SPRINGVILLE — When 16-year-old Jess Antonio Caumatzi of Pueblo, Mexico, arrived in America earlier this month, his focus was on participating in the Springville World Folkfest. But he has spent the past several days at a Salt Lake City hospital recovering from injuries sustained in an ATV accident.
Caumatzi and his father are part of a mariachi band that had been invited to participate in the Folkfest.
The musical adventure in the United States suddenly became something much less pleasant Saturday when Caumatzi drove off a Hobble Creek Canyon cliff on a four-wheeler, sustaining a number of serious injuries.
"He's on the mend," said Folkfest organizer Teddy Anderson. "We should be able to get him out of the hospital in a day or two."
Caumatzi is currently at LDS Hospital, recovering from a spinal injury, a punctured lung, a lacerated liver and several broken ribs.
Caumatzi was originally taken to Utah Valley Regional Hospital, said Martin Conover, chairman of the board for the Folkfest, but because of the extent of his injuries he was later transferred to LDS Hospital.
These types of accidents are not supposed to happen, Anderson said.
Participants in Folkfest sign a form stating they will not participate in any activity that involves riding vehicles such as motorcycles and ATVs.
Also, groups participating in the Folkfest sign waivers acknowledging it is not liable for any medical coverage they might need during their stay.
Folkfest organizers have not abandoned the injured youth, however. Officials have been working with Intermountain Health Care to find a way to pay the medical bills, Anderson said.
The cost for the medical care for Caumatzi has not been determined and likely will not be known until he is released from the hospital.
Conover is heading talks with IHC to find funds, possibly through IHC's charitable foundation, to cover the medical bills.
The Folkfest has raised money for plane tickets to Mexico City for Caumatzi and his father. The funds came from a generous donation, Anderson said. The donation was critical in order to allow Caumatzi to leave the hospital.
"They will release him to go home as long as we have airfare for him," Anderson said.
This is the first such incident for the Folkfest in its 19-year history. All groups participating in the Folkfest are supposed to provide their own medical insurance.
Anderson said Folkfest officials did not learn of the mariachi band's lack of insurance until they approached the group after the accident.
Folkfest organizers plan to make some adjustments in the future to make sure something like this doesn't happen again, Conover said.
"We'll probably try to be more insistent that groups coming to this country provide some type of medical insurance," Conover said. "But it's very difficult."
E-mail: rhugh@desnews.com