A 22-hour electronic music festival held June 29 and 30 in Ajijic triggered mass outrage among local residents who were forced to endure incessant high-decibel noise and offensive misbehavior by more than 1,500 young rockers from the Guadalajara metro area in attendance.
The Tribe Festival rave party was widely advertised via social networks as far back as February by a promotion outfit called Moon Crystal. The venue, at the Tecoluta soccer field located on the waterfront at the west end of the village, was not revealed until two days prior to the event.
The ravers streamed into town via charter buses and private cars as DJs began cranking up the sound after sundown. Infuriated by the deafening, tedious racket that continued into the early hours of the morning, the local populace flooded telephone lines with angry calls directed at local authorities.
Ajijic administrator Hector España found himself fielding bitter complaints from native and expats residents alike. Equally miffed, he told callers that he had no involvement in the event and only got a heads up from city hall officials a few hours before the party got underway.
He told the Reporter he has yet to be given an explanation of why Ajijic was chosen as the venue. “This was an insult to our town, which is distinguished as a tranquil place and artistic center that is not appropriate for this sort of urban happening. I am angry and annoyed because they crossed the line.”\
He said that despite beefed up police vigilance in the west end, several break-ins appear to have been perpetrated by individuals attending the rave. He was told that at least three Mexican residents in the vicinity had to seek medical treatment for anxiety-related illnesses linked to the event.On site revelations
The Reporter gained entry to the rave early Sunday morning, but was unable to speak directly with the organizers or get their contact information from gate supervisor Elizabeth Garcia. In the meantime, hundreds of youngsters were still on their feet, dancing and carousing under the blazing sun.
On a second visit the following day, volunteer grounds keeper Luis Ramos Gonzalez expressed his distress over the refuse and severe deterioration of the soccer field he discovered in the aftermath. He produced a letter from Municipal Sports Council (Comude) Director Jesus Hernandez Davila requesting use of the location. The document referred to a “Cultural Musical Event,” mentioning the Saturday and Sunday dates without specifying the non-stop time frame.
Interviewed by this newspaper, Hernandez acknowledged that the letter originated from his desk at Comude, based on a verbal request from a city hall official who misled him on the exact nature of the event. He pointed out that it was not an official permit, only a request for consent from the autonomous group that manages the field.
Hernandez stressed that raves go completely against the grain of his mission to promote healthy activities that help keep young people away from drugs and delinquency. Horrified by what took place, he dispatched a 15-man Comude work brigade to fill in ruts, lay down fresh earth, spread fertilizer and water the damaged pitch. He expects the grounds will be fully rehabilitated in about two weeks.
Stone-walling
Digging deeper into the roots of the controversial event, the Reporter hit brick walls at other municipal offices where officials dodged questions about who actually authorized the Tribe Festival.
Finally cornered for answers late Wednesday night, Chapala Mayor Joaquin Huerta assumed a contrite buck-stops-here posture, taking personal responsibility for what he labeled as “an unfortunate event that got out of control.” Offering humble apologies to the community, he pledged he would not allow future events of its kind to take place in the municipality.
Sources close to the mayor’s office have suggested that Huerta had given his okay after being put between a rock and a hard place by an individual known for close political connections to upper spheres of Jalisco’s PRI government. It is no secret that the mayor’s affiliation with the PAN opposition puts him at a disadvantage in cutting deals with ruling party officials who hold the purse strings for state and federal funding programs.
Meanwhile, the rave sparked intense commentary on local expatriate web boards. Critics vented their anger about the noise, mess, destruction and unseemly behavior, urging folks to lodge complaints with the powers that be.
More tolerant types reflected on parallels with their own youthful excesses in the era of Woodstock and a generation that reveled in sex, drugs and rock and roll.