The mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, accompanied by the delegate of Works and Equipment, Paloma García Romero, and several district councilors, awarded this morning the winners of the second edition of the school drawing contest organized by the City Council for the design of Christmas lighting.
For Almeida, this initiative, «which makes us very excited,» allows the children to be part of the lighting, «those who are the protagonists of Christmas to a large extent, who are our boys and girls.» The mayor emphasized that the gesture of participating is what really matters, regardless of whether the drawings have been selected or not, because «all of you who have participated are equally important to us.»
The contest was aimed at first and second grade primary school students, and schools were responsible for selecting one proposal per school. In total, 48 schools participated, doubling the participation compared to last year. Six winning drawings have been chosen from all the proposals. The jury valued the originality in the expression of the figures and emotions related to Christmas depicted in the drawings by the participants.
The winners of the contest are Martín Troyano Sánchez, from CEIP José Calvo Sotelo, with Cargadito de ilusiones; Pablo Soriano Moreno, from Colegio Nuestra Señora del Buen Consejo, with Navidad; Donatto Paolo Rodríguez Morlet, from CEIP Capitán Cortés, with Feliz Navidad; Claudia Jiménez Orduño, from Colegio Nuestra Señora de Loreto, with Feliz Navidad Madrid; Lucía Pedroche Ruiz, from Colegio Centro Cultural Palomeras, with Los ayudantes de Santa; and Ámbar Vidal Angiolillo, from Colegio Madres Concepcionistas, with Las luces de Belén.
From paper to the streets of Madrid
Once the winning proposals have been selected, the technical team of the Works and Equipment Area will be in charge of transforming the drawings, or part of them, as faithfully as possible into lighting elements that the city will display next Christmas in various streets.
The contest aims to promote the creativity of the youngest and involve them in the Christmas lighting of the capital, which has already become an international reference. In this way, the six winners will join last year’s winners and the extensive list of prestigious designers who illuminate the streets of Madrid every Christmas.
In addition to the six winning drawings, the City Council has awarded a special mention to the two drawings submitted out of the contest by third grade students with Down syndrome from the Colegio de Educación Especial María Corredentora. A proposal, as announced by the mayor, that will also be visible on the streets of Madrid next Christmas because «we are an open and welcoming city, where we all have to enjoy under equal conditions.» /
