Neighbors of Hortaleza denounce the 'dry law' imposed by the district councilor on their popular festivals: "As far as I am concerned, they will not be able to sell alcohol"

E.M: Madrid

Madrid

Updated Friday, March 29, 2024-01:21

The coordinator of Hortaleza entities has asked the district's president councilor, David Pérez, to reconsider his decision that nineteen events proposed by neighborhood associations should no longer be considered "popular celebrations" in which the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages. In this way, the Regional Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Madrid (Fravm) points out in a statement, Pérez complicates the viability of these parties organized by non-profit associations and financed by the installation of bars where attendees can consume food and drink while enjoying free shows.

"As far as it depends on me, they will not be able to sell alcohol," said David Pérez last Thursday in the Hortaleza plenary session, where the Popular Party and Vox approved a calendar of popular celebrations with just six events for 2024, when last year there were 34 in the entire district.

The coordinator of Hortaleza entities, which brings together the neighborhood associations of Manoteras, La Unión de Hortaleza or the Danos Tiempo Socio Cultural Association, considers that this decision is "arbitrary", "discriminatory" and lacks "technical justification."

Among the activities that David Pérez has excluded from the celebration calendar, and in which the consumption and sale of alcohol will be prohibited, are the neighborhood festivals of the Manoteras neighborhood, which have been celebrated since the seventies of the last century, as well as the festivals of Juan and Juana of La Unión de Hortaleza. On the other hand, the celebrations promoted by the neighborhood associations of Valdebebas, El Bosque, Las Cárcavas-San Antonio or La Expansión de San Lorenzo will be permitted. For the coordinator of Hortaleza entities, David Pérez's decision represents "an attack on the work of associations that promote free cultural leisure."

In addition, the Hortaleza entities remember that the parties now excluded by David Pérez were approved last year with the favorable vote of the Popular Party. According to the coordinator, in just nine months at the head of this district of almost 200,000 inhabitants, David Pérez has canceled the Association Fair, has cut back on the Hortaleza festivals, in which he has also eliminated the allocation intended to support neighborhood actions, and has halved subsidies to citizen entities.

Sources from the Municipal Board of Hortaleza have specified that the district's patron saint festivities were approved in the January plenary session, while in March the popular festivities proposed by the associations were approved. «These activities do not allow the sale of alcohol on the street, which seems to be the only thing that matters to the associations. Contributing to combating unauthorized alcohol consumption on the streets is the responsibility of the Madrid City Council," they conclude.