The 29th edition of the festival closes with a balance that is “very positive in spite of the circumstances”

• For the most part the concerts reached the audience capacity permitted and there were no incidents involving the public
• The organization is already working on the programme for 2021 when it will celebrate its 30th anniversary, “hopefully with the pandemic overcome”

Last weekend the Festival Internacional Canarias Jazz & Más closed its most complicated edition with a positive balance thanks to the receptiveness of a public that adapted to the new conditions enforced by the new rules & regulations, that require reduced crowd capacity, the mandatory use of face masks both at closed and open-air venues and the pre-assignment of seating arrangements. All complied with by the organization, and there were no incidents registered (on the part of the public) at any of the concerts held in La Gomera, El Hierro, La Palma, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria & Tenerife. In addition, entrance tickets that were made available to the public, both at paid & free-entrance concerts, were practically sold out at all venues.

The organization of the festival wishes to convey a message of appreciation & gratitude, both to the fans & followers of the festival and to all those entities that made it possible this year to stage the concerts, the Canarian Government, island councils, town halls, auditoriums, theatres, sound & lighting and infrastructure companies, production & communication teams, installation crews and those related to photography, video, transport, hotels, local police, civil protection, engineers, electricians, cleaners and general services, among others. The director of the Festival Internacional Canarias Jazz & Más, Miguel Ramírez, would also like to “bring to notice that, one more time, it has been shown that cultural activity is, possible & safe as well as being necessary” and appraised the development of the festival as “very positive in spite of the circumstances”.

The only incident that took place during the 39 concerts held was in Los Llanos de Aridane, just as the group Michael League & Friends feat. Jorge Pardo were taking the stage, resulting in them only being able to perform for half an hour following the intervention of the Guardia Civil, who prevented them to complete the concert, despite the fact that all the health regulations stipulated by law had been complied with. The actual Los Llanos de Aridane Town Hall has submitted a request for an explanation to the appropriate authority at the La Palma Government, since there hadn’t been any incident to justify said intervention and the safety protocols were being scrupulously complied with, as the patrol chief acknowledged.

For Miguel Ramírez, this decision had been the consequence of “ a very individual erroneous interpretation by the person responsible of said patrol, probably made because of the changes in the regulations during these turbulent times we are experiencing now, and without weighing up the damages & detriment it could cause. There was no rhyme or reason for the action taken by said responsible person. We wish & hope that cultural activity, which is subjected to strict limitations to guarantee the safety of the attending public, is never again compared or likened to some leisure or business activities that may not comply with the current regulations in relation to protocols of health & safety. #CULTURE IS SAFE. In any event, this features as a negative episode of this edition”.

Twentyfour international, national & local musical ensembles have taken part at this 29th edition, performing in public squares, theatres & auditoriums in El Hierro (El Pinar), La Gomera (‘Plaza de la Torre del Conde’, San Sebastián de La Gomera), La Palma (Los Llanos de Aridane), Lanzarote (El Salinero Theatre, Arrecife), Fuerteventura (Island Auditorium, Puerto del Rosario), Tenerife (Adeje, Puerto de la Cruz, Leal Theatre in La Laguna, Centro La Granja, Tenerife Auditorium, Plaza de los Alisios in Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and Gran Canaria (Santa Brígida, Guiniguada Theatre, Pérez Galdós Theatre, Alfredo Kraus Auditorium, Miller Hall & the ‘Plaza de Santa Ana’).

In 2021, the Festival Internacional Canarias Jazz & Mas will hold its 30th edition, for which from this very moment Colorado Producciones is working towards preparing a programme of a top level event “that we hope & wish we can fulfil having overcome the Covid-19 pandemic. A double reason for a celebration”.[:]