Environmentally correct dance party set for Amazon
Copyright 2001 Reuters
August 02, 2001
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Brazil's lush Amazon rain forest may be best known for its isolated Indian tribes and abundant wildlife, but local officials hope it will soon be a hotbed of techno music.
Starting Thursday, Greenpeace and state officials in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, will host a four-day rave that is expected to lure tens of thousands of clubbers from around the world to all-night, environmentally correct dance parties.
The Ecosystem 1.0 party aims to promote the region and protection of the Amazon rain forest, organizers said Wednesday. "We want to use music and culture to communicate environmental awareness," said Rebeca Lerer, a Greenpeace campaigner in the Amazon.
DJs from Germany, Japan, Russia, the United States, and Brazil will pump out house, techno, drum 'n' bass, and trance music at the dance parties, and Greenpeace will try to raise environmental awareness. The two tents where the parties will be held were built with legally logged timber in the shape of local Indian huts. Only nongenetically modified foods will be served. The land where the event will take place is a recovered mine and will be turned into a state park.
"From the small things to the big things, we're shooting for as little environmental impact as possible," Lerer said.
Organizers are expecting 7,000 partygoers the first three nights and 15,000 visitors on Sunday when the party will last all day and entry will be free. After posting flight and party information on the Net at Ecosystem 1.0, they expect 2,000 people from outside Brazil to turn up.
From Thursday through Saturday, partygoers must pay a US$5 entrance fee. One-third of the proceeds will be donated to Greenpeace.