There were five days of celebration in which thousands of residents of the region and tourists enjoyed the return of La Pampilla de Coquimbo, an event in which typical food, an important artistic group, entertainment and commerce were present in the traditional venue, recorded in the 2023 edition, according to According to the municipality, between September 15th and 20th there were more than 700,000 visitors.
This Thursday, Mayor Ali Manouchehri, Carabineros General Juan Muñoz and Presidential Delegate (S) Galo Luna met in La Pampilla to take stock of the security measures after the end of official activities.
Thus, the Carabineros highlighted that during the five days of celebrations, 33 prisoners were registered in the facility, mainly in connection with property crimes, assaults, fights, arrests for carrying a knife and pending files in the courts.
For Mayor Ali Manouchehri, hosting a well-organized party for all families was a priority, as was ensuring the safety of the hundreds of thousands of people who filled the venue during the celebrations, a goal that was achieved given the high turnout of people and the individual events that occurred.
Of course, there were certain aspects that should be better considered for future editions, such as the availability of toilets, as most of them were only in a single area, as well as the use of mobile phones, which had no reception at certain times. In addition, one of the elements presented for the first time in this pampilla were the metal detector wings, which would not have been used in the best possible way, also considering that many people “enter the wrong way” through unauthorized access and put them on the stage use Due to the large number of people, staying in this sector was practically impossible.
In this regard, Guido Hernández, City Councilor of Coquimbo, noted: “The best thing was the quality of the event, the artists and the show and in general the size expected.” The bad thing was the lack of connectivity, which made communication between people difficult, and that The ugly thing was that there was a lot of disorder in the trade. “Some couldn’t work on the first day because the conditions weren’t there.”
“Unfortunately there were no controls at some entrances. So we can only hope that the balance sheet will be positive in terms of numbers and that we will no longer have any excuses for being in the red,” he added.
What could be improved, he explained: “The question of access and allowing parking on the edge of the site and avoiding overloading of La Pampilla with vehicles, in addition, the security commissions inside, the evacuation routes for people from the main stage,” as it It often became chaotic due to the large number of people because they were not well demarcated.”
Another important point, according to Hernández, was that recycling was not encouraged. “In the Pampillas of 2018 and 2019, efforts were made in this regard, but unfortunately not now.” On the other hand, bathrooms became a scarce commodity, but since there were no other alternatives, they charged high prices for sanitation services, what a nuisance in the community cared.”
“Moreover, as council members of the Commission, we raised these points in advance but did not arrive in time and that is a mistake. Despite the massiveness and expectations regarding the numbers, not everyone was satisfied,” he emphasized.
For his part, Nelson Martínez, councilor of Coquimbo, emphasized: “We still don’t have information about the numbers and how much has been collected. I think they will pass it on to two more councils.”
He reported on the balance: “I was in La Pampilla almost every day, saw a lot of people and all expectations from the perspective of the crowd were met.” “I have rarely seen so many people.”
Regarding security, he emphasized: “It was good because, to my knowledge, there have been no major police incidents that would say otherwise. Although there have been problems such as fights, these are practically commonplace at these major events.”
“I think that the expectations in terms of security were met because the carabineros and the guards were fed up, access was well controlled and the shows were well received,” he stressed.
When asked what went wrong during the event, he replied: “It was due to the organization as such, because in the VIP area a lot of people arrived with wristbands and could not enter because it collapsed for sure.” But in Overall it was very good and the balance was right.”
“Expectations were fully met and the line-up of artists was generally well received. Now we hope that the numbers are there and that we come out of this without any losses,” he added.
Finally, he claimed: “I imagine that the return will be scheduled for the meetings of the Pampilla Commission in January or February and there we will raise the possibility of building more bathrooms, more massive and of better quality, because .” The issue of hygiene is important. At events as big as this.”
