Timeline of Madrid Puro “timo” Reggaeton, the festival that infuriated Daddy Yankee fans

Significant last-minute changes, including dates and venues, the cancellation of the poster and increased ticket prices set the tone for an event that would feature Daddy Yankee, Natti Natasha, Bad Gyal and other banners of the urban genre. . Indeed, before the slap on the fingers of the Community of Madrid, the festival had already been denounced by a consumer platform.

The event that saw the light of day in 2020 has nothing to do with what the organization had prepared for July 15 and 16. Despite the advantage of hosting one of only two Daddy Yankee Farewell Concerts in Europe, so much back-and-forth angered attendees, who organized against the event to demand compensation. Some claim to have lost up to 600 euros (300 for tickets and 300 for transport and accommodation, the latter being irrecoverable unless the festival corrects them).

Sources from the government delegation in Madrid confirm to elDiario.es that they have not received any communication regarding the celebration of the festival. They assure that their latest information, coming from the Community of Madrid, denies the request of the Puro Reggaeoton festival “because it is improvised, in addition to presenting a risk both for the safety and the mobility of people”, according to the municipal Council. .

Thursday evening, faced with the refusal of the Community, the festival deleted its website. But Friday noon, there were still people queuing in the hot sun because the organization said they still had hope of going ahead with the celebration. Confirmation came at 1:20 p.m. from Madrid Puro Reggaeton, via an Instagram post: “The institutions have decided that more than 40,000 people end up today without living this historic stage.”

Change of location and complaint

Madrid Puro Reggaeton were due to open at 4.15pm on Friday at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium, a venue announced two days in advance, on Wednesday this week. Until then, it was going to be held in the Caja Mágica, with a capacity of 18,000 people. “In the previous venue, we had some limitations that were going to prevent you from enjoying yourself in the best possible way.” The bombshell was dropped on social media before it was revealed that they were moving to the Atlético de Madrid football stadium. And with this move, there were some surprises.

The Community of Madrid said the festival’s security plan was flawed. On Friday morning, the regional government issued a statement in which they accused the organization of having delivered it out of time (three days before the celebration of the event, when the minimum is 30) and to present many errors. For example, the firefighters did not receive the necessary documentation and the mobility plan was not adapted to the Wanda, but they delivered that of the Caja Mágica. They also did not apply for an exemption from noise limits or meet with Community officials.

Madrid Puro Reggaeton, for its part, claims to have already paid the celebration costs to the Community of Madrid, corresponding to approximately 30,000 or 40,000 euros. The festival promised yesterday to correct the security flaws before the opening of the hall and its spokesperson says that it was the Madrid, local and regional administrations, which offered them in June to move to the Wanda. The Community of Madrid denies the latter, as confirmed by elDiario.es. On the other hand, while preparing for the festival at the Wanda Metropolitano (with local competition) for a month, the participants were informed of the change on July 12.

The organization had been preparing for the festival at Wanda for a month, but the participants were informed two days before

The organizing company With Music Elsewhere 2020 AIE, boasts of being one of the biggest promoters of music in our country and celebrating “half a hundred concerts, tours and massive blockbuster events each year attended by more than 300,000 people”. Although it was created in 2020, as its name suggests, behind it are two well-known brothers from Cadiz with 30 years of experience in events, such as tour organizers Ricky Martin or Estopa. “We have a clean history of security incidents,” they said in a statement sent to the press. However, its communication and prevention shortcomings are not new.

On Wednesday, the first unknown was revealed: the Caja Mágica was of no use to them because they had sold 35,000 tickets thanks to the claim of Daddy Yankee’s last tour. But in this new venue, only about 4,000 people were going to enjoy the concerts in the area of ​​the field or the track in front of the stage. They were the ones who had bought the “gold” or “platinum” pass, respectively at 110 and 140 euros. The rest would be in the stands. The festival intended to distribute these 30,000 people without pre-established order in the amphitheater and for ten consecutive hours of concerts.

“You will be in the stands, but standing, with shade and large spaces to move freely,” he replied to Internet users on social networks – private, since the comments were blocked on those public. Nor had they devised a new plan reflecting dining areas, bars, bathrooms or emergency exits. The Municipal Police, the City Council and the Community of Madrid found these reasons sufficient to paralyze the event, sources from the latter confirmed to elDiario.es. During this time, the organization did not provide any justification to the participants.

The only thing Madrid Puro Reggaeton reported was that they would not allow food or drink in, not even a bottle of water, which cost them a complaint filed on Thursday. by consumer organization Facua. “It is an abusive clause that we have denounced before the Community of Madrid, the Consumer Office of Madrid and Andalusia, since the organizing company has its headquarters in Granada”, declared its president, Rubén Sánchez.

However, the consumption crisis left aside the issue of water and food and took a more important turn with the cancellation. In addition to the full refund of the ticket money, those affected have the right to claim damages, “which in this case would be the payment of transport tickets and hotel accommodation from which they will not recover the money or for which they will only be able to recover a part”, inform Facua.

Last minute poster adjustments

Madrid Puro Reggaeton began its journey in early 2020, when it announced that it would debut on June 26, 2020 at Ifema Hall with a lineup full of Latin music personalities including Bad Bunny. The first tickets were then put on sale for a price between 27.5 euros and 35.

With the pandemic, the festival was canceled and he promised to set a new date for the lifting of restrictions. This readjustment fell on June 25 and 26, 2021, with an additional day, a completely new poster, in another place [la Caja Mágica], and for a much higher price. The banknotes then began to oscillate around 80 euros.

In April this year, suddenly, the festival announced that it was changing its dates again without giving further explanation. It was to take place from July 15 to 16. Later, they confirm that they were doing it to animate the last concert of Daddy Yankee in the capital, which announced its final withdrawal last March. The rest of the cartel disappeared and gradually confirmed old and new presences. Already then, the festival faced an avalanche of criticism on social networks.

Taking advantage of the new signing of stars, the festival launched more VIP tickets. Indeed, they are selling private rooms with their own bathroom and a place to sit for a price of up to 8,000 euros. They also announced with great fanfare the installation of a Ferris wheel to compete with the Mad Cool aesthetic. All of this had disappeared from the Wanda Metropolitano menu in recent days. In response, several groups of participants have organized against what they describe as the “Madrid Puro Timo Festival”, even writing a statement with all the drawbacks.

They created a campaign on Change.org to seek compensation for successive changes in dates, venue and ticket conditions and threaten to appear on Friday with letters of complaint to force joint legal action. They also denounce that the festival has removed artists, such as Ptazeta, Jhay Cortez or el Jincho, from the poster, without giving more explanations to consumers.

For this reason, they have also opened an Instagram profile –MadridReggaetonEnfurecido– to legally advise those who request the return of tickets or want to put a claim sheet.