“cornered” in their own city

This is one of the many realities of the neighborhood’s residents. Each with its own particularities, but all victims of certain excess – light, decibels, crowd, dirt – which the municipal council only partially corrected. Pressure from the neighborhood association in the center of Vigo, which has been fighting for years, also in court, has contributed to Christmas not being synonymous with insomnia.

Music is no longer “played” on the Ferris wheel as it was a few years ago and a sign written in Spanish and Portuguese – visitors from the neighboring country are legion – asks “not to shout on the Ferris wheel” and to “respect the rest of the neighbors”. The ride’s rotation speed has also been reduced to make it a circular ride that is more contemplative than adrenaline-inducing. But the stimulation and exhilaration that speed does not bring are still presentin the hustle and bustle crowds, which raise the decibels in the last hours of the day – the Ferris wheel opens until half past twelve in the morning.

Furthermore, at night, “even if the attractions close, people stay here, there are a lot of people”, explains Alba Novoa, spokesperson for an association which It already brings together around 300 people concerned and that, as they explain to ABC, neither the mayor, Abel Caballero, nor any of the competent advisors on the matter wanted to receive. “Those of us who live here are called ‘gentlemen of the center’, but it’s neither left nor right. Noise, dirt, environmental damage “They don’t understand ideologies,” said the association’s spokesperson in an interview with this newspaper.

Insufficient improvement

Regarding noise, what has already been said. The Town Hall, closed Due to pressure from these neighbors and also certain court resolutions, he has taken certain measures, but insufficient. The noise continues to exceed what is reasonable. “We have improved, but the values ​​are still high. Today, for example, we were at 70 decibels there, while the maximum should be 55,” explains the association’s spokesperson. Moreover, it was not even five o’clock in the afternoon. The busiest hours were yet to come. “It’s an acoustically saturated area.” At dusk, the area begins to fill with excursion groups. They get off the bus with the guide marking the path with an umbrella. Many come from Portugal, where the lights of Vigo are the subject of much preaching – and much promotion.

As for dirt, it goes without saying that today it is almost an inevitable consequence of affluence. “There are hikers who cross our door when it rains, eat in front of our door and some even urinate,” lament the residents of Colón Street, the one that leads directly to the Ferris wheel. To make matters worse, from one o’clock in the morning, the sirens of the Town Hall’s cleaning machines sound. Some neighbors paint a gloomy picture, shadows under the lights, the lights and the splendor: “Seagulls and rats appear, it’s not normal that we have to live with all this filth.”

Noise and dirt, but also environmental impact. First, the obvious: a city overwhelmed by traffic. Thousands of cars with thermal engines emitting gases at the entrances and exits of the city. But there is another impact, which has been less talked about, but which the neighborhood association tries to promote whenever it can: the destruction of the avenue de la Place de Compostelle, the most traditional gardens of the olive-growing city, smothered by stalls.

During these three months, next to the Ferris wheel, dozens of stalls invade the shopping center, where gifts, Christmas items and, above all, food and drinks are sold. Today there are 72 stands, but in other years there were over a hundred. It is also organized by a Madrid fairground association, so the return to the city, locals believe, is quite limited. “You install lights, cut branches, damage century-old trees, thousands of people walk on this ground… All this for the shopping center is not sustainable,” say these neighbors.

One of the great beneficiaries of Abel Caballero’s Christmas is undoubtedly hotels, which generally hang full sign on these dates. In the hotel industry, on the other hand, there is far from unanimity, there is a diversity of opinions. Perhaps the majority consider the flow of visitors as positive, but there are also those who see it as an excess: these are those who already fill their premises with their usual clientele. “Many of those who usually come always prefer not to come down at that time,” a hotelier told this newspaper. Not to mention the local businesses which are not linked to the hotel industry. They and their workers find more disadvantages than advantages in the Knights’ Christmas. In short, visitors still love them, but they tire the people of Vigon more and more. And not just those in the center.

The legal battle

Those who suffer from it, anyway, are the neighbors, like Aurora, from “point zero”. They believe that the fatigue they are beginning to perceive and, according to them, a lesser influx, will begin to deflate the excesses of Christmas in Vigo, which, prolonged beyond reason, become simply another season of the year.

At the same time, they are also fighting in court. While they are looking for weapons to resort to criminal prosecution, they have already won some battles in the contentious-administrative field. For example, a neighbor on Central Arenal Street did it. A court ordered the Council to compensate for it and take measures to ensure that noise levels are not exceeded, something that clearly has not been achieved. “Those of us who live on these streets are kidnapped, cornered,” Aurora insists. At worst, they fear the moment when someone in the neighborhood needs an ambulance and becomes stranded. Aurora, in any case, will not be able to read quietly in her living room until well into January.