Ycuá Bolaños Memorial, a space of spirituality whose doors will never be closed again

According to Carmen Rivarola, president of the Council of the Site of Memory and relative of two fatal victims of the fireit is sought that the space becomes a center of spirituality and exchange of cultural, historical and artistic knowledge, where a guided tour can be offered.

Ycuá Bolaños Memorial, a space of spirituality in honor of the 400 victims – ÚH

Ycuá Bolaños, a space of spirituality in honor of the 400 victims – ÚH”>

According to what he said, the circuit begins at the entrance, which before the accident was the parking lot. Currently in the place there are two fountains and a “water mirror”. The first two are arranged with water and fish, while the last one also includes some 400 lights, representing the 400 victims of the fire.

The fish were a donation from students from the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences of the National University of Asunción (UNA), who will also take care of the animals on site, so they will go to the site constantly.

Next, he indicated that they decided to place the fountains on the site, because the water symbolizes “life”, while with the architects they decided to leave the appearance of the infrastructure as it was after the incident, since in this way they seek to leave in memory what happened in the place.

“This construction remains as it is and is surrounded by water because for us water symbolizes life, just as there are fish inside fountains, because for us fish also symbolize life. The structure that remains here is the structure that tells us what happened here and why it happened”, he explained in this regard.

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The Ykua Bolaños Memorial has two fountains and a “water mirror”.

Photo: Raúl Cañete

In that sense, he pointed out that “living memory” implies passing history from generation to generation “so that it will never be repeated again.” “We do not want that horror story that happened to us to happen to any other Paraguayan ever again,” she said.

He said in turn that another space that was not modified is the area of ​​the ramp that leads to the parking lot, because it was a request mainly from the people who managed to get out of the place alive.

“By managing to break the blindex door, they begin to fall and those who fell first were the ones who survived, because those who were dying were falling on them. They say that this is the symbol that they survived thanks to the dead, I know it’s very hard, but that’s how it happened,” Rivarola said sadly.

In addition to leaving the structure as it was, the official stated that the installation of pipes, hoses, fire extinguishers was also carried out in all spaces, in order to teach and raise awareness about how they should be arranged correctly.

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The structure of the Ykua Bolaños Memory Site was left practically as it was after the fire, in order to remember what happened in the place.

The structure of the Ykua Bolaños Memory Site was left practically as it was after the fire, in order to remember what happened in the place.

Photo: Raúl Cañete

The circuit in the Ycuá Bolaños Memorial also includes a visit to the sector that will soon be converted into a museum, where the remains of clothing and objects left by the deceased and survivors are expected to be exhibited, as well as carts, bottles and ashes in glass chests. .

These elements are currently guarded in the Cultural Center, waiting to be exposed to visitors. In addition to that, materials that are part of the struggle process of relatives and survivors will also be exhibited, to achieve justice for the victims and for the place to become a memorial.

Paintings that are part of the Memory 1A Virtual Photography Contest can also be seen on the premises, while the fitting out of a library is being prepared, for which new book donations are expected. So far there are some reading materials, which were donated by various organizations and newspaper libraries.

You can read: Ycuá Bolaños: At 18 years old, the wound does not close and justice is still not forthcoming

An auditorium with a total of 400 seats is also available at the Ycuá Bolaños Memorial, in honor of the almost 400 deceased. It allows the platform to be used outside as well, in order to make it a more popular space.

In the place plays, projections, among other activities, can be performed, and it can be used by any institution or private group, at no cost. However, for its supply, a prior reservation must be made, sending a note to the email sitiomemoria1a@gmail.com.

Finally, the tour ends in the classroom area, which is designed for workshops and activities that allow the exchange of knowledge, as well as the multipurpose room that is currently being used by the SNC Ballet, but in the future It will be used for dance practices for children, youth and adults.

the most painful memory

In the middle of the circuit that she offered to Última Hora, Carmen Rivarola emphasized that the most painful thing that is remembered from that episode is that the cause of so many people dying was the order that the doors be closed. For this reason, she said that with the space they hope to raise awareness that never again should money be given greater importance before people’s lives.

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The relatives of the deceased and survivors of the Ykua Bolaños tragedy await

The relatives of the deceased and survivors of the Ykua Bolaños tragedy hope “that the doors will never be closed again.”

Photo: Raúl Cañete

The project to become a Memorial

Because obviously here the doors were closed and the orders were that no one leave without paying and that no one enter to steal. One of the strongest and most powerful situations is that money and material goods had much more value for businessmen than the value of life that was lost in this space.

The idea of ​​turning the place into a memorial came from the relatives of the deceased and from the survivors themselves. According to Rivarola, the construction process was very long because, since the fire occurred, they decided that the building could no longer be a supermarket.

In that sense, after a long struggle, it was possible for the property to be expropriated in favor of the State, remaining in charge of the Ministry of Finance and later under the custody of the National Secretariat of Culture (SNC).

It is a project that entailed a total investment of G. 25,485,588,733, whose amount is distributed in G. 17,575,538,759 that involved the construction of the place; G. 3,807,000,000, which is the cost of the equipment; some G. 839,579,670, for acoustic and electromechanical conditioning; G. 831.870.304 were used for thermal conditioning and furniture.

Also read: Emotional opening of the Site of Memory and Cultural Center 1-A Ycuá Bolaños

About G. 610,000,000 for the supervision of the work; G. 760,000,000 for construction management; G. 89,525,000 were necessary for the protection services and the museum; G. 271,613,000 for the acquisition of office furniture; G. 57,862,000 for closed circuit cameras; and G. 642,600,000 for private security services.

In addition to being a relative of two who died in the fire and having participated in the process for the construction of the Site of Memory, Carmen Rivarola is currently in charge of the place, as a commissioned official in the SNC and is dedicated to offering guided tours.

The memorial was enabled last Friday, July 29, while currently it remains with its doors open to the public to be visited and used for free. The tour can be taken on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Wednesdays and Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

The Ycuá Bolaños fire was recorded 18 years ago and despite all this period of struggle by the relatives of the deceased and the survivors, a large number of those affected have still not been able to collect compensation and even G. 8,200 million that exist for the purpose would not reach in the distribution.



Ycuá Bolaños Memorial, a space of spirituality whose doors will never be closed again