Christmas fair kicks off in Mexico City’s Zócalo square
Mexico City, Dec 17 (EFE).- Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum inaugurated the 2021 Christmas fair in the Zócalo square on Friday.
The fair would continue until Dec.31, when iconic cumbia group Los Ángeles Azules would ring in the New Year at the central Paseo de la Reforma avenue, the mayor said.
“This fair is a thank you to the inhabitants of Mexico City, it is for you,” Sheinbaum said during the inauguration.
“It is a time to be with family, to be with our loved ones, to reflect on what we have gone through and, above all, look toward the future with hope. So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone,” she added.
Sheinbaum said that 2020 and 2021 had been difficult due to the Covid-19 pandemic and called for a loud round of applause for the medical professionals who risked their lives to save the infected and other workers who worked non-stop to keep the city running.
The 2021 Christmas fair includes free activities for visitors to enjoy, including concerts and plays, a Christmas village, monumental Christmas trees, rides, a snow-filled forest, an ice slide, and audiovisual experiences.
Mexican actor and Opera singer Rafael Jorge Negrete will perform a concert of Christmas carols on a large stage.
The Mexico City Chamber Orchestra will present “The Nutcracker” among others.
Groups belonging to the cultural and educational programs of the capital’s government and the country’s education ministry will also perform traditional Christmas pastorales and choirs.
There will be 10 exhibition stalls and another four for workshops for reading, the right to memory, animal welfare, and the right to culture, in which the Economic Culture Fund (FCE) and the National Institute of Fine Arts, and the National Institute of Anthropology and History will participate, among other agencies.
Members of the capital’s Institute of Youth will be stationed at the entrances to provide hand-sanitizing gel to the attendees, who have been asked to maintain social distancing and wear face masks.
The fair will be open on regular days between 12 – 9 pm, between 12 – 5 pm on Dec. 24 and Dec. 31, and between 5 – 9 pm on Dec. 25. EFE
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