TEXTILES.ORG
Tents go up as Mexicans get ready to celebrate their history.
In the weeks approaching Mexico’s Sept. 16 bicentennial, the country’s government promised “the most spectacular celebration in history,” and Mexican tent renters worked to meet installation deadlines and contribute to the festivities.
City Tents of Mexico City installed two Losberger clearspan structures for a huge bicentennial expo in Sileo, Guanajuato. The 40-by-60-meter and 30-by-60-meter structures featured glass and hard sidewalls, two double glass doors plus two glass emergency doors each, and a façade with zippered curtains in the middle of each structure for unloading stage and catering equipment. The most challenging part of the installation was the terrain of the site, a hillside that was originally planned as a heliport, says City Tents owner and president Hubert Probst.
“[The site] was enlarged so that the structures fit, but there was no space left to extend all the structures on the ground before erecting them,” Probst says. “We had to assemble three arches and lift them by crane to the final spot. Also, access was too small for trucks and crane to enter the site, so we had to bring the parts in by forklift.”
Installation required 11 days, including the Losberger flooring system, carpeting, basic lighting and HVAC. City Tents used eight of its own employees and eight additional contract laborers. The structures were laid out to accommodate between 1,200 and 2,000 people each for multiple purposes during the expo.
“For our company it is good exposure, as we are [a newer] business and the structures will be there for at least four months and will be seen by quite a lot of people,” Probst says.
Miguel Serna, of Mexico City-based Grupo Serna, which is providing tent installations for all official federal bicentennial and centennial events, anticipated needing assistance heading into the September bicentennial and November centennial. The company forged a partnership with Made in the Shade Tent Rentals of West Sacramento, Calif., connecting through a former Made in the Shade employee who now works for Grupo Serna.
“Thanks to our great partnership with Made in the Shade, we will be able to play a part in one of the largest sports-themed government projects in history: the Bicentennial Olympic festival, with more than 4,000 square meters of tents (with an installation time of 12 hours) in a setting full of history and majesty, on one of the most symbolic avenues in our country, the Paseo de la Reforma with its angel of independence,” Serna said. “The eyes of the world will be on our country and Grupo Serna will be seen by all of them.”