Saturday, April 03, 2010

Special Saturday Post

I stole the picture here from our local newspaper, Por Esto.

It shows the wreckage That Occurred When the cranes Used to construct the stage for the Elton John concert at Chichen Itza tonight collapsed. Three men were injured, one loosing his right leg.




The Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza, Located in the state of the Yucatan, Have Been Designated as one of the new wonders of the world.

Sorry, But It just burns my butt That this sacred place, now this overly hyped tourist mecca, is Being Turned Into a venue for "stars" to make Another million. Surely There Are Other venues for them to use. Like maybe a Legitimate auditorium?

I love Elton John. Sarah Brightman too, who has also performed there. Include Placido Domingo on That list also. Even so, I will never Attend a concert here. I think it is just wrong, wrong, wrong.

Rant over.

14 comments:

ronnie said...

I read that Elton John dedicated "I'm Still Standing" for the man that lost his leg.

Life's a Beach! said...

That crane is awfully close to El Castillo. They're lucky it didn't damage the pyramid. And it's wrong! Build an outdoor amphitheatre somewhere else away from the actual park!

threecollie said...

I have to agree with you. Something wrong with that scenario.

- Mexican Trailrunner said...

I totally agree with you. It's an amazing place, a spiritual place, and a place to connect with another world. Shouldn't be a entertainment venue.
Interesting pic, the damage is significant and the fact that no one was killed is indeed a miracle.

Anonymous said...

I agree, however, it takes the people of Mexico to affect change. Of Course, sending e-mails to the performers and the promoters wouldn't hurt any ether.

ladyluna said...

Using this sacred place for concerts is really close to prostitution.

Jonna said...

I don't agree. They have already turned it into a ride at Disney with the colored light shows and the Aztec dancers (??). Not to mention the hordes of ambulantes hawking the latest from southeast Asia.

I wanted to go and see Elton there but the tickets were pretty expensive and I decided not to spend the money. Plus, you have to either drive, take a bus or find a hotel and that added to the cost. Paul McCartney is coming next but I'm not as tempted by him. Elton and Placido were very tempting for me.

Daniel said...

I heard the prices range from 80 - 800 USD, so none of the Mayans living close to it could even think about going there and that the government has now bought the property from private owners for 17.6 million dollars and they are announcing Paul McCartney to be the next performance..
Hope some of this money actually goes back to keeping Chichen Itza in the best possible condition!

mcm said...

HI --
Just to clarify -- the injured worker (the most serious of the three) had a compound fracture of the tibia and fibula. No report of an amputation.
Also -- what collapsed was the aluminum framework, not the cranes. The new setup, rushed in from Cancun, is not as tall, and is more sturdy (not aluminum).
and, I totally agree with you about the misuse of the site. But, it will continue, as long as the current state government has the deciding word.

Islagringo said...

in general: I got my info from our local newspaper yesterday. They reported that one man had broken his leg in several places and another had his cut off. There was no update in today's paper. The cranes did NOT collapse. It was the structure of the stage itself.

Just because the powers that be have turned something into a Disneyesque recreational place, does not make it right. I think we are going to see this place become a favorite for big name performers. It is dramatic and can hold a lot of people at $80 minimum.

Shame on all of them.

Unknown said...

Tacky, tacky, tacky. Both Elton John and the idea to throw a pop concert so near a valuable site.

One Small Voz said...

Sad that people were injured and a historic, beautiful monument was compromised for a publicity stunt. I love Elton John (he's coming to Veracruz next month!) but I wouldn't attend an event of pure entertaining nature in a sacred spot. In Veracruz he'll be playing at the soccer stadium.

Anonymous said...

It has turned into a disgrace on an everyday basis also. We went there ten years ago and it was very pleasant, and you could still climb up El Castillo. Now there are vendors all over the place trying to sell goods. It just turned me off terribly. I will never go back there again if that is the way it is. What a shame of a wonder.

Anonymous said...

Wow, I cannot believe they have concerts there. Such a sacred place. When I heard about this, I had no idea it was actually on the grounds of Chichen Itza, this is unbelievable to me.