The Mexico City racetrack that has been home to the Mexican Grand Prix — part of which already houses a temporary Covid-19 hospital — will also become the site of drive-in movie theater.

The Hermanos Rodríguez racetrack at the Magdalena Mixhuca sports center will now house a temporary movie theater as well, government officials announced. 

The racetrack theater will show films twice weekly from July 26 through August 19 each Sunday and Wednesday, Culture Minister Alfonso Suárez del Real said, in an effort to provide cultural opportunities for citizens. 

Films scheduled to be shown include Alfonso Arau’s A Day Without a Mexican and Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Babel. There will be two showings each day, one at 5 p.m. and another at 8 p.m. Gates will open 90 minutes before each show.

Tickets will be sold on Ticketmaster for 10 pesos per vehicle, around US 45 cents. Cars can have up to five passengers, and SUVs and vans can carry eight. The racetrack can accommodate 415 vehicles.

The sports center location was chosen due to the fact that it is located in a part of the city with few cases of infection. 

Attendees are invited to bring their own popcorn and must wear masks when stepping outside their cars. Passengers and drivers will have their temperatures taken at the racetrack’s entrance and unaccompanied minors are prohibited. 

Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said the drive-in program will be evaluated and could expand to Lake Chapultepec and Xochimilco if all goes well and coronavirus cases in those areas remain low. 

“Keep in mind that we must protect ourselves to protect others and to be able to ensure that the return of cultural, collective activities through the Mixhuca drive-in of Mexico City is truly a success that allows us to get together again,” Suárez said. “These are new conditions, but we believe that people are going to support us and that the people are going to enjoy it.”

Source: La Jornada (sp), Publimetro (sp)