Madrid city council has banned a festival celebrating cultural diversity, claiming that it may lead to public disorder and complaints about noise from residents.
The Kúpula se Mueve (Kúpula Moves) festival has been held without incident in previous years. Josias Ndanga, president of the association, insists the claims are an excuse, saying: “We’re convinced we’re being discriminated against on ideological grounds.”
The move comes just days after the conservative local authority in Jumilla in south-east Spain banned Muslims from using public facilities to celebrate religious festivals, a decision that has been widely condemned by political opponents, Muslim organisations and the Catholic church.
Kúpula sought permission to hold the festival in three separate locations but on each occasion the application was refused despite the fact that, according to Ndanga, they went through all the appropriate channels and met the necessary requirements.
The organisers say that various events have recently been staged in these same locations, among them a youth festival and international family day.
The local authority in the Madrid Río neighbourhood rejected the festival on grounds that it would involve “an excessive use of public space” and was “exclusive in character, suggesting it would be of little public interest”.
A councillor for the Más Madrid party accused José Luis Martínez-Almeida, Madrid’s conservative mayor, of censorship.
“Almeida’s government doesn’t like cultural diversity and has blocked this celebration on racist grounds,” the party’s Cuca Sánchez was quoted as saying. “If Almeida likes an event, it can go ahead; if not, he censors it.”
Jorge Donaire, spokesperson for the socialist party in Madrid, said: “They don’t want anything that springs from the community … What they like is macro-events that attract a lot of publicity.”
Founded in the Aluche neighbourhood by immigrants from African nations, Kúpula sought to “create a federation of the various African associations”. It aspires to “integration, co-existence and empowerment” and includes immigrants from Latin America and elsewhere. The festival celebrates music, art, photography and gastronomy.
“The best way to counter the criminalisation of immigrants is to organise activities that reflect our desire to be part of this society, demonstrating our culture, who we are and what we can bring to society,” Ndanga said.
The festival is due to be relaunched, having last been held in 2017. In the past it has rotated between the various Madrid neighbourhoods, which this year have turned it away.
