Chaos in the Sun, the annual Nazi gathering on the Catalan coast
A farmhouse in Santa Susanna is once again the epicenter of a festival that raises the opposition of antifascist groups
BarcelonaThe annual Nazi gathering returns to Maresme. For the fourth consecutive year, a farmhouse belonging to the Pawnees MC biker group in Santa Susanna will host the Chaos in the Sun music festival, which has been advertised on social media for days. And for the fourth consecutive year, antifascist groups from the region will demonstrate against it. The event is private — only accessible by invitation — and intended, as some of the guests let it be known, "only for those on this side of the street".
On May 29 and 30, bands such as the Canadian Legitima Violence, linked to white supremacism; the German German Skinhead Legend, which lives up to its name; or the Belgian Les Vilains, which promotes hooliganism and also draws from skin-head
and oi! culture are announced. The Santa Susanna City Council assures, once again, that its hands are tied as it is a private event that, they maintain, has not generated violent incidents in any of the previous three editions.
This Wednesday, in an interview with SER Catalunya, the mayor of the municipality, Joan Campolier, recalled that the only thing the organizers do is "inform the city council of the celebration of a private party" and that the city council "does not permit or facilitate the celebration of this activity". As every year, a joint operation will be deployed between the local police and the Mossos d'Esquadra to control the area. Campolier assures that there have been no incidents with the residents, but there have been incidents in Calella, the city where most of the festival attendees spend the night. "There are about 80 or 90 people who enter and leave —the estate— by bus" and "they only stay for a few hours".
Although it has been an open secret for years where they meet, through social media the organizers continue to be ambiguous and generically locate the event in "Spain". In addition to music and far-right nostalgia, they also promise their guests "sun and drinks". The Antifascist Platform of Alt Maresme has called a demonstration this Friday, May 15, to show their rejection of the festival's celebration, which they link to the international far-right.
