Bonfires, unity and solidarity

It is clear that both the pandemic and the crisis arising from the international political situation have left their mark on the management and development of our parties. Coronavirus pandemic due to significant loss of life in different commissions due to illness or job insecurity. The economic crisis that triggered inflation in costs, the decrease in regular collaborators and sponsorships.

This was made possible last year thanks to savings from erecting monuments in two years. Likewise, discounted quotas were applied to committee members during these two years. From next year, things will get complicated: it is essential to increase the census in both bonfires and barracks, update the association fees to adapt to the increase in spending, seek new sponsorships or at least maintain the current situation. existing ones, get subsidies or increase.

For all this, it is crucial that the Federation assumes its corresponding leadership:

• It is about programming events that excite citizens as well as party members, allowing them to witness and even participate. The colorful arena that brought the festivities to an end and especially excited the boys and girls would have to be revived. The date of the international public parade should be changed as it coincides with the festivals in different neighborhoods.

• Regarding support and advice to small commissions overwhelmed by excessive bureaucracy when organizing events or accessing subsidies.

• As for the search for sponsors, not only for the actions of the Federation, but also for presenting them to the different bonfire commissions. And the institutional position that the Federation has opens up possibilities that not all bonfire associations have.

• And finally, the Federation, as the representative of all bonfire and barracks troops, should receive the maximum amount of subsidies from the different Public Administrations and present them to commissions depending on the budget of their monuments. It’s not just about making more money, it’s also about providing commissions with material tools that allow them to save costs: bands, sound and lighting for presentations, means of transport, social venues, etc.

As I said before, although the Federation must take the lead of necessary reforms in the party in order to survive, it is also important that different bonfire associations come together to mobilize the partners and districts of the different boards. It is necessary to get children, teenagers and adults excited by programming events that require minimal expense and can even generate some cash. It is important that bonfire commissions integrate into their neighbourhoods, keep in touch with neighbors and merchants, and strive to integrate anyone who wants to work for the festivity. Small border commissions that systematically place themselves in the sixth category may consider some mergers, as they did, for example, at Goteta and Pla del Bon Repos. Above all, we must give absolute priority to firework memorials to support the good national and international image of our bonfire party.

For all these, the congress envisaged in the statute should be held immediately and not at the beginning of 2023, as the Federation said, but at the beginning of the next fiscal year, in September or October at the latest. . The necessary renewal and strengthening of our bonfires will begin next year in line with the principles of unity and solidarity.