It was coming: in the afternoon of this Friday afternoon there were riots in front of the discotheque bar Casa Babylon, where tickets for the Jamming Festival were sold and one of whose owners is Alejandro Casallas, also organizer of the canceled event that would take place this weekend, from March 19 to 21, in Ibague.
The cancellation, which the organizers called “postponement” in the short statement they issued, took place in the evening hours of Thursday 17. By the morning of Friday the 18th there were already people trained in front of the discotheque bar, located in Bogotá on 49th street with seventh race, in the town of Chapinero.
These people carried travel bags in hand and were looking for explanations about what happened. Some of the protesters are from countries such as Ecuador, Bolivia, Mexico and Costa Rica. Apart from the money invested in the tickets — 300,000 pesos per festival day or three-day combos for 700,000 — they invested in international tickets and have no money to stay while the date of their return trips arrives.
The newcomers, in the company of locals who would also travel to Ibague for the festival, began to make graffiti on the facade of the nightclub with messages such as “thieves”, “thieves” and liars”, in addition to the names of the visitors' countries that remain unanswered. After noon, some neighbors saw how they started throwing ping pong balls and eggs in the place.
In the afternoon there were still no replies from the organizers, but neighbors could notice that some people were standing on the roof of Casa Babylon, apparently hiding from the protesters.
As soon as the afternoon fell, the riots began. Despite the presence of police officers and staff of Convivencia del Districto, some of those present forced the doors of the establishment and began to take out armchairs, tables, alcoholic beverages, fire extinguishers and even official merchandise from the event, which they began to throw out the doors and windows.
With the facade vandalized and the premises vacated, some people began to set fire to the furniture in front of the place. Before the situation went out of proportion, a team from the Mobile Anti-Riot Squadron (ESMAD) was sent to the scene.
After discussing with some protesters, the fire was controlled and ESMAD staff were located along Casa Babylon, where they remained at the closing time of this article. There are also some locals and foreigners who are still waiting for answers from the organizers and have nowhere to go.
The Superintendency of Industry and Commerce, which had already issued some alerts about the event, announced measures to protect those who are still waiting for their money and those who could buy tickets for Jamming 2023, which the organizers are already announcing.
The SIC had asked them for a working group for March 14, but the organizers did not attend, so the entity will open an investigation to the company BUENA VIBRA EVENTOS E.U. (organizer of the event) for the breach of instructions committed and will evaluate the legal consequences of canceling the event with a single day of notice. The investigation will include the Mayor's Office of Ibagué and the owners of Playa Hawaii, where the event will be held.
Finally, the complaints received in relation to this event will be transferred to the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation.
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