BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – In Buenos Aires, on Friday night, the doors of the Teatro Colón were reopened for the first time in a year since they were closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, a sign of how the capital of Argentina is slowly loosening once again.
In neighboring Brazil, however, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro went in the direction of the opposition, both announcing stricter restrictions this week, a reflection of how the two regional powers are on completely different paths in fighting the virus.
“I am very happy, we have to go to the theater again, we have to lose our fear,” Fanny Mandelbaum, a local Argentine journalist who attended the inaugural concert at the famous opera house, told Reuters. “It is very rewarding to be in a room and share culture with other people.”
The symbolic opening of the opera, which dates back to 1857 – albeit in a different building – comes in the wake of moviegoers in the capital who may return to cinemas earlier this month.
Officials have also eased restrictions that allow restaurants and bars to stay open later, with indoor meals, bringing the excitement back to the city, which had one of the longest and most difficult roadblocks in the region last year.
But in Brazil, the state of São Paulo imposed a partial blockade this week, highlighting growing concerns about an increase in new infections. Rio de Janeiro, in turn, adopted new restrictions, including night curfews.
“We have reached a serious pandemic moment. The variants of the coronavirus are attacking us aggressively ”, said the Minister of Health of Brazil, Eduardo Pazuello, on social networks.
The divergence of urban night revelers in the region illustrates the different trajectories that Argentina and Brazil are taking in the race to tame COVID-19, even though vaccination programs are affected by delays.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has long tried to lessen the severity of the virus, while Argentine President Alberto Fernandez has a tougher stance.
Claudio Mendez, Argentine manager of the Cinepolis cinema chain, said that as vaccines were released, they expected cinemas to return to normal after an incredibly difficult year.
“It was an unimaginable situation even in the worst horror film,” he said. “We believe that, as the vaccination process progresses … film premieres will begin to flow more normally.”
Back at the Teatro Colón, many musicians still played with the masks, while the wind instruments were kept in transparent cubicles to prevent the possible spread of the virus. The public temperature was checked and the seats were spread out.
“We needed to go back and today was the day,” said María Victoria Alcaraz, general director of the opera. “The spirit was to reopen the doors as soon as possible so that the public and the artists could get together again.”
Reporting by Lucila Sigal; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Diane Craft