P15-M music fest has yet to break even
THE AUDIENCE during the opening night of Malasimbo 2015 in Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro. CLIFFORD NUÑEZ/CONTRIBUTOR
IT WOULDN’T be anything but his passion for the arts and music that drives French businessman Hubert d’Aboville to organize an international music festival.
Five years after he and Croatian sound engineer Miro Grgic put together the Malasimbo Festival, the P15-million fête that draws thousands of tourists to this island community has not yet reached break-even point.
“Everybody thinks we’re making a fortune,” said D’Aboville, the festival cofounder, “but unfortunately, after five years, the costs have not yet even (reached a) break-even.”
Milestone
Yet, Malasimbo, which spells music, arts, environment and culture, successfully pushed through on its fifth year under a moonlit summer night.
The normally three-day festival was spread this time over two weekends—March 6-8 and March 13-15—drawing a multinational crowd of 3,000 on the first run and around 1,500 from the local and younger audience on the second.
It was still “indeed another milestone,” D’Aboville said in a post-event phone interview.
With a ticket price of close to P9,000 for a three-day pass, the festival offers some sense of exclusivity to a crowd of mostly foreigners enthralled by the soulful blend of jazz, blues, funk, reggae and more. The performances were enhanced by a colorful display of art installations and a flavor of indigenous culture.
Among those in the audience was a group of young performers who skillfully twirled and turned their light poi. On another corner was a smaller crowd captured in a trance of the Mangyan people’s music and dance.
“We also rode on the Declaration of the International Year of Light,” D’Aboville said of this year’s festival theme—in reference to the United Nations’ declaration of 2015 as the Year of Light and Light-based Technologies.
Established
Malasimbo features international and Filipino talents. Among this year’s key performers were American jazz artist Fred Wesley, Australia’s beatbox talent Tom Thum and reggae legend Bob Marley’s son, Ky-Mani Marley.
In his message to the organizers, a copy of which was sent to the Inquirer, Thum said Malasimbo was one of the most fun festivals he had been to.
“If anyone hates most festivals like I (do), go to this one and (you) will be a changed person,” he said.
Budding Filipino blues band, Bleu Rascals, described the experience as “epic (and) by far the best we’ve had in our music career.”
D’Aboville believes Malasimbo has already been “established” within the local community.
“It’s clearly established as a brand now and I’m confident that it will continue to grow, both in the domestic and overseas markets,” said TicketWorld Inc. president Robert Sewell, in a separate statement.
In another interview, Puerto Galera Mayor Hubert Christopher Dolor said the locals also had already grown used to the influx of foreigners.
Logistics
Except for the fees charged for the permits issued by the municipal government, Dolor said the municipality does not earn any from the festival.
“We even spend for it in terms of the traffic (personnel) to man the roads and the policemen (to ensure security),” he said.
However, being Mindoro’s only music festival with an international target market, local government and tourism officials were aware of the advantages of hosting the annual event. Dolor said small businesses, such as hotels, resorts and even the public transport sector earn extra during this time of the year.
Puerto Galera, about 140 kilometers south of Manila, “is one of the best destinations for Filipino and foreign tourists. But the logistics are not yet at par (with other tourist destinations),” lamented D’Aboville.
As a member of the Tourism Congress of the Philippines, D’Aboville recognizes the need for better logistics, specifically the availability of transportation to ferry foreign tourists to the island.
He said he was working it out with government agencies, as well as private business and resort owners, to provide comfortable transportation, not only during the festival but throughout the year.
Asked whether patrons could expect another Malasimbo in 2016, “we really want to, but logistics has to be guaranteed,” D’Aboville said.
“After five years, we know this is a festival that is here to stay,” he said.
