Apologies for my Tardiness
Hello all…
Things are pretty hectic down here, hence my slacking on a new update.
Unfortunately, I can’t sit and write without talking about a tragedy that shocked the entire country here last December 2004. I will just try to state the facts, because it will be really hard for me to make someone foreign understand the minds of the Argentineans… really.
Almost all of the most popular big rock bands in the country (Los Piojos. Bersuit, La Renga), have fans who go to their gigs as if they were going to a football match (soccer for the American readers). Meaning the crowd is usually very drunk, in a mob-minded spirit, wearing the band’s T shirt as if it were the football club shirt, chanting their songs while waiting in line to get in, etc. On top of all this, which may not seem that different from any other rock concert in the world, the fans also (used to) bring flares to light up during the gig, while standing on the shoulders of their friends, and they would wave around the flare till it got consumed, then they’d throw it away regardless of being surrounded by a crowd. Yes, as incredible as it sounds, this was a very common thing to do, in spite of security confiscating these kinds “fireworks.” Someone always manages to sneak some in, sometimes with the help of one of the gig-sponsoring brands. Why, you ask? Because the bigger, louder, and rowdier, the better. I don’t know what they were trying to prove…that Argentinean rock was more special, or passionate, or rebellious? Who knows? This attitude was encouraged by the bands themselves, some of them even announced their gigs as a Show de Bengalas (Flare Show).
On December 30th 2004, on the second date in-a-row of Buenos Aires band Callejeros in a club in BA called Republica de Cromagnon, half-way thru the gig, things got too wild and out of control. The singer had to stop the songs several times to ask people to behave. The club was overcrowded beyond its capacity (the organisers were happy as can you imagine), as it had a permit for 1300 people and there were almost 3000 in that night.
Someone lit up another flare which somehow caught fire in the ceiling (covered with that black net fabric people use to cover plants in Winter), and the place started going up in flames. But this isn’t what caused the deaths of 193 people. It was the unfortunate fact that the emergency exits weren’t open, and most of them died because they couldn’t get out of the club in time. I don’t want to go into details because that’s not the point of me telling you about this. 193 fans who went to a rock gig didn’t come back.
There are too many guilty parties to mention. Callejeros stopped their music career abruptly. (They became too big in a very short time during 2004, and that’s part of why that club was too small for them). Now they owe a ridiculous amount of money to the families of the victims, which won’t bring anyone back. The club owner has spent most of this year in prison, and they are still to sentence him. The band manager is also considered guilty and is on trial, as is the security company, some of the public administration officers in charge of giving permit to the club to function as a rock venue etc, and the list goes on.
I personally think that negligence and complete lack of consideration for human life started way back when it became a stupid and irresponsible “trend” to show your support for your favorite band by waving a lit up flare in the middle of the crowd, and sometimes in a confined environment like this club. It should’ve been stopped back then, if not by the kids (who are too young to see the danger) then by the show’s organisers, or the sponsoring brands, or the band’s managers. Hell, even the government for a change! I mean, nobody in their sane minds would allow 18-24 year old kids to attend to a concert carrying around FIRE in their hands would they?
But there you go. Since this tragedy, the rock scene in Argentina has radically changed. You are now subject to criminal-like inspection from police officers every time you go to a festival, and all of the venues have been forced to follow strict rules of security (Only now! What about before?) Which led to most of them closing their doors for good, or having to narrow down their capacity from 1000 to 400 people, so now tickets are more expensive.
Everyone is walking on tip-toes when it comes to organising gigs now. In the following months, the first few big post-Cromagnon festivals like Cosquin Rock or Villa Gessell in the summer, were tainted by an overall sad, terrified, and respectful feel both from punters and organisers, who desperately tried to adjust security measures to ridiculous extents. Even the bands onstage chose their set lists carefully so as not to hurt anyone’s feelings, because everyone feels so guilty about what happened. Are they (guilty)? That’s the question. The victim’s families need to find a guilty subject to get some closure, don’t they?
But I’m not a professional writer, not a manager, not a concert promoter; I just play in a band and love to talk about music, so I can’t draw any conclusions toward who is to blame. I think no one can really.
So this is it for me now. I’m sorry I can’t give you good news, and I’m sorry I can’t tell you about how cool the local scene is this time around. I still think it is, but I couldn’t just pretend this didn’t happen just because we live here in the rock-bottom of the globe and our news, good or bad, doesn’t make it to CNN or BBC too often.
But it did happen, and I had to let you know that 193 fans went to a rock gig and didn’t come back.
In a few more days I`ll write my usual column, and I promise there will be lots of good news I`d love to tell you about. See you all then.
xxx
Kari
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