The turning on of the Christmas lights in Vigo generates, as every year, great expectations. The mayor of the city, Abel Caballerohas spoken about it in an interview on RTVE’s Canal 24 Horas, where he has also confessed that which language he would not use to announce the countdown during the Christmas lighting because he doesn’t speak it.
As of this Saturday, at 8 p.m., “Christmas starts in Vigo and Christmas starts everywhere,” said Caballero before advance some details about it. “We will make an ignition more sober, more austerebecause the memory of Valencia is still present, but we are starting Christmas and we are starting a great celebration with lights that have been announced in New York, London, Rome, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, everywhere,” he said.
Like newthis year changes “the concept of the Christmas tree”, Abel Caballero said. “We have a gigantic Christmas tree, it measures 50 meters, but this year we are changing the concept of the tree. for a forest“, said the mayor of the city.
“In the great square of Vigo, which is called Puerta del Sol, just like the one in Madrid, we have the great tree of 50 meters, but we are going to have nine more treesof 9 or 10 meters each, which is three stories high. What we are going to have is a forest of Christmas treesThe music and the carols, each of the trees and lights make gestures, as an accompaniment to a forest of living Christmas trees,” he explained.
The language management of the Vigo councilor during the Christmas lights has also been another of the issues mentioned during his interview. It is usual for Abel Caballero to use the Spanish, Galician and English at the time of the countdown before the tree lighting, and this year, the mayor does not rule out adding other languages.
Maybe I can do it too in French, in Italian, in Portuguesebecause of the similarity of language… We have visitors from so many countries…”, he said.
However, among the possible languages has ruled out German. “I wouldn’t be able to do it in German, because. I don’t speak it“, he confessed. “But it’s a good idea, I have to use more languages,” Caballero reiterated when explaining the international importance that has the retransmission of the lighting of the lights of Vigo, which in other years has been seen in Latin American countries or even through the British channel BBC One.
Caballero has also advanced that there will be a special ignition For those affected by the Valencia DANA. “There is going to be. Wait until eight o’clock and we’ll check,” he assured.
On the other hand, in the face of criticism who claim that the lighting is done too early, Caballero responded that many do it for political reasons, such as the PP or the BNG, “who do not want Christmas in Vigo, because they believe that I will lose the elections, and they are completely wrong”.
Secondly, the councillor admitted that “Christmas does produce nuisances, and we are acting thereWe are giving cards for exclusive traffic for residents, the volume of music is very measured, the people are spread over more places because we are extending Christmas to more areas of the city …”, he listed.
According to Caballero has pointed out, there is a high demand for streets in Vigo that ask him to be illuminated, in addition to the 450 streets that remain with lighting during this Christmas period. “I have 400 streets that request me additionally to illuminate them as well. The tendency, by demand, of the citizens is to expand more. And this is what satisfies me. This, and that put Vigo in the world,” concluded the mayor.