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The wind ruffles a few colorful hairs on the second-floor terrace of the Palace of Justice in Asunción. It's August 13th, the final day of the oral trial of cultural manager Sebastián Coronel , charged with "air pollution and harmful noise." El Cuaji, as his loved ones call him, is not alone. He is surrounded by ten friends and colleagues from La Chispa. They hug each other and drink mate to stave off the cold and nerves. From above, they look down at the pink lapacho trees while the Sentencing Court deliberates in a courtroom on Cuaji's future.

For Fátima Fernández Centurión, cultural manager of Nhi Mu and the Kaos residency, what's happening with La Chispa goes far beyond a judgment by decibels. "I think it sets a precedent in terms of persecuting the work of people who have been driving the cultural management of this country and this city," she says, adding that La Chispa represents more than just a cultural space: "it's an alternative model of community management."

That historic center, which for decades was marked by state neglect, is the same center where, despite adversity, collectives and artists built artistic projects and cultural centers, often without support and facing bureaucratic obstacles. "This wouldn't have happened if we were in Villa Morra. It's that simple," says Fátima. 

The street as a right

The hours pass slowly in the halls of the Court. At 11:50 a.m., the judges have yet to make their decision, but more and more people are arriving to support La Chispa. 

-It's good that you're here.

-It's my job, I'm a craftswoman

In the early 2000s, Asunción lived under a municipal edict prohibiting young people from gathering at night. Ordinance No. 114/03 sought to control the city's nightlife by imposing closing times for bars and clubs. The law, promoted by then-mayor Enrique Riera, had stifled the city's nightlife. Squares, streets, and bars closed early. Little or nothing remained for those who wanted to meet, chat, or simply exist away from the police's gaze.

A house on Estrella Street between Colón and Montevideo streets became a refuge. Malena Bareiro and Pachín Centurión lived there, a couple who welcomed young artists and dissidents. “They were already a family who welcomed us young people who had nowhere else to be,” recalls Rocío Robledo, singer-songwriter and cultural manager. “After college, we would hang out there, and it was a warm place where we could be .”

That same spirit later ignited La Chispa: a cultural center born not from an institutional plan but from the desire to maintain an open space where art would be accessible to the entire community. Over time, La Chispa became a space for informal learning for an entire generation, from how to produce a festival to how to support the logistics of an event with volunteers. 

“It was and is a training ground for many of us,” says Rocío. “We learned the trade of cultural management, of creating a safe space for people. And that's no small feat.” Where the city imposed fences and evictions, the block became a stage, a collective mural, a dance floor, the collaborators of La Chispa built a safe space on the street.

For Paty Latorre, singer of Passiflorx and cultural manager, La Chispa is, above all, a place to discover a rare and powerful sense of belonging. “It was a place where I could discover projects, people who made me feel like I had a place in the world, where I could express who I was,” she recalls. “Ideas were much more important. That's what La Chispa leaves us with: that community is the most valuable thing we can create.”

In the same spirit, Manu Alviso, an LGBTQ+ artivist and cultural manager at Sala Piloto, says that La Chispa brings together all those communities that don't have space in other areas of the city, that are frowned upon, or that are barred from entering. In the historic center of Asunción, marked by neglect and mistrust, a legacy of the Stronist dictatorship still looms: the idea that danger lies "outside." "The center has a stigma that it's dangerous, that you're going to be robbed. All of that falls away when the people themselves are empowered by the space," he notes.

More than a technical debate

At 1:30 p.m., the judges make their decision. Prosecutor Elvia Chávez enters the courtroom along with defense attorneys Emilia Yugovich and Florencia Tornadu, and Sebastián Coronel. Cuaji softly hums " Desapego" by Purahéi Soul as the audience and press file in silently. The day before, he had sat in the defendant's seat and explained to the three judges why the argument over what is considered art cannot be grounds for a trial.

“It seems like we're talking about 1960s rock, when Elvis Presley or The Beatles burst onto the world music scene and were treated as Satanic. Today, they're great icons; there's no music that hasn't been influenced by one of them. It seems like the neighbors' complaints are based on aesthetic criteria. What can be understood is that we were shady, strange people, and it seems like it's a debate about what we understand by art or culture,” Cuaji said during his testimony.

Part of his argument is taken up in the long preamble by the presiding judge, Héctor Capurro, about the importance of La Chispa's contributions to local culture. But it quickly peters out when he announces that Sebastián has been found guilty and sentenced to nine months in prison with a suspended sentence for "air pollution and harmful noise."

The ruling, which came in a split vote, exposes the criminalization of independent spaces that support artistic and community expression in a city increasingly hostile to diversity. Based on a blank criminal law and already repealed municipal ordinances, the sentencing judges, Héctor Capurro and Juan Carlos Zárate, found that two of the six La Chispa events exceeded the maximum decibel level allowed by municipal ordinance. 

