Cultural managers in Fonseca struggle to sustain traditions without public policy

Cultural managers and independent foundations in Fonseca, La Guajira, struggle to maintain local traditions without consistent public funding or infrastructure.

While the municipality hosts festivals to celebrate its heritage, local artists and community groups report that they lack the resources to teach music and dance during the rest of the year.

Delmer Pérez Campuzano, president of the Fundación Cultural Higuitos y Cayenas La Guajira, says he has faced closed doors in 95 percent of his projects over 20 years of work. He often uses his own salary to fund dance classes for youth to ensure they do not lose their training spaces.

Similarly, the Fundación Luis Enrique Martínez “El Pollo Vallenato” provides musical training to over 50 families in urban and rural areas, but the organization faces a lack of resources to sustain these educational processes. The local government of Fonseca allocated 273 million pesos for cultural programs in its 2025 budget, yet community members argue that the funds do not provide enough support for continuous training.

Residents also report that the town lacks a functioning House of Culture and that the Museo Nacional del Vallenato remains closed due to unpaid rent debts. At the national level, the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Knowledge reported pending payments of 185.482 million pesos, which delayed the National Cultural Concertation Program to the first half of 2027.