The latest twist in the case of the former member of Mecano, Nacho Cano, prosecuted for a crime of promoting illegal immigration and against the rights of foreign workers, has caused, to say the least, confusion in the judge and in the popular prosecution, represented by the union Comisiones Obreras (CC OO). In a ruling issued on September 4 by the court number 19 of Plaza de Castilla, which is investigating the case, the request of the law firm Cremades-Calvo Sotelo —which represents the music producer and his three collaborators investigated in the matter— to also represent the 17 alleged Mexican “interns” and alleged victims in the case is rejected. These are the alleged “students on internship” who would have worked illegally in the show. Malinche, that Nacho Cano premiered in Madrid two years ago. That is, the music producer’s defense would have also tried to represent his alleged victims.
“Comisiones Obreras cannot help but express its perplexity at this total lack of decorum in the strategy of the defense of the defendants in the Malinche case, who evidently want to manipulate the testimony of these witnesses to the point of having them directed by the same legal representation that directs the defense of the four accused. We understand that the investigating judge must take due note of this breach of neutrality and impartiality of these alleged witnesses/victims,” said union sources involved in the procedure.
“There is no reason to have the attorney Mr. José García Barrenechea as a party in the present procedure on behalf and representing [los 17 becarios] who are considered injured parties/witnesses in the present proceedings, since said attorney already holds the representation of the investigated Ignacio Macarena Cano Andrés, Roxana Gabriela Duato de Salazar, Cristina Carmiñe Duato de Salazar and Susana Jove Franch in the case, making it incompatible to hold both representations,” argued the magistrate in his ruling, against which an appeal may be filed within three days.
Meanwhile, the 17 scholarship students left Spain on August 31, after filing several complaints against the police actions during the investigation and requesting “restraining orders” from the police officers who interrogated them. The “students” had been summoned to testify on August 29, but their appearance was suspended due to the impossibility of locating Roxana García Drexel, who remains missing and is one of the main defendants for being the one who coordinated the WhatsApp chat. in which the “interns” were given instructions. Their absence “prevented the possibility of contradiction between the parties” from being guaranteed, according to the judge’s ruling. It is possible that the interns will now have to testify by videoconference from Mexico.
At the moment, the students They arrived triumphantly in Mexico On Monday, cheered by friends and family who welcomed them with banners and cheers at the airport. Interviewed by the media, they showed their gratitude for all the learning and knowledge received from “Maestro Cano”: “He gave us a very complete training, full of singing, urban dance, flamenco, acting… And, above all, the beautiful team he has.” Malinche “He is a family,” said one. “I never imagined being able to live with him, to the point of having that much confidence and that he would care about us, having him as a teacher is an experience that, personally, I will never forget,” commented another in front of the cameras. “I want to thank him very much, may God bless him, may he always be with him and may he continue helping people,” concluded a third upon his arrival. The Mexican media had already announced the arrival of the musical The Malinche to Mexico and they assumed that “these young people will be a fundamental part of the new production.” “Obviously, we will all be present, it is expected to be next year, the month is not yet known, but the premiere is coming strong and with everything,” confirmed one of the “interns.”
In Spain, despite being involved in a controversial legal process, he returns Malinchebut now “without interns”, according to sources close to the music producer. On September 15, the doors of the Ifema fairground tent, which houses the musical proposal of the former member of Mecano, are scheduled to reopen for its third season. His indictment, on July 30, after being accused of a crime of “facilitating illegal immigration and against workers’ rights” by having supposed Mexican “interns” without work permits in Spain in his show, is continuing its course in court number 19 of Plaza de Castilla, directed by magistrate María Inmaculada Sánchez.
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The arrest of Nacho Cano on July 9 in Madrid, together with his “director of operations”, García Drexel, revealed the complaint filed on January 11 by one of the interns who formed part of the cast of artists in his show. Lesly Guadalupe Orellana, 28, explained in her complaint and, later on some television programmes, the conditions in which they had arrived in Spain and in which they were in the capital. It was at the central district police station where she made her complaint and, therefore, the one in charge of the investigation that concluded that the supposed interns “had entered Spain camouflaged as tourists on six different flights from Guadalajara (Mexico)”, who told them “to carry a guide to Madrid in their hand to make it more credible”, but the condition of tourists only allowed them to stay in Spain for a maximum of 90 days, according to the Immigration Law.
Two months after arriving in Madrid, they applied for a student visa, according to Cano’s own lawyer, but the Government Delegation in Madrid, which is responsible for the matter, denied it in May, “because they could not prove that they were undertaking any kind of approved studies.” The appeal presented by Cano’s lawyers against this first resolution was rejected again by the Delegation for identical reasons in July. In other words, the supposed “students on internship” lacked both a student visa and an employment contract.
At the same time, the agents found that the supposed interns “rehearsed 10 hours a day, from Monday to Saturday, to be able to participate in the show, lived in a hostel in the center in shared rooms with four or five people, had only a 10 euro daily menu paid for (always in the same restaurant), and were given an allowance of 20 euros on the weekend and 300 a month, which was later raised to 500. If they wanted to earn more they had to work at the Canalla bar, after the show. After taking statements from all of them, they concluded that they were unaware of their irregular situation in Spain. “They were deceived,” according to the agents.
Nacho Cano’s response to the accusations was not long in coming and, hours after being released from his arrest, he called the press together. He accused the police of being “criminal”, although he later qualified his statements so as not to extend them to the entire force, and presented himself as the victim of political persecution due to his friendship with the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso. The president also came out the next day defending her friend’s conspiracy theory, accusing Pedro Sánchez’s government of “Stalinism” and confirming her innocence in the matter.
In her indictment, the judge also states that the Malinche company made transfers to itself for the purpose of paying the scholarships, that it paid the Mexicans less than t
he agreement and that they had to resort to relatives and savings to survive in Madrid. According to the judge, the group began rehearsing with the rest of the dancers the day after landing in Madrid and ended up forming part of the cast of Malinche. “Management tells me that this week you are performing every day: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” reads another message sent to the WhatsApp group. This third season, none of you will be performing.
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