Sunday was the day when the most people showed up since entry into the country's archaeological zones was free, according to the National Anthropology and History Institute, or INAH.
The most-heavily-visited site was Teotihuacan, near Mexico City, where 224,000 people had to wait more than three hours to take their turns to climb to the peak of the Pyramid of the Sun but were only allowed to remain there 10 minutes so that others could have the same experience.
With the massive public turnout for the event, INAH thus began Operation Spring Equinox 2011 in coordination with public security and health institutions of the federal, state and municipal governments to protect the monuments and guarantee the safety of the visitors.
A large number of people came to the archaeological sites harboring the belief that they would receive "energy charges" that would benefit them both physically and spiritually, an idea that INAH deems to be "false," saying at the same time that the influx of so many people to the sites puts the pre-Columbian monuments at risk.
Some experts have been saying for years that people who expose themselves to the direct sunlight for hours during the event could give themselves bad sunburns and increase their chances of developing skin cancer.
Source: Fox News/Latino [March 22, 2011]