The San Juan Bautista Dia de los Muertos Festival
– which an event organizer had tried to revive after it hadn’t
taken place in nearly 30 years – has been canceled.
SAN JUAN BAUTISTA
The San Juan Bautista Dia de los Muertos Festival – which an event organizer had tried to revive after it hadn’t taken place in nearly 30 years – has been canceled.
Lori Elder, a San Juan Bautista resident and the event’s organizer, had this to say about city officials’ decision against sanctioning her event: “The only thing I have been told is that a lot of people have great ideas for things and never do them.”
Ultimately, the event was canceled because the main sponsor, Earthbound Farm, pulled its sponsorship. They did so after hearing the event was canceled, said Elder. She said that the event received a split vote from the city council and would not have been approved in time if they had to wait until the next meeting.
Currently, there are two Dia de los Muertos activities in San Juan. The first is the procession through town on Nov. 1. The second is a group of performances by the El Teatro Campesino company at the theater.
Dia de los Muertos, or “Day of the Dead,” is celebrated Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 and serves to honor the deceased.
Elder said with the number of festivals being down, the city needed a unique event. Using her background as an organizer of festivals in San Francisco, she researched Dia de los Muertos festivals throughout California and realized the potential for the event.
“This would be a historically significant event, culturally significant.”
All planning started well for the festival until she turned her paperwork into the city. After some confusion with public works leaders on whether they needed to sign off on the paperwork before or after the event, she got clearance from police authorities and even addressed concerns from the city council. Elder said she has received only one reason why the event won’t be taking place from the mayor.
“The mayor has never given a reason except there are going to be a lot of people coming into town,” Elder said of Mayor George Dias.
Dias could not be reached for comment before press time.
Since securing a sponsorship from Earthbound Farm for $10,000 and a TV/radio sponsorship for $75,000, Elder said she has been sabotaged and the city’s excuses are not cutting it.
“It is a sad day when a small group of people with power does not support it’s local culture and merchant community. Elections are coming, so I hope San Juan Bautista residents put some people in place who honestly care about the future of such a special town.”
El Teatro Campesino will begin its annual performances, six of them, on Oct. 31 at the playhouse located at 705 Fourth St. in San Juan Bautista. Elder has created a blog for public comment.
If you would like to leave a comment for Elder, you can do so via her blog at http://friendsofsjb.blogspot.com.
