Traditional community awaits for the World Cup legacy

With less then six months left for the World Cup 2014, São Gonçalo Beira Rio community, Cuiaba’s most traditional touristic and cultural spot, still expects the “Cup Legacy”. The people who live there are complaining about the lack of government support and claim that the sporting event will not bring any benefits to the local community.

According to the local president, Dalmir Lucio de Almeida, 73 years old, the community is what best represents the culture of Cuiba. According to him, the place is strongly remembered for its handicrafts, cuisine and traditional festivities, however, has been overlooked the past few years by the government.

“Tourists who come to Cuiaba want to visit us, to know the region, but if we rely on government assistance, we will never see anything happen. For over seven years now, we’ve been waiting for the river’s revitalization project to come true, but it never does. Anyway, we know that nothing will be ready to receive tourists for the Cup. ”

According to Dalmir, during weekends, the 20 fishmongers in the region usually gather over 3,000 people. Still, he said, the City Hall and the State did not “move a finger” to assist the population in one of the oldest celebrations of the capital, the feast in honor of São Gonçalo, which happened between 10 and 12 January.

According to the president, two meetings with the Secretary of Tourism of the State happened, but nothing has become reality.

“We need many improvements here: There is no sewage system, our cultural center is precarious and we lack squares and sites for recreation and socialization. The only thing they want is to take away the fishmongers stalls from the workers, which is theis only source of income, and end our procession” says Dalmir.

The region is also not a part of the sightseeing tour for the 2014 World Cup. Since many years ago, the community has ceased to be part of the Cuibá City Tour, due difficult access and long distance from the center.

According to the Special Secretariat for the World Cup (Secopa) all projects related to tourism should be handled directly with the Secretary of State and Tourism (Sedtur).

According to Sedtur, a revitalization project for the region already exists and should begin later this year. However, the department cannot inform the total budget forthe project or a date for the start of construction.

Source: Gustavo Nascimento / Diário de Cuiabá.