Ancient Sites as Concert Venues

Tuesday October 7, 2008

Placido Domingo performed a concert in Chichen Itza on Saturday. Billed as "The Concert of the Thousand Columns," the concert drew several thousand spectators who paid between five hundred and ten thousand Mexican pesos for tickets. Luciano Pavarotti performed a concert in Chichen Itza in 1997, but concerts are rarely held in Mexico's archaeological sites.

The INAH, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History which oversees all of Mexico's archaeological sites, rarely gives permission for events to be held on sites, and had initially opposed the Placido Domingo concert. Apparently the concert organizers reached an agreement that ensured that the site would not be compromised. However, a group of Mexican archaeologists continued to protest, accusing concert organizers of seeking monetary gain when federal laws state that the country's archaeological sites should be used for educational purposes only.

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