On Friday night, 42-year-old acrobat Pedro Aunión Monroy passed away after an aerial stunt at the Mad Cool Festival in Spain went horribly wrong. Just before Green Day’s set, Monroy fell from a box that was lifted 100 feet in the air by a crane. You can watch video of Monroy’s fall here, but it is obviously very disturbing.
Monroy died shortly after his fall despite the best efforts from paramedics. The show continued with only a slight delay, and Green Day went onstage to perform without knowing that Monroy had passed. The band posted the following messages on Twitter after their set.
https://twitter.com/GreenDay/status/883495146171637760
https://twitter.com/GreenDay/status/883495192996831232
Lots of people are upset at both Green Day and Mad Cool Festival for not cancelling the rest of the concert after such a tragic event took place. According to the Rolling Stone, Mad Cool Festival released this statement to defend their actions.
“Mad Cool Festival regrets the terrible accident that the aerial dancer suffered during the second day of the festival. For security reasons, the festival decided to continue with its programming,” organizers wrote. “We send our most sincere condolences to all his family. Tomorrow Saturday 8, during the festival, we will render a heartfelt tribute to the artist.”
Rest in peace, Pedro.
