A huge orchestra comprising 700 children from seven Latin American countries, plus China and South Korea, played music from the soundtrack of The Mission as Iguazu Falls were officially inaugurated one of the New7Wonders of Nature. Conducted by double-Oscar winner Gustavo Santaolalla, the youth orchestra performance was one of the highlights of the ceremonies in Puerto Iguazú, which is located in the Argentine province of Misiones.
Among the dignitaries attending the inauguration were, Bernard Weber, Founder-President of New7Wonders, Enrique Meyer, the Argentine Minister of Tourism, Maurice Closs, Governor of Misiones Province, and Marcelo Sánchez, mayor of Puerto Iguazú. Tourism Minister Meyer predicted that the listing of Iguazu Falls as one of the New7Wonders of Nature would rank it “as one of the major tourist attractions that South America,” while Governor Closs said that the inauguration confirms the falls as “the main tourist destination inside Argentina.”
Speaking at a press conference in Puerto Iguazú, Bernard Weber said that New7Wonders is studying the feasibility of constructing museums of the New7Wonders of Nature and related theme parks around the world. “Estamos estudiando un proyecto de construcción de un museo de las siete maravillas naturales y queremos que en cada una de ellas exista un parque temático para que quien visite una pueda conocer las otras seis en miniatura,” he was quoted as saying by diariovasco.com in an article titled Las siete maravillas naturales tendrán un museo y parques temáticos.
The first New7Wonders World Congress will take place later today in Puerto Iguazú. It will focus on how representatives of the seven elected sites can work to promote their tourism and development plans jointly.
