Santa Claus will arrive in full force in 2017, in Foz do Iguaçu. After 12 years, Christmas at Gramadão da Vila A, one of the city’s greatest cultural attractions, will return. In addition to sponsoring Natal das Cataratas in the center of the city, Itaipu will once again promote the Christmas party in Gramadão – which, at its peak, reached 80,000 people in one day.

The cultural program will include the presentation of the Paraná Symphony Orchestra, a fireworks show and many musical shows, as well as a 20-meter-high tree, the Christmas Car and the Wifi Tree, which will offer free internet access to the public. The theme of the Christmas of the Falls, this year, will be “Eu Amo Foz”.

Parallel to the two major events, a truck with Santa’s house will circulate around the city’s neighborhoods, promoting the best of local music, with itinerant concerts by artists from Foz and region.

The schedule for the two parties is not yet defined, but the opening is scheduled to take place in Peace Square in the center of the city on 30 November, a Thursday. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, artistic and cultural presentations will always be made in Gramadão.

In addition to the porticoes, which will receive a new look, much of the city center will be illuminated with led lights. The existing structure, used for the realization of the Christmas of the Falls in previous years, will be reused.

Wifi Tree

In meetings with Mayor Chico Brasileiro and representatives of various entities to discuss the realization of Natal Cataratas, Alexandre Teixeira, advisor to the Brazilian director general of Itaipu, Luiz Fernando Leone Vianna, said that one of the great news this year will be the Wifi Tree . It will be installed in Peace Square and will offer free internet to the public.

Decentralized cultural programming, on wheels, will include activities in various districts of the municipality, in Gramadão da Vila A and in Praça da Paz. “One program will complement the other. The idea is to improve the self-esteem of the Iguassu and offer more options for the population of the border, which unites Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, as well as tourists who visit the city. A Christmas of solidarity, “says Teixeira.

Christmas in Gramado

Christmas in Gramadão began in 1999, with the first Christmas party for the community promoted by Itaipu Binacional, exactly in that space. In 2000, Gramadão won the Concha Acústica and, with a variety of shows, was even more prepared for a big party.

Every year there was a different surprise for the public. In 2005, Gramadão’s Christmas won an “Enchanted” in the name. In 2004, the party received more than 80 thousand people, the largest public ever registered in all Natales of Itaipu.

Credit: Arquivo / Itaipu Binacional