The celebration for the 160th anniversary of the founding of the Colonia Suiza Nueva Helvecia, in which the President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pou, participated, included a parade through the streets of the city and culminated with an act in the Plaza de los Fundadores . On the occasion, he highlighted the integration of people from different countries who came to “put their shoulders, work and build a large department.”
In the activity, the president was accompanied by the Secretary of the Presidency, Álvaro Delgado; the Minister of Housing, Irene Moreira; the Undersecretary of Environment, Gerardo Amarilla; the Decentralization Coordinator of the Planning and Budget Office, María de Lima; the mayor of Colonia, Carlos Moreira, and the mayor of Nueva Helvecia, Marcelo Alonso, among other departmental authorities and local residents.
Representatives of institutions, local social organizations, educational centers and dance groups participated in the parade, which was witnessed by Lacalle Pou from the main stage, at the intersection of Luis Alberto de Herrera and 25 de Agosto streets.
In dialogue with journalists envoys, the president expressed his pride in attending the festivities, and recalled that he also participated, as a deputy, in the celebration for the 150th anniversary. In addition, he pondered that, after the pandemic, people can be together again in these festivities.
The activities that commemorate a new anniversary of the Colonial town founded in 1862 included tasting of typical dishes of Swiss cuisine, cultural, sporting and protocol events.
In the act held in the Plaza de los Fundadores, the secretary of the Presidency, Álvaro Delgado, congratulated the residents for the organization and the time dedicated to the festivities, and defined the town with the words: tradition, identity, commitment, work and solidarity.
He also stressed that those who settled in this area taught the locals ways to exploit the land and work with the dairy. “They are as Swiss as before, but as Uruguayan as any other,” he pointed out.
The hierarch also indicated that this community is privileged to have a coordinating commission of organizations that brings together the entire local society and stressed that it forms an important partner for the three levels of government.
Delgado maintained that an outstanding virtue of the inhabitants of Colonia Suiza Nueva Helvecia is the ability to look far ahead, where all projects are long-term.
