The Argentinean musician Vicentico performs throughout the Vive Latino music festival in Mexico City, Saturday, March 13, 2020. The two-day rock festival is without doubt one of the most necessary and longest working of Mexico. (AP Photo/Christian Palma)
Image Credit: AP
While the coronavirus pandemic has led authorities across the globe to cancel concert events and sporting occasions, and even shut down each day actions in some locations, Mexico City goes forward with Vive Latino — one of the vital necessary music festivals within the nation.
Some acts backed out, however tens of hundreds of music followers flocked on Saturday to the primary day of the festival, which nonetheless anticipated Guns N’ Roses, Carlos Vives and Zoe to be amongst its headliners. Organisers stated greater than 70,000 tickets had been bought for every of the festival’s two days.
Concerns in regards to the new Covid-19 sickness have been evident, although. At the doorway, the standard safety checks for such occasions had a brand new filter: Each particular person coming into was checked for fever and a robust scent of antibacterial gel permeated within the air.
But as soon as previous that, the dynamics of the festival weren’t a lot modified. People walked excitedly towards the assorted phases and crowded collectively for the performances.
Alan Miranda, who was making his first go to to Vive Latino and particularly needed to see The Warning, stated he felt many individuals are overreacting to the potential hazard of contagion at massive gatherings.
“Because I consider it is more a collective hysteria than any other thing. In Mexico we have a culture of a little bit more of hygiene that helps us to limit this kind of transmissions,” he stated.
Santiago Ayala was accompanied by his spouse and his 9-yr-outdated daughter, Regina, who wore a Guns N’ Roses T-shirt to her first Vive Latino.
People take a part of the ‘Vive Latino’ music festival carrying masks on the Foro Sol in Mexico City, on March 14, 2020. The festival is carried out with excessive well being measures to keep away from the unfold of the coronavirus, COVID-19. / AFP / Alejandro MELENDEZ
Image Credit: AFP
“In the end we thought that at any moment we could catch it here, in the pharmacy in the tortilla line. We decided to take the risk and come,” Ayala stated, including that they introduced alongside antibacterial gel and tissues and didn’t plan to push into crowds.
Only a number of folks confirmed up carrying masks, reminiscent of Daniel Ramirez, who lined his face with a masks embellished with an image of a fox. He stated he suffers from bronchial asthma and must be extra cautious. He was additionally utilizing antibacterial gel.
He stated he trusted the Mexican officers’ determination to let the festival go forward.
“We have to be informed and before panicking you have to read some texts and know that it is serious but we are still in a passable stage,” Ramirez stated of the outbreak.
Hugo Lopez-Gatell, deputy director of the Health Department, stated Friday night time that Mexico continues to be in what is taken into account section one in every of a pandemic, with remoted circumstances of infections in individuals who had travelled overseas or in a number of circumstances contaminated others. Authorities have reported 41 circumstances throughout the nation.
Almost everybody recovers from the brand new virus, which frequently causes solely delicate signs, reminiscent of fever and cough. But for some folks, notably older adults and folks with pre-present well being issues, it may trigger extra severe diseases reminiscent of pneumonia.
Karina and Saul, who didn’t give their final title, have been at Vive Latino, however they weren’t satisfied in regards to the knowledge of doing so.
They stated they got here solely as a result of there have been no refunds for the tickets that price them 5,000 pesos (Dh836.9) for the 2 days of the festival. They tried to promote their tickets however weren’t provided sufficient.
In addition, they purchased the tickets firstly of the yr as a result of they needed to see the Japanese singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, and was one of many artists who didn’t come.
“It was disrespectful to the public that they didn’t cancel [the festival], and put everyone at risk,” stated Saul.
