From the timbalero's first beat, nothing is hotter during a Bay Area summer than Latin salsa dancing in the streets. But funding problems or increasing police costs nearly forced the cancelation of upcoming salsa festivals in East San Jose and Redwood City, two of the largest in the region.
Next year could be worse.
"I thought about canceling it this year," said Frank Cortez, president of the Alum Rock Village Business Association in East San Jose, which will stage Saturday's San Jose Salsa Festival. He and other organizers were stunned when the city billed them $8,100 for police protection, about double the amount they paid last year. Cortez said the show will go on only because musicians and other vendors agreed to accept lower payments.
Meanwhile, Redwood City nearly canceled the largest salsa festival in the region. That's because the city's redevelopment agency, the festival's main organizer and financial backer, was battling to survive an attempt by Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature to seize the assets of such agencies to balance the state budget.
"I'm not sure how they did it, but the agency was able to find the money," Redwood City spokesman Malcolm Smith said. The festival, which offers music on four stages, is scheduled for Sept. 24.
Both salsa festivals stand to face tougher hurdles next year. The fate of the Redwood City event depends largely on what happens to the redevelopment agency. Other city departments could pick up the tab if the agency doesn't survive, but saving a dance festival when City Hall is cutting basics won't be easy. One option for both festivals is to charge admission for the first time, a step the popular San Jose Jazz Festival reluctantly took a few years ago as attendance grew but corporate sponsorships dwindled.
The choices appear toughest, even emotional, for the San Jose festival. After only three years, it has grown to become the third largest in the region after Redwood City and the San Jose Jazz Festival's salsa stage. Some 13,000 to 15,000 salsa aficionados are expected Saturday.
Unlike its bigger sisters, the San Jose Salsa Festival takes place in a small shopping center serving a largely working and middle-class, Latino and Asian neighborhood. It's alcohol free, which means no easy money from beer company sponsorships and liquor sales.
"We want to keep it a family event," said festival coordinator Judy Thompson. "Drinking would spoil that."
But the San Jose Police Department said illegal drinking was a serious problem at the festival last year despite the alcohol ban. The department will assign up to 15 officers, about twice as many as last summer.
Sgt. Jason Dwyer, a police spokesman, said "hundreds" of people bought drinks and plastic cups at a liquor store and convenience store within the boundaries of the festival, and many others managed to sneak hard liquor in purses or coats past "improperly trained" festival security guards. The police fear a repeat.
"There's going to be a lot of alcohol being served there," Dwyer said about the upcoming festival. "It's just unrealistic to think that it won't."In addition, Dwyer said, the sheer growth of the festival requires more officers on duty. "There comes a time when it's just not safe to send four or five guys in there to protect a crowd of 15,000 people" he said.
Cortez said the level of illegal drinking at the salsa festival last summer was no worse than at other, outdoor street events where visitors can buy liquor from stores and walk around without causing trouble. He said the salsa festival might be forced next year to set up a beer and wine garden to pay the police bill, even if it means spoiling the family ambiance and sending the wrong message to kids.
"The only ones making any money are the cops!" Cortez said.
Dwyer bristled at the charge, which is not a new one in San Jose. This year's Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day festivals were canceled, mainly because the sponsoring group said it could not afford to pay for what it considered excessive, police staffing. Dwyer said officers will earn their regular wage, an average of $48 an hour, and waive any overtime payments to the non-profit sponsor. "That's a huge bargain," Dwyer said. "We're actually giving the festival a lot of extra perks."