and the need to comply with regulations to guarantee the smooth running of these festivities, their cancellation was inevitable,” adds the official statement.
“This department confirms that the religious activities will proceed normally in coordination with the parish of Santa Isabel de Portugal, and therefore, the traditional procession will take place as scheduled.
Changes in El Fraile Festivities Organisers
The religious events will proceed as planned in coordination with the parish of Santa Isabel de Portugal; however, the popular celebrations have been cancelled.
Religious ceremonies will go ahead as scheduled, in coordination with the Santa Isabel de Portugal parish; however, popular events have been called off
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Councilor Alexis Gómez stated that the man residing in El Fraile at the center of this situation requested permission months ago to organize the festivities, claiming to be a member of the organizing committee. As the Council asked for the necessary documentation to obtain final authorizations – insurance, space reservations, security operations, etc. – and to prove that he was a member of the festival committee, they realized that something suspicious was happening.
On Tuesday and after several previous meetings, the Festivities Councillor summoned this man and the actual president of the organizing committee to demand explanations. The president had trusted him but soon realized that the organization was a disaster. “This man had not resolved a single document, had closed agreements allegedly using false references and had nothing organized. It was then that the president of the committee, in a state of great nervousness, announced that she was going to cancel the events,” detailed Alexis Gómez. The president of the festival committee had to receive medical attention due to an anxiety attack.
Archive image of El Fraile, a neighbourhood in the Arona municipality. / E. D.
The popular events were set to start on Tuesday but were first postponed to Thursday and eventually cancelled. The indignation of the fairground workers stems from the fact that after paying over 60,000 Euros for all the stalls, the man pretending to be in charge of the festival committee told them he cannot refund the money at the moment. In one of the messages sent to the fair workers, this man stated that he will try to reimburse the money by the 15th of July and if he fails to do so, he will face the complaints against him and all the responsibility.
One of the affected individuals is Santiago Martín, president of the fairground workers’ Canarias collective (Coferca). He explains that in order to set up his hot dog, sandwich, and hamburger stand at the El Fraile festivities, he paid 1,200 Euros. He even mentions that there were other fairground workers who paid up to 4,000 Euros to set up their stalls.
“After learning that the festivities were going to be cancelled, we asked this man claiming to be in charge of the committee to refund our money but he replied that he cannot do so at the moment as he invested it in other expenses related to the organization. He did not provide us with guarantees of reimbursement, hence our indignation,” detailed Martín.
Santiago Martín reveals that the fairground workers brought the case to the Arona City Council officials on Tuesday morning and have handed it over to their lawyers. “In the next few hours, we will go to the Civil Guard to file the corresponding complaint,” he informed.
The Coferca president explains that payments to festival committees under the guise of donations are the traditional method to secure a spot at popular events when it comes to town and neighbourhood celebrations. In other words, there are no official auctions backed by the councils, as is the case, for instance, with the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council when allocating spaces in the Carnivals.
“This method has led to many issues. This is not the first time something similar has happened to us. Some festival committees are neither responsible nor serious and fail to keep their promises. Sometimes we are unaware of where the money we invest, as fairground workers, goes,” criticises Santiago Martín.
There are more individuals affected by this cancellation, such as music bands, residents, and companies. The popular events of the Feast in Honour of Santa Isabel de Portugal in El Fraile were set to begin this Thursday with the queen selection gala. The programme included performances by Pepe Benavente, as well as other musical groups.
There are more individuals affected by this cancellation, such as music bands, residents, and companies
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A marathon of music bands (Dorada Band, Los Ideales, Sensación Gomera, Maquinaria Band, and Wamampy) was scheduled for Friday at the festival venue on Villa Isabel Street, and in the following days, until the 1st of July, there were other events planned such as zumba classes, water castles for children, another music band marathon, a large paella feast, and a festival for the elderly.
El Fraile is a densely populated neighbourhood in the Arona municipality (with close to 10,000 inhabitants) known for its multicultural community, with residents from over 40 different nationalities.
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The Arona City Council clarifies that it is “uninvolved” in these organizational issues and that it has closely monitored the steps taken by the festival committee to ensure compliance with the law and administrative requirements, particularly those related to safety. Therefore, given the disaster that the preparation of these popular events has been, it has supported the decision of the committee president to cancel them. Concurrently, it will review the entire course of events to ascertain accountability.
