NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY | CAPTURING THE NIGHT | WEEK 10 / Lights, Sin City, Kitsch City

The history of Las Vegas, as strange as it may sound, doesn't begin with the casinos or the mafia legends. Its first mention dates back 48 years before Bulgaria was liberated from Turkish slavery, back in 1830, when a Mexican company trading in hides stumbled upon a valley with lush meadows tucked in the folds of the rocky desert. From them, the settlement began, which later gave the city its name - "Las Vegas." In Spanish, that means "The Meadows."

Today, Las Vegas is an indescribable mixture of luxury, kitsch, vulgarity, and carelessness. It's a neon illusion, a tasteless tale of dreams coming true and turning Cinderellas into princesses (or perhaps swineherds into princes), attracting like a magnet 40 million tourists from around the world each year. And they come here, with the hidden or overt intention to experience it, at least for a moment.

A great example of kitsch is the New York-New York Hotel & Casino. The idea behind the hotel is to resemble famous buildings from New York from the 1940s. The hotel includes replicas of skyscrapers like the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building. It has a replica of the Statue of Liberty and copies of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the main building for immigration on Ellis Island, and the Grand Central Terminal.

These fountains are among the most popular attractions in Las Vegas. The water fountain dance show occurs every half hour during the day and every 15 minutes in the evening. Over 30 songs rotate, so each show is unique in its own right.

In immediate proximity, just behind the fountains, you can see the Eiffel Tower, although not the one in Paris, which is part of the exterior of the nearby hotel - Paris. If you want to see Rome, Paris, Venice, Egypt, Greece, and more, this is the city for you. It's a total mеss that the hotels have turned into, and I wouldn't say it appeals to everyone.