With a decrease in revenue and infighting among managers, a festival to celebrate Colombian Independence faces an uncertain future.
The festival, which has been held for the past 25 years in Flushing Meadows Park, has not paid the $27,000 deposit to reserve the Park, said Park officials.
The city Parks Department confirmed that the organizers do not have a permit for the July 24t event, the day that the CCC plans for the festival to take place.
"The Colombian Civic Center owes the city $27,000 for the 2010 festival. Until the CCC pays the city, we won't have a discussion about organizing the event in the park," a spokesperson said through an e-mail.
Nevertheless, the president of the CCC, Guillermo Lozano, said that the organization made an agreement with the Parks Department to pay the debt in installments and that the last payment is scheduled for the end of June.
"We are currently planning to hold the festival on Sunday, July 24," Lozano said in a telephone interview.
"There will be a festival, regardless of whether it takes place in Flushing Meadows Park. We will announce any changes at the press conference," he said, while giving no details about the artists invited to perform at the event.
The Parks Department declined to comment on whether there was any agreement between CCC and the city.
Despite Lozano's optimism, other leaders doubt that the CCC can have everything ready in time to hold the festival on July 24.
Marina García, who was vice president of the CCC until 2010, said that she doesn't think there will be a festival this year because the center still owes the city more than $150,000 from last year's celebration to a variety of creditors.
The organization's current leadership did not confirm that number.
But it seems like the list of skeptics is growing longer.
"They owe money to the park, to the head of the park, the rent for the portable bathrooms, besides other past debts," said García, who was dismissed from her position last April after a discussion during a general assembly.
Álvaro Medina, an ex-member of the CCC, agreed with García: "There is a lot of uncertainty. As I see it, I think there won't be a festival this year, because they owe money from last year and this year."
Bernardo Duque, who was president of the CCC in 2009 and director of the festival occasions – the last time was the previous year – also expressed his concern that the center still hasn't announced a program.
For each festival, said Duque, there are between 30 and 40 booths for food and artisanal crafts, and more for sponsors. And before the press conference, which happens a month before the festival, the center should announce who is invited to the celebration to get people excited and motivate them to attend.
"When June comes around and they haven't announced anything, that creates uncertainty about what could happen," said Duque, who pointed out that the year before, by January they already had the park reserved and had begun to talk with artists. "Moreover, they need the permits from the Buildings Department, which they obtain through an architect who figures out where to place the bathrooms, the food stands, the booths for artisanal crafts and the sponsors, and the stage," he added.
Although the CCC declined to give details about the festival program, which will be revealed at the press conference on June 20, Adolfo Sánchez, the festival director, said that so far, they have sold 12 booths to food vendors. José Torres, who is in charge of organizing the booths, said that some are reserved for artisanal crafts, but he did not say how many.
Elizabeth Chica, general manager for La Nueva Radio Internacional, has broadcast the event live in previous years. Chica said that she still has not received an invitation, but that if invited, the station would be ready to participate. "From my perspective, there won't be a festival because before, we were informed two months prior and now there is complete silence. It's sad. If the CCC couldn't make it happen, they should have said it so that another organization could put the event together," said Chica.
Humberto Suarez-Motta, community leader and ex-assembly candidate for District 39 in Queens, expressed his dissatisfaction that the festival might not happen this year. "It's very sad, because we have celebrated the festival for so many years. It shows me that we Colombians are disappearing. It's a very harsh reality and it pains me to see this happening," said the co-founder and co-director of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Queens.
The Colombian Consulate General of New York, Francisco Noguera, said that he had received complaints from ex-members of the CCC about administrative and financial problems.
"If there isn't a festival, I would be the first to regret it, because the festival reinforced our cultural values and unified the Colombian community," Noguera said.
