More than five years ago Mikel González Cthulhu (Santurtzi, 1981) launched Cosmic Tentacles in Vitoria-Gasteiz in 2015, rooted in counterculture and the underground, without private sponsors or public subsidies.

Thus was born the cultural project that would become the saski of his artistic concerns: a seal for extreme sounds, a space for reflection on concerts and counterculture, but also a graphic design and exhibition organizer study, among many other "tentacles".

The Cosmic Fest festival has already organized six editions. During the pandemic, the festival is reinvented and returned in Cosmic Sessions format on April 17: Tickets for the concert, which will be in the Jimmy Jazz room, will be about to run out, will be for Future Terror and Ino Ni. By 22 May, another session has already been closed and there will be more.

While waiting for an opportunity on COPE radio with Carlos Herrera, Cthulhu has become famous for his acid humor and political criticism, both in the radio program presented by Hala Bedin (From Abismo) and in the designs he creates as "graphic guerrilla".

The project, built step by step, meets censorship and the Streisand effect: The Department of Homeland Security has filed a complaint against the design study at the Office of the Prosecutor of Álava for allegedly insulting the Municipal Police on a poster. "All Smurfs Are Bastards," the poster said; let's hear what the poster creator says.

 

 

 

 

 

 

How did you find out about the complaint?

The only thing I know so far has been through the press. I haven't been told anything yet, but knowing El Correo's direct relationship with police sources, I've given enough credibility to the news.

Do you not know anything else?

So far it is known that the councillor, Marian Gutierrez (PSE), has transferred the complaint to the Public Prosecutor’s Office to investigate whether there is a crime of insults against the authority. Basically, we consider that this would be the application of the Moorish Law, since only Article 37.4 states "lack of respect and consideration" towards the security forces and bodies.

How did you feel?

I've felt awe and fear, I'm not going to hide it. All of a sudden, when I saw that I was being told this way in the press, I was afraid. No one from El Correo or the City Hall has contacted me. Seeing what the country we live in and what is happening to other people... But the truth is that there have been a lot of people who have come in contact with me, especially from the field of culture. In the end, those are our weapons: feeling arrogant, supportive, etc. I'm already calmer. Fear became anger and trust, so it's time to look forward.

What did I mean by the poster?

I wanted to denounce what happened on 13 February in Correría Street; there are many videos of police abuse, pride and violence. In addition, I was close to it, because I know the detained person very well — Soup from the Iguana bar — and the actual facts have nothing to do with what the police say. The poster was an answer. Of course, I made it angry, but I reclaim my freedom to get angry and respond like this. Like most of the posters I make, although it has a very political tone, it's made of humor.

Do you think you have been able to offend someone?

I understand that the Municipal Police may have been offended, but I believe that feeling offended is not yet defined in the Penal Code. The rest of us have also felt offended by the police action of that day, but each from his field and as he can, and in this case my area is design and humor.

Does the cartel fall within the limits of freedom of expression?

The Penal Code defines two very clear limits: the crime of hatred and the exaltation of terrorism. In this case, the poster and the message that accompanies it are very far from a hate crime and do not praise anything.

And does artistic creation have to have limits?

In my view, there should only be limitations if freedom of expression is used to fuel hatred against a minority. Beyond that, I think there should be no limits. Freedom of expression includes all expressions that offend or insult, which are also necessary to build a society that wants to be truly democratic and plural. What is offensive is that in 2021 you have to discuss something that should be a "minimum programme". The attacks begin whenever the alleged "full democracy" of the Spanish State is called into question and artists are being persecuted against basic principles and human rights.

What would you say to the councillor responsible for the complaint?

Soon we will ask for a quote, and I think we deserve it. I would ask you to explain this absurdity. I understand that there are pressures from the Algerian local police union SIPLA, but I find it strange that a socialist councillor wants to apply the Mordaza Law to an artist, when his own party has brought that law to the Constitutional Court. In fact, at a time when we have so many challenges in all areas, the debate is just feeding -- I find this incredible. I believe that there is a political decision to silence certain voices. Are you so afraid to speak and receive criticism? They are not able to receive criticism with an instrument other than repression. A hard hand inflates the voices, far from making them quiet.

The solidarity campaign has already started, isn't it?

On the one hand, this week we will be bringing out a manifesto in favour of freedom of expression, and we will try to obtain support, especially from the cultural sphere of Vitoria-Gasteiz. On the other hand, Cosmic Tentacles wants to respond with humor and through social media we have launched the campaign We Are All Gargamel. I don't want this to change the mood and style that we've always used, I give it up. In the story of the pottokas are good pottokis, so our joke is to identify with the villain Gargamel. We will try to be a little careful and have no more complaints, haha.

Apart from the legal area or the mobilisations that we can make, we want to bring the issue to an area where we have more chance of winning: creativity and humor.