La Noche Blanca’s 2022 comeback was a tremendous relief after two years of lockdowns and restrictions. The predicted rain and lightning never came, and instead, Mérida’s White Night became a perfect storm of art, music and revelry.
Calle 60 was closed to traffic between the Plaza Grande and SoHo Galleries, where two giant peace-themed murals were created by visitors to the sounds of live music. Artists from numerous countries were on hand.
Every major park in the Centro had musical performances, from trova to “Amazonian Cumbia.” At the Plaza Grande, sounds of folk music and “Reggae Wayé” accompanied videomapping on the front of the Cathedral.
From the Paseo de Montejo, hundreds of drones could be seen in the sky, their lights spelling out messages and appearing in formation.
It was impossible to see everything. Participants had to make painful decisions about where to go and how long to stay.
The 13th edition of Noche Blanca attracted an estimated 10,000 visitors, mostly locals but with some tourists. Through the years, the citywide event has been challenged by budget cuts and weather, but this year the celebration took on new meaning as the city still attempts to emerge from the effects of the pandemic.
La Noche Blanca came close to a washout. Storms thst were predicted for Mérida went elsewhere with enouhh power to knock out power for more than 465,000 people.
The outage affected all three states on the Peninsula shortly before 5 p.m.
