The mobilizations of the music sector dye Spain red as a cry of alert

• Protest. Red alert in the music industry: "There are desperate people who have already gone to pick fruit in the field"

September 17, 2020 will be remembered as the day that

A red for help.

It is the color with which some emblematic buildings in

have been simultaneously covered

under the slogan "Red Alert" to ask the institutions for a rescue of the entertainment and events sector, in almost total paralysis due to the pandemic for now seven months.

In Madrid, just before 8 pm, the image could not be more powerful: 550 people (the maximum allowed to respect safety distances) gathered at the

to cry out for unity: "SOS".

The symbol of the march are some 400

those huge black and resistant boxes with wheels that serve to move microphones, cables and speakers.

Each one is dragged by a volunteer.

It does not seem like a protest, rather a military exhibition due to the discipline of the participants, who all move together (despite the rain);

used to organizing events without a single failure, today is just one more day.

The plan is to move forward as a single body to

the nerve center of the capital.

It is a metaphor for the commitment of a sector that, the participants themselves recognize, usually "go to their ball", but which this unprecedented crisis has forced to organize.

Today the Spartan troops of

seem to

advance compactly towards the battle of

"I had never seen anything like it, we had never managed to have a united and strong voice until now", recognizes

with 25 years of experience as a tour manager, one of those invisible professions that makes it possible for a concert to be held and who since before even from the state of alarm in March he has not been able to work.

People like her are the protagonists today;

They are also the hardest hit by the pandemic in a sector that contributes above 3% of GDP and employs more than 70,000 families, most of them self-employed and with intermittent work phases during the year.

No plans for the sector

"There are many countries in the region, such as

that have already approved cultural rescue plans, it is not understood why in Spain they have abandoned us," denounces

president of the Es Música federation, which defends a large part of the sector.

The statements made in April by culture minister

still sting

when he quoted filmmaker

with an unfortunate: "First life and then cinema."

From the organization they insist that this protest is "apolitical", but Uribes is the most indicated responsible although the competences in health depend on the communities.

"In culture it happens the same as in the Catholic Church: here our Pope is the minister, he is the one who has to worry about our survival, or else why is he there?" Asks

who works as a producer for festivals canceled this year as

and is a technician at the emblematic

closed since March as 85% of the live music venues in Spain.

They were the first to stop their activity and they will be the last to leave.

They criticize that they are put in the same bag as nightlife, that they are not recognized as an essential activity and, especially, the lack of interest on the part of the authorities.

"When you hear politicians talking about our union, you are amazed, they show that they ignore how it works," laments sound technician

who this year had 50 concerts planned with the

group

and most of them have been postponed.

Many affected professionals (as well as anonymous fans or well-known musicians who have given their support on social networks) have not attended the marches today in order not to exceed the security capacity, but as

of the

label says

"The fight must to continue tomorrow, it is not a matter of a single day ".

The mobilization of Madrid concludes with a manifesto directed to various areas of the government (culture, but also work, finance, economy, tourism and industry) to

for

of the events and the extension of special benefits until the 100% of the capacity.

In the background, the cry resounds: "SOS".

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

• Spain

• Madrid

• GDP

• Jose Manuel Rodriguez Uribes

• France

156 deaths from coronavirus in the last 24 hours raise the official figure above 30,000 deaths

Record Why Spain is the country with the most blue flag beaches in the world since 1987

Exceltur PresidentGabriel Escarrer: "I would be calmer with a president who leads like Merkel"

See links of interest

• Last News

• English translator

• TV programming

• Quixote

• Work calendar

• Daily horoscope

• Santander League Standings

• League schedule

• Movies TV

• Topics

• Stage 18 of the Tour de France, live: Méribel - La Roche-sur-Foron