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The string of the score of impunity that José Alberto Medina, pianist and director of Fábrica La Isleta, tuned, broke. But the room did not remain silent, but rather shook. a social polyphony that screams: enough. The news that the Gran Canarian musician currently has two convictions for two crimes of gender violence against two women, both with firm sentences handed down by the Court of Violence against Women No. 2 of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, while remaining at the head of a cultural project that receives subsidies and aid from numerous Canarian and state public institutions, has shocked the cultural sector of the Island .
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Hundreds of creators, artists, producers and cultural managers on the island have shared messages of “indignation” and “rejection” towards the sexist and violent behavior of Medina, while the public institutions that subsidize the cultural activities of Fábrica La Isleta, whether in the form of direct aid, as is the case of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, or through contracts for different annual events, such as those carried out by the City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, yesterday expressed their determination to terminate its relations with Fábrica La Isleta after knowing the condemned facts.
The Cabildo of Gran Canaria, through the Ministry of Culture directed by Guacimara Medina, positioned itself first and expressed its “rejection and condemnation of all types of sexist behavior.” “To the facts, consequences,” declared Guacimara Medina. «At the Cabildo we have a direct relationship with the accused, so we will take the corresponding measures because “We must be forceful in the face of facts as serious as those contained in the two judicial sentences,” continuous. “At the corporation we develop a line of work that ensures real equality between women and men, so we have to be exemplary in this, especially because we are talking about public money.”
Also from the capital’s City Council, chaired by Carolina Darias, they sent a statement in which they signed that “we were not aware of these sentences against the promoter of Fábrica La Isleta and, from now on, the relationships will obviously be different.” “As a municipal government we condemn any sexist aggression and express our maximum support for the victims,” they expressed from the City Council, which recalled that “the gender violence units of public administrations are at their disposal.”
Tilman Kuttenkeuler, director of the Auditorium and Theater Foundation (AT) of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, which manages the Pérez Galdós Theater and the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium, the latter a regular venue for concerts by groups made up of José Alberto, also spoke along these lines. Medina. “I’ll sit down tomorrow [por hoy] with my team to review one by one the projects we have with the accused for the future,” he explained. «We are a public space that cannot ignore the facts proven by Justice and I believe that, especially from the field of culture, we have to be a reference in terms of values of respect, equality and coexistence, and above all, reject any aggression or sexist act.
During the months of April and May, Fábrica La Isleta has moved part of its programming to the Las Arenas shopping center because its facilities, located in El Cardón, in the Las Torres neighborhood, are located Temporarily closed for works. This space, like the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium, is within the restricted access to José Alberto Medina according to the two restraining orders imposed by both convictions, given that the children of the complainants [una de ellas, hija de Medina], they go to a school located less than 500 meters away. The Marketing Director of the Las Arenas shopping center, Inés Álvarez, announced that the venue’s management team will meet today “to make a decision regarding this programming.” “The condemned acts are behaviors that we do not approve and we do not want to continue to be associated with as a company,” she explained.
Currently, the Police are in the process of investigating an alleged violation of one of the restraining orders that one of the women reported in April.
For its part, The University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) maintains a collaboration agreement four-year contract with Fábrica La Isleta, signed in 2023, for the development of joint programs. Its rector, Lluis Serra, refused to make statements until assessing the situation in the coming days.
Other forms of abuse
Among the numerous messages condemning the sexist behavior and attacks perpetrated by José Alberto Medina, many musicians from the capital’s cultural scene refer to “other forms of mistreatment” by the accused regarding “non-payments”, “abuse of power” or “precarious contracts for personal benefit” through Fábrica La Isleta.
For example, for the production and implementation of Happy Piano Day, one of the musical events promoted by Medina, his company received 98,784.22 and 79,952.37 euros for the editions corresponding to 2022 and 2023, respectively, from the Capital City Council through negotiations without advertising from the Municipal Promotion Society. Several musicians hired for these two deliveries, who prefer to preserve their identity, will not charge more than 75 euros for their work and many have not yet received their income.
Ensure compliance with measures
However, the Feminist Network of Gran Canaria shared yesterday on the social network recent case of complaints of sexual and psychological abuse against Gran Canaria filmmaker Armando Ravelo, last January.
«On several occasions, this space has wanted to collaborate with the Network to celebrate 8M. Cynicism in its purest form. Too much evidence lately that culture has not done its homework regarding violence against women», they state, to which they add «our solidarity with the victims of José Alberto Medina and rejection of institutional support for the aggressors of sexist violence. Not one more. “We want each other free, we want each other alive.”
Also Ana Isabel Brito, current director of the Canary Islands Institute of Equality (ICI), the body in charge of promoting the equality policies of the Government of the Canary Islands, stated yesterday that “from the ICI we condemn any act of violence towards women and their children.”
«In this case, the justice system has acted diligently and has considered the harsh facts alleged by the two victims to be proven. There is no room for doubt in those sentences. Everything that we condemn from the ICI is reflected in the two sentences. However, it is essential that compliance with the measures agreed upon by the judge be guaranteed. Furthermore, as a society we must continue to advance so that women are supported and take the step of reporting, regardless of who the aggressor is. “We must all have zero tolerance for violent and sexist attitudes,” she concluded.
Telephone 016 assists victims of sexist violence, their families and those around them 24 hours a day, every day of the year, in 53 different languages. The number is not registered on the telephone bill, but the call must be deleted from the device. You can also contact us by email at 016-online@igualdad.gob.es and by WhatsApp at number 600 000 016.
