The ordeal of living in front of the Jockey: residents of Surco denounce extreme noise due to concerts

Gladys Vera is a 64-year-old neighbor who, since the massive events were reactivated, lives an ordeal on weekends. Her house is in the Los Cedros urbanization in Santiago de Surco, across Javier Prado Avenue, a hundred meters from where bands and festivals are presented every week: the stages of the Jockey Club of Peru.

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She tells us that before the pandemic there were also loud concerts but not at the level of now. “I complained several times [antes de pandemia] to Surco’s serenazgo, but they said they couldn’t do anything. When I called, they told me that I would be transferred to inspection but they ended up cutting me off. Now that everything has been reactivated, many times they start on Thursday at noon to do their sound tests and they put the bass so loud that everything reverberates in my house. When they do that, I can’t even be in my living room, because the glass partition vibrates as if it were going to fall”, she assures. Listen to this audio that she recorded one night at her house:

Rodolfo Barbadillo, an otolaryngologist with experience in noise-related deafness, points out that to lose hearing as a result of concerts, they would have to have at least 85 decibels for eight continuous hours. However, he also explains that the risks that the neighbors have are extra-auditory, such as lack of sleep. “If the person is older, it translates into a headache, tiredness, anxiety. If the person is hypertensive, it increases blood pressure,” he adds.

“My mom suffered from Alzheimer’s. She passed away in January.”says Patricia Apuy, who has lived in the same area of ​​Surco for 30 years. “She had a fragile sleep and it was difficult for her to sleep every day of the concert, so we had to give her sleeping pills”Patricia points out.

To get an idea, being exposed to noise at 80 decibels is like being next to a fully functioning heavy truck, and at 90 decibels it’s like having factory machinery working in front of you, according to Dbelectronics, a noise-control company. In front of the Jockey Club, the decibels detected by a digital system averaged 83.9.

Johnny Zas Friz, an expert in municipal law, points out that since last year there has been Ordinance 2419, proposed by the Municipality of Lima to prevent and control noise pollution. “The Organic Law of Municipalities gives them the function of supervising, just as there are regulations to impose sanctions or fines, so they cannot refuse to do so. The first thing that must be done is preventive and supervisory work to avoid noise pollution”Zas Friz concludes.

A team from El Comercio witnessed the noise generated by events and concerts around the Jockey Club. In the same night we were able to record three events: “Los reyes del Flow”; an end-of-terms party called “La Finca” that brought together more than three thousand young people; and finally the premiere of “Qué pasa?”, a clown show held at the Jockey Arts Dome.

The downloads

The Municipality of Surco recognizes that the noise is extreme. “It is true that the noise, apparently on most occasions, is exceeding decibels, so the neighbors are feeling this discomfort,” says Ronald Rojas, head of inspection operations for the Municipality of Surco, who also points out that Memos have been issued.

He adds that those responsible will be punished, both the owners of the establishment and those who carry out the event. “As Inspection we have transferred this concern to the competent area that issues authorizations for specific dates. These events should not take place simultaneously in the three or four establishments of the same quadrant”Rojas comments.

Miguel Flores, general manager of the Jockey Club, says that the “Plaza Arena is located deep inside the club and does not hold events every week, it may be once a month or every two months.” Regarding noise, he adds that they are “very responsible because they give contracts for concerts that propose not to exceed 60 decibels” and they have meters that they use in sound tests to verify compliance with the contract.

Oswaldo Chang, spokesman for Arena Peru, another venue located on that block, says that whenever there are events, the municipality makes sound measurements and approves them. Despite this, he points out that they have taken action on the matter regarding the complaints of the neighbors. “The entire contour of the inner layer has an acoustic treatment that absorbs between 15 and 35 decibels of noise only in the covered hall. We are scheduled to roof the other area in the next two months”He says.

What alternatives exist? The consultant Isaac Grados, an expert in audio and technology, maintains that at a concert the sound varies between 100 and 120 decibels, and the problem is that when it occurs in an open field the noise does not have an obstacle and travels until it finds one. “The first obstacle is the neighbors’ apartments, houses and windows that adjoin these scenarios,” he says.

“The first solution is to do a preliminary study and if the regulations are not followed, the event should not take place. Another solution can be the creation of double domes to create a kind of obstruction to the audio”arises.