The José Celestino Mutis Botanical Gardens in Bogotá will host a magical event featuring giant colorful lanterns and illuminated sculptures with the first-ever presentation in Colombia of Wild Lights. After shows in Dublin, London and Paris, 500 luminous giants, inspired by wildlife will adorn the grounds of theses gardens with its Spanish name – Festival Brilla – and event that celebrates the second-most biodiverse nation on the planet.
Starting November 16 to January 12, Bogotá’s night sky will be home to a humpback whale, marmoset, orchid, jaguar, turtle, among other species. Festival Brilla is a family-oriented spectacle that combines the ancient art of Chinese silk lanterns with light and sound technology. The illuminated sculptures measure in size between 2 meters (the smallest) and 21 meters, and are arranged throughout the Botanical Gardens according to the ecosystem that represents the species: from ocean to savanna, moorland, desert, cloud forest, jungle and mangrove.
Visitors will be able to cover the seven thermal floors in two hours, with day tours running from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm ($16,000 per person), and night tours from 6:00 pm to 11:00 pm ($ 29,900 per person). Marine biologist Svén Zea is in charge of the curatorship of the flora and fauna.
With one million LEDs illuminating the gardens, Festival Brillla brings some of the East to the West with structures carefully assembled with wire and colorful silks. The Botanical Gardens hopes to attract some 400,000 visitors this holiday season with a festival that will also become a fixture of end-of-year celebrations. www.jbb.gov.co
