The Granadilla de Abona City Council dispensed with fireworks on the night of December 31. Instead, he opted for a light show that was projected on the main façade of the Médano hotel, on the central beach of this town.
The objective of this action is clear and is to improve the care of children who have autism spectrum disorders and animals, which suffer the effects of the noise unleashed by these celebrations.
Also for respect for the environment, since, usually, these festivals leave an important trail of waste as collateral damage, as happened last September with the remains of flyers and firecrackers abandoned on the coast of El Médano, according to neighbors and parties such as the animal rights group Pacma denounced.
In fact, this situation motivated a recent meeting to try, precisely, to minimize the use of pyrotechnics. The mayor, Jennifer Miranda, and several councilors were present at the meeting.
“It is not an easy issue to regulate, because it is a very deep-rooted practice that is also difficult to control, but we intend that, in those events organized by the City Council directly, the use of fireworks is minimized. , looking for alternatives. At the end of the year, for example, we do not use pyrotechnics, but rather a light show,” explained the Councilor for Culture, Celebrations and Citizen Participation, José Francisco Socas.
“The line we want to follow is that, wherever the City Council takes over the organization, we make light projections, alone or alternated with other means, such as drones, working hand in hand with the festival commissions, respecting the line they decide to follow. “said the mayor.
Waste dumped in the municipality
“We are aware – and it is an issue to which we must be sensitive – of what children with autism spectrum disorders or animals suffer, in addition to the waste that is left strewn in different areas,” he insisted.
The debate about the use of fireworks during holidays is not new. In three weeks, Pacma managed to collect some 17,500 signatures by hand to request the regulation of fireworks in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. All this in November 2022, while a similar initiative, but at the island level, was announced in May of last year.
This same party made in December, before the Christmas holidays, a call to city councils throughout Spain to adopt various measures that would not allow the use of fireworks at Christmas because “it negatively affects animals, children, the elderly and people with disabilities.” special needs”.
