By IPS Correspondents
MEXICO CITY, Jul 20 2004 (IPS)

Mexico’s federal police put an end to the party – sex, alcohol, some drugs and plenty of rock and roll – that has accompanied the International Cervantes Festival held annually in the central city of Guanajuato since 1972.

The police ruined the fiesta for hundreds of young people in 2003 by maintaining patrols throughout the city and banning consumption of alcohol, sleeping, excessive noise or engaging in sex in public places – which had been the cause of numerous complaints. At the next Cervantes Festival, with an array of cultural events scheduled Oct. 6-24, the recipe of police presence and strict enforcement will be repeated.

Some 800 police wandering around a festival that takes pride in its tolerant attitudes do pose a threat: they could undermine the spirit of this renowned cultural event, says writer Carlos Monsiváis, famous himself for his irreverent stances.

In the opinion of Enrique Santiago, a photographer specialising in nudes, under the pretext of preventing scandal, ”the doors of the Cervantes Festival have been closed to young people looking for a cultural alternative.”

”I think there is veiled censure for anything youthful at the festival, and there have been complaints of police committing abuses,” Santiago told IPS.

This year’s Cervantes Festival – with a programme of more than 200 presentations of music, theatre, dance, film, literature and visual arts by artists from 32 countries – is sharply reducing the number of rock concerts and other events that the organisers consider have a higher propensity for public disturbances.

They also argue that public order is essential when more than 100,000 visitors are in Guanajuato to attend the various cultural events.

The International Cervantes Festival, famous throughout Latin America, was until now an excuse for thousands of mostly young people from Mexico and abroad to take over the streets and parks of Guanajuato, where they would do such innocent things as sleep and dance – but they would also drink alcohol, use drugs and have sex.

Guanajuato, a city of 200,000 people, is home to unique colonial architecture of tunnels and narrow streets, and flower-filled balconies. UNESCO declared it a Heritage of Humanity site in 1989.

Its hotels are filled during the festival, and many local families turn their homes into bed-and-breakfast lodging.

To avoid problems with the rowdy youth, many businesses close there doors early.

The organisers requested the presence of the highly trained federal police at the 2003 edition of the festival. The partying was dampened dramatically following the arrests of more than 1,700 people on charges of public disturbance or alcohol consumption.

Many of the detainees filed complaints of abuse at the hands of police last year, which prompted the organisers to invite staff from the state- run but independent Human Rights Commission to monitor the security operations.

”The presence of the federal police last year was a very smart decision. We felt that people controlled themselves, that they were more measured in their actions,” said Gerardo Herrera, head of the Guanajuato hotels association.

Nicole Vaisse, president of the National Chamber of the Restaurant and Food Industry in Guanajuato, said the police played an important role because of the huge number of people who come to the city for the festival.

The people who make the trip to Guanajuato not only attend performances and exhibitions, they take part in workshops and roundtable discussions.

Over the history of the Cervantes Festival, more than 25,000 artists from 80 countries have participated. This year’s edition is dedicated to South Africa, which will send musicians, painters, actors and other proponents of that country’s cultures.

Overall, there will be more than 60 musicians or bands performing, 10 dance troupes, and 13 theatre companies, in addition to dozens of other types of cultural events.

”It’s wrong for the young people to be excluded from the festival. They’ll be scared off by the police and so many prohibitions, when all they want is to visit Guanajuato and have a good time,” said photographer Santiago, who hopes to exhibit his work at the festival someday.

”If they do things they shouldn’t, then it’s right that they are detained. But under the pretext of the strict rules the police are committing abuses against anyone who seems unruly – and the festival can’t fall into that sort of thinking. It has always been famous for its open attitude.”

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