The mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martinez-Almeidainaugurated the Christmas period this Thursday with the opening of the traditional municipal crèche at the Cibeles Palace. He did it with representatives of all political groups, with the exception of Más Madrid, which not only did not attend the event, but also with its spokesperson at the City Hall, Rita Maestredid not respond to the invitation either.
This is not surprising considering the embarrassing spectacle Rita Maestre put on in 2011 when she entered a chapel at the Complutense University topless to cries of: “you will burn like in 36“. The spokesperson for Madrid City Hall was fined more than 4,000 euros for this demonstration.
Almeida was accompanied by the vice mayor and delegate for security and emergencies Inma Sanzand the delegate of Culture, Tourism and Sports, Marta Rivera de la Cruz. On behalf of the PSOE, he participated Antonio Giraldo given that Reyes Maroto He was unable to attend.
This crèche, which can be visited until January 5, is made up of more than 300 unique figurines modeled by the artist Jose Luis Mayo Lebrija. Designed by the Association of Nativity Creators of Madrid, the installation, in traditional Hebrew style, marks the start of the celebrations of the most endearing holidays of the year.
The municipal crèche offers a journey of the events recounted by the evangelists Saint Luke and Saint Matthew, with details inspired by the apocryphal gospels. The inauguration of the birth at CentroCentro included the performance of Madrid Youth Choirwhich is part of the varied musical program organized by the Department of Culture, Tourism and Sports to celebrate this Christmas.
Almeida encouraged people to take advantage of this complete Christmas program, “a time of peace, coexistence and overcoming difficulties together and in which we know how to transmit a message of charity to those who are going through the worst times”, in reference to the people affected. speak DANA.
From Madrid, the mayor assured that it is the best door that can be imagined for Christmas because “it is a city that welcomes, receives and opens its arms to all those who want to come to this city, which makes of Christmas one of its reasons”. of pride and it allows us to better know our past and our roots,” he said.
As in previous years, the visit to the crèche will be accessible to people with disabilities. reduced mobility and will provide visitors with an audio guide as well as a magnetic loop for the hearing impaired. The nursery will be open from Tuesday to Sunday of 10:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.with a price of fifty cents. Tickets can be purchased on the websites www.navidadmadrid.com and www.centrocentro.org.
Christmas lighting
The presentation of the nativity scene coincided with the traditional Christmas lighting in the city of Madrid. The capital will be decorated with 7,100 light garlands, 121 illuminated cherry trees, a dozen large illuminated fir trees and other typical Christmas motifs. This year the imposing luminous tree of Puerta del Sol will have a renewed design, reaching almost 37 meters high (equivalent to 12 floors) and will be crowned with a star.
In total, they will be nearly 12 million bulbs which will light up the streets of the Spanish capital for more than a month. The inauguration began at 7:00 p.m. Luis de la Fuentenational football coach, was responsible this year for inaugurating the lighting for these festivities.
The most special detail that the 2024 Christmas lighting will have is that some of the lights that will illuminate the city will be designed by children first and second year students from different schools in the capital. So, as you walk the streets of the capital this Thursday, you will be able to see their creations adorn and decorate your city.
