The Association of Musical Composers and Authors (ACAM), the Union of Music Workers, Artists and Allied Workers (UTM) and the Association of Interpreters and Performers (AIE Costa Rica), representing people who work in music, denounced the excess requirements that are being requested to hold events.
According to the artists, the Directorate of the Health Governing Area in Heredia asks bars and restaurants, regardless of their size and capacity, to comply with the provisions established for massive and international events, which they consider almost impossible to achieve.
The musician Luis Loría commented that “during these 20 years that I have been playing in Heredia, the established guidelines have always been followed, such as the confinement of sound, but now what we feel is persecution by the Ministry so that there is no musical activity in the area”.
In the same way, the artist ‘Tito’ Villalobos assured that for him this is a new pandemic, since he used to work in four locations in the central canton of Heredia. “Now they ask us for requirements as if we were Alejandro Sánz playing for 500 people,” he said.
Groups request a meeting to find solutions
The associations request a meeting with the corresponding entities, in order to seek solutions for this issue, that are based on an in-depth analysis of the relevant provisions.
Although the singers are independent workers, some municipalities have asked them to have a commercial patent so that they can work in activities that the local governments themselves organize.
“In the past, cases of this type have been known and there are criteria from the Attorney General’s Office and votes from the Constitutional Chamber, where it is indicated that a professional activity cannot be considered as a lucrative activity that requires a patent as a requirement,” said Esteban Monge, musician and secretary of the UTM.
ACAM, the AIE and the UTM request to hold dialogue tables with the municipalities and the Ministry of Culture and Youth.
