Machu Picchu 7 th wonder

Machu Picchu, The New Seven Wonder of the World Lisbon, July 7th, 2007. Millions of people all over the world were sitting in front of their TV watching the The New Seven Wonders of the World ceremony. A few countries were almost paralyzed and Peru was one of them. Why? Because its national icon, Machu Picchu, was among the competitors. There were monuments like the Statue of Christ in Brazil, the Great Wall of China and Petra of Jordan that were already chosen. Then, the moment for the fourth one came. The whole Andean country, with Cusco above all, hold their breath until they heard the great news: Machu Picchu, one of The New 7 Wonders Of the World. An explosion of joy instantly unified the nation. It was a feeling of millions, even more than the country´s population. They could listen the “Estadio da Luz” (Stadium of Light) roaring with them. It was amazing: an ancient wonder, made with their bare hands by their wise ancestors in that wonderful land, was already in the heart of the planet. The ceremony of The New Seven Wonders of the World was a very impressive one. It included many famous music and film artists, like Jennifer Lopez and Ben Kingsley. A festival of lights and sound preceded the nominations, while people at their homes were guessing if their favorite would win. Colorful staging, amazing fireworks and huge structures descending or emerging from the stage, showed the outstanding creativity and imagination that inspired the organization of this event. The New Seven Wonders ceremony was intended to be a milestone in massive communications and technology. Seven years of hard work promoting Machu Picchu on the web finally had it reward. Ministries, politics and other public institutions like Promperu, joined efforts with their private counterparts, like all the media and many cosmopolitan peruvians known all over the world that offered their fame for having their heritage among the 7 Wonders. On the last months, the rumors were saying Machu Picchu was among the favorites of global voters. The campaign intensified, showing the greatness of Machu Picchu everywhere. Hollywood stars visited us, praying for the conservation of the ruins, the beauty of human achievement. A lot of documentaries appeared on cable, and even the peruvian president himself acted like a touristic guide in one of them. Travel agencies organized a combined strategy to engage more tourists from all over the world, creating new wonder´s travel packages and adding some creative alternatives like mystic journeys or news about the later discoveries in the region, like the amazing ruins of Choquequirao. The wonder of internet made possible this election, one of the widest of human history. As Bernard Weber, the founder of the N7W said in his web, nor the chinese nor the indian people had most of the votes. It was in the hands of the children and young people that were able to access this election by a click. This give us a new hope about a new generation deeply concerned about the future and its connection with the nature health, like others –the builders of Machu Picchu among them- understood in the past. But, what does it mean for Machu Picchu to be recognized as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World? To fully understand this, we have to know more about the spirit that inspired the whole New 7 Wonders movement. They were looking for two things: motivation and knowledge. The first, to understand why do we have to protect, respect and cherish this wonderful planet. The second, because nobody can protect what simply doesn´t know. Then the candidates for the N7W contest were announced. They were models of many key values for the world preservation. Respect for nature, effort, unity, sensitivity and beauty. The candidates represented all of this and more: everything is possible if we are united. But Machu Picchu had more; much more. Its history was full of mystery, from the energy enigma to the secrecy of its location, hidden in the cloudy forest and protected by huge mountains. Its solid walls of rock represented one of the most technically advanced civilizations of their time, a civilization that manage to dominate a huge and extremely difficult territory, owner of a planet´s weather mixture. Machu Picchu had even more wonders to show: the life testimony of thousands of visitors. They didn´t return home happy only because of the fabulous things they saw. They returned feeling blessed by the kindness, the joy of living, the wisdom and the willing of that humble people to share all of this magic with them. They didn´t vote for a picture; they voted for the journey of their lives. A wonder to share. This was one of the reasons for the fifty thousand people on the Estadio da Luz to acclaim Machu Picchu with one voice. The New Seven Wonders made Machu Picchu available for millions more. Now the famous ruins are receiving almost the double of visitors than before the Seven Wonders contest. It´s a reason to be proud, but also an alert for all the people and institutions involved in this success to care for the protection of the whole Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, side by side with the foreign and local travelers. With more than a hundred million of votes made by internet, the New 7 Wonders achieved the greatest goal of all: to present seven reasons to protect our planet; seven examples of how our ancestors did it; seven miracles of human invention. And Machu Picchu is one of them. If the world understands this, then there will be seven reasons for hope in the future of our planet; a future of wonders.