Causing major disruptions to the neighborhood of La Esperilla where the Ibero-American Park is located, Mayor Roberto Salcedo’s Bright Christmas park, with its 27 million little lights adorning a Christmas recreation, has been receiving raves and blasts. Diario Libre editor Ines Aizpun writes: “I consider it an urban-planning error to concentrate it in one single place without the conditions to deal with the volume of visitors.”
Unprecedented traffic jams are affecting the area around the park, causing major problems for local residents. Informal parking attendants have taken over the street area and go to the bathroom wherever they like, she writes.
“If it had been properly thought out, the project could have been set up at different points in the city, distributing the attraction and reducing its impact,” she comments. She mentions the experience of Gramado, in Brazil, that sends 600 Father Christmases to patrol the city streets.
Aizpun is also critical of the alcoholic drinks promotions that accompany the installations and says that the area is chaotic from 6 to 12 midnight.