Shortly after 11:00 a.m., the ‘Música por el Tajo’ festival began, an initiative that, launched by the Royal Foundation of Toledo, aims to bring Toledo society together in defense of a “living” river, which re-integrate into your day-to-day.
This has been indicated, in statements to the media, by the president of the Royal Foundation, Eduardo Sánchez Butragueño, who has recalled that this festive action serves “to commemorate, not to celebrate, something as sad as the 50th anniversary of the prohibition of bathing in the river.
“I encourage everyone to come and claim, with joy and hope, the defense of the Tagus in an optimistic, hopeful, joyful, playful and participatory way, through music, food and drink”, said Sánchez Butragueño, who has asked “to flee from the pessimism and lamentation that has often guided the defense of the Tagus in recent years.”
“Giving sorrow nothing is achieved,” he defended.
“From the Royal Foundation of Toledo, as the civil society that we are, our reason for being is to unite society in the defense of just causes, and what better than this”, insisted its president, who added that the park of Safont, where the festival will be held, is an “emblematic place that brings together most of the memories of Toledo enjoying the Tagus.”
That said, he had words of thanks for the City Council, for the logistics provided to celebrate this festival, and for the companies that sponsor this event.
«This union of the private and the public part is the demonstration of what we want, to give a message to all of Spain and to all of Europe that the Tagus River is a common concern of the people of Toledo, no matter who we vote for, no matter how old we are. or the musical sensitivity that we have».
The person in charge of the Royal Foundation of Toledo has also shown himself grateful with the 200 patrons who, through micro-patronage, have made it possible to publish a double album with songs about the river, as well as with the 40 groups that have participated in this work.
«It says a lot about the quantity and quality of Toledo’s musical culture and its commitment to the Tagus. All have participated selflessly and up to 21 can be heard these three days live at Safont Park».
For her part, the mayor, Milagro Tolón, thanked the Royal Foundation for having organized these festive days with which the city intends to “recover its self-esteem”, because the Tagus is part of the history and origin of the city .
After assuring that the regional capital has to continue fighting for its river, he recalled that the Consistory has incorporated the progress of the Tagus Municipal Planning Plan as the backbone of its development. “But for this it has to be a clean river, one that is not polluted.”
In this necessary exercise of awareness, the mayor has said, it is very important to raise awareness among the boys and girls of the city. “As City Council and as citizens we have the obligation to leave a river that is not contaminated to the generations that are going to succeed us.”
“This year marks the 50th anniversary of the ban on bathing in the river. Our parents have been able to bathe and have learned to swim in the Tagus. Hopefully one day this will be possible again, but for that, all of Toledo’s civil society, the City Council and city entities such as the Royal Foundation and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and Historical Sciences have to be united to claim a clean Tajo» , the capital councilor has demanded.
That said, she was convinced that it was going to be a “successful and demanding” weekend, since, in her opinion, Toledo, a World Heritage city, “deserves that the main environmental heritage that is the Tagus be clean.”
Tolón has concluded by expressing his “hope” in the approval of the Tagus Hydrological Plan, which improves the ecological flows and the purification of the river. “However, we will continue to claim the ‘no’ to the transfer.”
In similar terms, the provincial representative of Education, Culture and Sports, José Gutiérrez, has expressed himself, who has defended that the Hydrological Plan, which implies a change of position, must be “irreversible”. Similarly, he has pointed out that the regional administrations, hand in hand with the citizens, must continue “winning this battle day by day”.
«Today we have here the best of Castilla-La Mancha, children and young people, represented by schools and institutes of the city. All on a par with the Board, with the City Council and with the Royal Foundation, which means that from Toledo we continue betting on the increase in the flows and the purification of the Tagus ».
“We are not going to take a step back. The children of Toledo and Castilla-La Mancha feel their river, because it is their river, and in Murcia they will have to look for another solution, such as desalination plants, which have had a strong investment from the state and must be put into operation”, has concluded.
This festival in defense of the Tagus has started with the delivery of diplomas to ‘San Lucas and María’, ‘Fábrica de Armas’, ‘Miraculous Medal’, ‘Juanelo Turriano’, ‘Azarquiel’, ‘María Pacheco’ and ‘Sefarad’ , the city centers that have developed educational projects around the river.
Starting this afternoon, between drink and restaurant kiosks, it will be possible to enjoy a total of 22 performances by the groups and soloists who have recorded a song inspired by the defense of the river for the album ‘Música por el Tajo’. Carlos Ávila, Pilar Moxó, May, Ana Alcaide, Alfredo Copeiro, Kike Calzada and Lucía Santiago are some of the artists who have joined the initiative.
In addition, environmental education and informative activities have been scheduled for all audiences; workshops on knowledge of water quality and evaluation techniques in collaboration with the Faculty of Environmental and Biochemical Sciences of the University of Castilla-La Mancha, and fun-sports tests for the little ones.
