An unexpected farewell
The Sant Antoni Música (SAM) festival says goodbye to the cultural billboard of La Massana. However, it was not a voluntary farewell, but rather a forced one. The current communal corporation considers that this format does not work, despite having programmed more than thirty Andorran artists in its three editions, introducing great talents such as Júlia, Helena or Eugènia, as well as newly created groups and numerous choirs in the country. . All this combined with the presence of recognized artists of international stature such as Beth, Lluís Gavaldà or Ludwig Band. A festival that has become a window to welcome the new year, where the promotion of those artists who presented new works and also those of new creation has always been prioritized. An unprecedented format in Andorra, but which has had a strong media impact, especially in Catalonia, where we have been in the news, for example, in Enderrock, and which has also become the ideal accompaniment to our festivity par excellence: the escudella de Sant Antoni.
The end of the festival
However, the community has decided to put an end to this festival. Under the pretext of the budget and the unfortunate excuse that some proposals have not reached sufficient capacity, the SAM lowers the curtain. It is unacceptable to use the formula of dividing the total amount by the number of attendees to evaluate the real cost. In addition, there are many circumstances that can determine the influx of the public, such as schedules, weather, coincidence of events, communication, the popularity of the artist, among other factors.
The importance of culture
It is important for ordinary people to understand that cultural programming should not be seen as a business, but as a service offered to citizens and, above all, as a commitment to the cultural fabric of the country. This sector, which has always been mistreated by the administration, deserves political sensitivity. Offering a young or new artist the opportunity to get on stage goes beyond what she can charge for the concert or the audience that attends. You are being given a great opportunity to gain experience, resume, confidence and prestige, in addition to the dissemination that can be achieved on the networks. Culture is much more than numbers.
Thanks and reflection
I want to thank everyone who has participated and made possible these magnificent three years of SAM in La Massana: artists, technicians, organizers and spectators. I am also sorry for those who had already offered and were looking forward to the new editions, since this decision, in my opinion, goes beyond technical aspects, it is a matter of political colors. Culture should never be a partisan object. To finish, I will quote a phrase from Pérez-Reverte: ‘Every building, every painting, every old book that is destroyed or lost, makes us a little more orphaned. It impoverishes us.’
