20,000 people this weekend enjoyed the large parade that launched Chile Celebrates Summer activities
Some 20,000 people who this weekend participated in the successful show “Neruda is flying through” enjoyed animated and colorful walks, with musicalized poems and stations with theater sketches. The street carnival toured the streets of Recoleta, Independencia and Santiago this Saturday and Sunday, with a comparsa that included music, theater and poetry performed by the La Patogallina Troupe.
The parade marked the beginning of the Government-sponsored program, Chile Celebrates Summer, which will offer more than 600 free recreational activities to people across Chile from Arica to the Magellan regions. The program includes a wide variety of artistic and musical shows, as well as sports activities and services to be enjoyed throughout the summer from December to March. All family members are invited to join the fun. More information is available at www.chilecelebra.gob.cl.
Culture Minister, Ernesto Ottone, evaluated both days as positive. “With this spectacular inauguration of Chile Celebrates Summer, we met all of our objectives: to bring citizens together to participate in free artistic expressions while supporting an initiative that emerged from the community, which is to give prominence to the figure of Neruda, and making use of public spaces,” he said. “We want to boost our ability to come together and enjoy a healthy and friendly coexistence, which is what culture affords us. For this reason, we call on everyone to join us in more than 600 activities to take place from Arica to the Magellan region over the coming months,” the Minister emphasized.
On Sunday, the closing day of “Neruda is flying through” started just after 7 p.m. at the Cultural Square of the Mapocho Station Cultural Center. Some 20 actors acted out the story of Neruda’s crossing of the Atlantic in the Winnipeg to Chile. The parade continued to the former headquarters of the Central Committee of the Communist Party on the corner of Teatinos and Compañía streets, where the political life of the writer was remembered through music and performances.
The parade ended at La Moneda Palace, where ministers, mayors and local officials participated in the closing ceremony that included a mapping in Constitution Square and saying farewell to the 22-meter figure of the poet, the true protagonist of the show.
The large-scale event was sponsored by the National Council for Culture and the Arts, the Regional Government of Metropolitan Santiago and the municipalities of Recoleta and Independencia, as well as the Neruda Foundation and the Santiago Metro.