Capurro and Zárate voted to reject the defense's motion for comment at the start of the trial, arguing that Ordinance 183/2004 was in effect at the time of the events. However, Judge Yolanda Portillo dissented, holding that the ordinance used to charge the defendant was no longer in effect, and that, consequently, no crime had been committed, and Sebastián should be acquitted.

Legal loophole

Although prosecutor Elvia Chávez requested a four-year prison sentence, the majority of the court applied the law "most favorable" to the defendant, upholding the conviction but with a reduced sentence, as requested by the legal defense at the beginning of the trial. Sebastián's legal representative, Emilia Yugovich, explained that the case was based on repealed municipal regulations and a legal loophole.

Yugovich pointed out that there are no clear regulations in force in Asunción on how to measure decibels, which became evident during the oral trial, when the Municipal technicians themselves demonstrated that they didn't know how to conduct the sampling. In his opinion, the lack of precise rules affects not only the La Chispa case, but all citizens. 

"I understand the position of the judges who ruled in favor of the conviction and the typical conduct and rejected the motion to annul the accusation as a corporate matter for the judiciary along with that of the Public Prosecutor's Office, because all the cases they have for harmful noise emission are really going to fall apart because the municipalities have been using this ordinance," he stated. 

"This sentence represents a breach of the rule of law because the principle of legality was violated, and throughout the entire proceedings, from the intervention that was proven with the animosity against La Chispa, the principle of equality before the law was violated," she stated. The defense attorney also explained that the sentence imposed on Sebastián Coronel does not entail actual imprisonment. The prison sentence will not be carried out, and he will have to comply with the measures ordered by the court for two years.

Voices of culture support La Chispa

Following the conviction, the National Secretariat of Culture expressed its support for La Chispa through an official statement published on its social media. Minister of Culture Adriana Ortiz emphasized the importance of the cultural space and questioned the relevance of the accusation.

On the day he testified, he said that the existing legal loophole surrounding the regulation of cultural centers creates confusion and uncertainty for both cultural managers and residents. He explained that, together with the Listening Network, a draft municipal ordinance was drafted to provide a clear framework for these types of spaces. He also explained that the historic center of Asunción has the largest number of cultural centers in the country and that he considers them "heroes of the nation" for having resisted when cultural activity moved to other neighborhoods.

"Society needs open spaces to be able to freely express itself and foster active coexistence," he stated, arguing that the accusation against La Chispa represents an injustice in a context where the State should guarantee, not persecute, the right to culture.

In the days following the trial's conclusion, public figures from various sectors spoke out against Cuaji's conviction and called for the cultural center's acquittal. Paraguayan actress Ana Brun, known for her roles in Las herederas (2018), Matar a la bestia (2021), and the 6th Platino Ibero-American Film Awards (2019), told Presentes that La Chispa is a block reclaimed by culture lovers. "That place became, unknowingly, a space of resistance, where we can all go to express our joys, dreams, and hopes. We must protect that place, one of the few we have," she said.

Chirola, vocalist and leader of the Paraguayan band Kchiporros and also of La de Roberto, reflected on the city. “Asunción is already a city that has been battered, potentially green, potentially beautiful, potentially cultured. One of the things that hurts is the lack of options or proposals. Everything is very politically correct, everything is very accommodating; it's incredibly important to have a space for resistance,” he said.

He recalled an opportunity at La Chispa, when he played with La de Roberto, and said: "We need a space like La Chispa to continue developing street art, resilient art, and an underground that gives life and soul to the city. It hurts to see cultural leaders punished."

Support art

Sabb Montes, singer of Milkshake and panelist on the program "Noche de furia," believes La Chispa is essential. "For artists, it's a space where we can create, meet, and have our voices heard. Preserving it is very important because it means independent culture can stay alive and our new projects can be born and emerge. Supporting La Chispa means supporting art and everyone's creativity," he said.

For Jenny Hicks of Purahéi Soul, La Chispa is a symbol and has been part of the entire history of her musical project. “We truly consider it one of the vital spaces for working inclusively on culture in our country. It's one of the few places where we can see cooperative, community-based work, inclusive spaces for art and music. I find it a bit difficult to speak; these are sensitive days for our country's culture,” she says.

That sentiment echoed several representatives of the cultural sector who expressed their solidarity with La Chispa. Rocío Robledo recalled the murals that municipal officials covered up with gray paint. Her voice is filled with sadness. “It's symbolic and has to do with the fact that institutions that should support spaces like La Chispa, like the municipality of Asunción, or the Attorney General's Office, which should ensure the safety of citizens, are concerned about persecuting a space like La Chispa, where all we did was be happy on the streets.”