The night of concerts by Melendi and India Martínez in Mancha Blanca, as well as the subsequent open-air dance, left a total of 50 incidents and 15 transfers to the Molina Orosa Hospital, according to the mayor of Tinajo, Jesús Machín, on Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero.
Machín has detailed that those transfers to the hospital were due to some alcohol-induced comas and ankle sprains, and has thanked the island's population for the “excellent” behavior during the festive days in Mancha Blanca.
“You have to see how the road from La Vegueta to Mancha Blanca was full of people, or the food stalls at noon where you couldn't find a free table”, the mayor stressed.
“We had the issue super controlled”, assured Jesús Machín, who also thanked the State Security Forces and Corps, Civil Protection, NGOs, and the Mancha Blanca festival committee for the work done.
“We made the decision not to let any more cars in”
The celebration of the concerts collapsed the access roads to Mancha Blanca, generating long queues of cars that started from the capital from 8:00 p.m. Due to the number of cars trying to access the town, the mayor points out that they had to make the decision not to let any more vehicles pass after 12 midnight.
“I expected a lot of people, but not as many as there were. It was decided that it was better to stop cars from entering because there was no parking either, and I am sorry for all these people who were left on the way”, points out the mayor, who assures that there came a time when at the roundabout of the Farmer's Monument they asked for residence, and if you were from Tinajo they let you pass, and if not, they didn't.
Machín has described the Popular Party's criticism of these queues as “unfortunate”, questioning that there was “lack of planning” for both concerts. “You never know how many people are going to come or not, you can only make a forecast, but the reality is that there has never been a concert in Lanzarote that generated so much public”, the mayor defends.
However, he maintains that this type of situation “is worth learning from”, although he insists on valuing the operation of the Los Dolores festival security plan. “The planning was good, we will correct errors, and with the traffic issue we will try to raise awareness among people to use public transport”, he adds.
Regarding the public transport available in Los Dolores, Machín maintains that at times it was “insufficient”. “I passed by the stop several times and it was always overflowing. For the next one we will have to put four buses, six or however many are needed”, he points out, even pointing out that “they should be free”.
Regarding taxis, Machín acknowledges that he received calls from the sector in which they expressed their annoyance “for not being able to pass through the Tinguatón road”, an area through which the bus did pass. “We have to improve that, and we will make a series of plans of where the buses and taxis are”, he affirms.
In addition, Jesús Machín announces that they will try to “find more parking spaces”, even contacting owners of abandoned farms in the area.
Finally, the mayor emphasizes that the Los Dolores festivals “are insular”. “The president is aware, but whoever comes after must be clear that this is a party that should not cost the City Council anything, since we already bear the logistical burden”, he concludes.
