The Salvadoran community is in great shock over the incident of January 1 in Pasadena
LOS ANGELES.- Less than 24 hours after it went viral the moment when Salvadoran Andy Lovos was removed from the band ‘El Salvador great as its people ’, preventing you from participating in the Parade of the Roses 2020, Salvadorans have pronounced themselves in a great way.
While countless nationals inside and outside the country have offered an immeasurable amount of help to the youth, from moral support to financial aid to study, his bandmates accuse him of spreading false rumors of his expulsion.
On Wednesday night at a 19-year-old Lovos press conference, he told the media that what they did to him was an outrage by truncating one of his most desired dreams.
“My classmates (were) there enjoying. There I was, ”said the young man unable to hold back tears.
Lovos said that the reason he was forbidden to participate in the Parade of the Roses is because he failed to cover the expenses demanded by the Salvadoran committee The Piche, in charge of supervising the band.
Lovos added that Enot Rubio, president of the Salvadoran committee The Piche and organizer of bringing the band to Los Angeles, expelled it through a phone call a day before the entire group will arrive.
“He told me:‘ You are out of the project because you did not cancel (paid all) your contract. Goodbye, ”said the young man from Panorama city, where he was staying with a national.
After learning, some Salvadorans mobilized to bring Lovos. Walter Martínez took care of picking up the young man, accompanied by other Salvadorans, at the LAX airport on December 29. He also gave him lodging and it was he who took him on January 1 to the event to participate with the band since he could not stay with the rest of the group.
Lovos said that from the moment he got to meet his teammates on January 1 he felt the tension.
"Some did not speak, others with their eyes seem to want to talk to me but said nothing," Lovos said.
Once Lovos was formed in line with the clarinetists, a group of Los Angeles Sheriff's agents He came to escort him out of the group. His explanation was that Lovos was not an active member of the band.
In social networks there are several videos who recorded the moment where the young man who walks to the side of the street is seen and shortly after is stripped of his uniform, and is asked to leave the area where the rest of the band was waiting for his turn to start marching.
"I can say that I helped the boy but he is no longer with me," Martínez said Thursday through a phone call. "All I can say is that he is a great person, very humble and with a great heart and destiny will reward him."
Lovos said he was scheduled to return to El Salvador on January 6.
Who is Andy Lovos?
Andy Lovos is originally from San Miguel, El Salvador and plays piano, guitar, saxophone, bass, clarinet and is a vocalist of his own band Andy and the Junior Band. In March 2019 he was accepted to be part of the band ‘El Salvador Grande as its people’.
On social networks Lovos said that because he failed to settle the payment of $ 500 he was forbidden to travel with the group. It should be noted that the airplane tickets of all the participants had already been paid by El Salvador President Nayib Bukele.
In a previous interview with other media, Rubio said that the band's travel costs amounted to half a million dollars, which were being paid by the government, private entities and organizations.
Lovos agreed that he failed to raise all the money he was asked for but said he was willing to continue paying once they returned from the trip.
Victims or perpetrators?
Although the band members did not respond to this newspaper about what happened, a half hour video It shows several members of the group attacking Lovos and showing Rubio full support.
While some said that Lovos was expelled from the band because did not fill out his medical papers on timeOthers say that the young man initially agreed to pay the necessary expenses since he agreed to be part of the band and did not comply.
Narea Rauda, a member of the band for two years, said that the members who had been two years would not contribute money for their presentation to the Rose Parade "because we were promised that the expenses would be paid."
She added that, despite having a place to rehearse they were not offered food or water. In March 2019, another group of students was accepted to join the band and he was asked for monetary contributions, which benefited everyone.
“The money of the new students has been to support the committee in food expenses,” said the young woman in the video.
Student Kenya Medina added that as a group she feels very sad about the "inconsistencies" Lovos has said.
"We want from the deepest part of our heart to apologize for all the sadness you have caused us," says the student in the video. "Here is not only Andy, here there are 249 people who come here with a lot of effort."
Additionally, Medina said Lovos was one of the 150 participants who traveled to Washington D.C. with the band from El Salvador for the Hispanic month parade.
“It seems to us something quite illogical that I could have the money to go to Washington D.C. and not being able to have what was agreed upon (for Pasadena), ”said Medina.
However, in an interview after that parade, in September 2019, Rubio told elsalvador.com that the city of Washington financed the stay and travel of 100 young people and the rest was obtained through donations and contributions from family members from the band.
Other students defended Rubio publicly. Sofía Molina said she is proud to work under Rubio's supervision and to represent them as Salvadorans. He added that he feels very bad when he is being attacked.
“Being called a thief is a sin. He is an angel, he has done countless things for us, ”said Molina.
"We are very grateful to Don Enot Rubio because thanks to him we are here," added Wendy Peña followed by a cheer and applause for Rubio, who was not present in the video.
Implications against the band
However, the support of the students was not enough for the news of the expulsion of Lovos to resonate loudly.
A few hours after the parade on Wednesday, Salvadoran President Bukele announced on his Twitter account that the band ‘El Salvador big as its people’ will never receive “not a penny” from his government. In return, the country, through the Ministry of Culture, will create its own band called ‘Banda El Salvador’.
“El Salvador is a big country, for its people. We are not going to let anyone stain that, ”President Bukele said.
Additionally, PROESA, the investment export promotion agency of El Salvador, announced Wednesday that Rubio was removed from his post as chairman of the El Piche Salvadoran committee, as well as his title as ambassador for the country brand “Grande como sus gente” which promotes tourism and investments in El Salvador.
"Therefore, any use of the country brand by this character, for the band or any other event, from now on, is illegal," Bukele wrote on his Twitter account on Thursday.
