Although attendance at the Ajijic Balloon Regatta was not as large as in previous years, the teams shared that this year they felt very favored by the weather and grateful for the participation and attendance of the people; the festival ended with a clean slate, with no incidents involving balloons.
According to the director of Civil Protection and Firefighters, Lorenzo Antonio Salazar Guerrero, attendance was estimated at approximately two thousand to two thousand five hundred people. 500 people less than last year, where an attendance of approximately three thousand people was reported. The 12 teams launched mostly around 20 balloons, some a couple more, some a few less.
This year, several of the interviewed teams agreed that the weather most of the day favored the elevation of the balloons, although for a while the air currents were strong and affected some balloons. Even so, the fear of rain was dispersed and the weather continued to be suitable for launching the balloons throughout the afternoon.
«We did great, it was a triumph, we didn’t burn almost any balloons. Out of 15, one burned. It was a challenge and we competed against ourselves. We were satisfied and so were the people. There was no rain, but the wind did affect us for a while, although it also helped,» shared Álvaro and Antonio, from the El Rosario team.
This year the organization changed, with Anastasio González Romero from the Beach Boys team as the organizer. «This year we tried to accommodate so that there was more space and fewer street vendors so that people could enjoy it more. There were the usual 12 teams that participated,» he said.
Anastasio added that, due to space issues at the Cruz Azul Sports Field, they probably wouldn’t let one more team join, although an exception could be made if all the team owners agreed.
For his part, the former organizer of the Regatta, Mauricio Higuera of the Piratas team, commented that in his opinion all the teams have improved, both in design and in size and innovation of the balloons and that is good. He also took the opportunity to thank the people who attend and cooperate, since thanks to them they do not start from scratch each year and the incentive helps them in the elaboration of the balloons.
On the other hand, some of the attendees interviewed agreed that early on there was fear of rain, although this was resolved at the end of the day. “It was good, the balloons seemed fewer but they were nice. It was noticeable that there were fewer people, but it was good to allow people to walk in the field,” commented an interviewee named Jorge.
Source: semanariolaguna
