In this monthly series, we republish a few of the headlines from our January editions 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago.
1972
Nudity on the Mexican stage causes outrage
At the performance several months ago of Korica, the national dance theatre of Greece at the Degollado Theater, the program opened with “Genesis,” a modern ballet performed to a contemporary poem and electronic music.
The Chorus was seen writhing on stage in cocoon-like sacks when a sort of Adam and Eve entered. Wearing thin flesh-colored leotards, they appeared to be nude and proceeded to caress and join their bodies. Not the least bit erotic, rather cold in fact, like two embracing plaster mannikins. A few members of the public were outraged, however.
During a recent performance of the highly acclaimed play “Zaratustra,” which features a semi-nude scene, someone always walked out and matrons were heard saying to their husbands at the end of the play, “Don’t you dare tell anyone that we came to see this thing.”
A year or so ago, the biggest scandal in the country widely exploited by the press, was when “Hair” was performed in worldly cosmopolitan Acapulco. The nudity was too much even for the rich Mexican jet set and the actors were promptly deported—treated like criminals.
While many Mexican films show nudity, even on TV, the case for nudity on stage has a hard road ahead in this Catholic country.
1982
Bounty hunters retrieve US aircraft from Mexico
While the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation recently ran to ground a ring of car thieves that included several high-ranking Mexican officials, another more sophisticated group of south-of-the-border thieves are now reported rustling private airplanes. And this is big business—both for the thieves and the bounty hunters who track them down.
One of these bounty hunters is a rather unlikely candidate for such a hair-raising job: 59-year-old Jack Divine, who owns a pair of Tijuana car repair shops.
“What I can do, anyone can do. The only thing is, I do it better,” says Divine.
His daring enterprise begins every 20 days or so, when he climbs into his Cessna 210 and heads deep into Mexico. Although there are no estimates of what percentage of stolen planes are brought to Mexico, the numbers are large enough to attract ambitious and brazen adventurers like Divine, who track them down and return them to their owners, all for a fee.
Once in Mexico, Divine’s search is facilitated by the use of microfiche records of the U.S. Civil Registry of every aircraft owned and stolen in the U.S. He compares aircraft tail numbers or serial numbers with the list of those on the Registry’s stolen plane list, and if one matches up, Divine will call the owner and try to work out a deal.
Divine also pays airport managers and gas “jockeys” in Mexico a finder’s fee of 10,000 pesos for any tail number reported that leads him to a stolen plane. Usually, he will fly the plane back to the U.S. himself, but if it is located on a short or otherwise dangerous airstrip, he will employ a daredevil pilot.
Frequently Divine must initiate contact with Mexican officials who have seized the plane from drug smugglers who were arrested or abandoned the aircraft. A 1936 treaty between Mexico and the U.S. assures the release of stolen aircraft.
1992
Uniformed cops
rob mobile bank
Two bank employees and two police officers couldn’t resist the temptation of helping themselves to a bumper Christmas bonus in late December. The foursome were working in a Banco Internacional mobile bank that was collecting deposits from local businesses, Christmas Eve. Police were informed two hours after the vehicle failed to return to the bank compound at its designated hour. The mobile bank was later discovered abandoned at the intersection of Calle Jesus and Independencia in Sector Hidalgo. The driver and another bank employee were tied and gagged inside.
Incredibly, the thieves left behind some one billion pesos, but still got away with an estimated haul of two billion pesos (about US$650,000).
Police believe the audacious hijackers have fled the state and are now probably in the U.S.
2002
50+ hospitalized in beef liver scare
More than 50 residents of Jalisco have become ill after consuming beef liver contaminated with clenbuterol. The outbreak of food poisoning is attributed to this banned steroid used to fatten cattle.
The state health secretariat alerted citizens to stop consuming liver and recommended that butcher shops no longer sell it. Some of the meat shops where the contaminated liver was purchased were identified and the meat was traced to Zapopan’s municipal slaughterhouse, where any remaining livers were incinerated.
Symptoms of clenbuterol poisoning include nausea, headaches and heart palpitations and generally run their course in 16 hours or less. The symptoms are only life-threatening for people with heart conditions.
2012
Chapala aqueduct project on hold
Hundreds of lakeshore inhabitants answered the call to stand up against the second line of the Chapala-Guadalajara aqueduct, flocking to the state capital Wednesday, January 25, for a speech, rally and protest march held in the heart of the city.
The gathering drew an estimated crowd of 1,500 men, women and children from all walks of life. Most arrived in a fleet of buses that had set out from north shore communities, among them fishermen, tourist boat operators, restaurants owners and their employees, housewives, students and environmentalists.
The marchers were led by a group of young women, dressed in scanty costumes and body paint to represent the ancestral lake goddess Michicihualli, and an entourage of water nymphs. Swaying to the rhythm of drumbeats thumped out by a platoon of Ajijic musicians as they advanced down the avenue, they turned a few heads among passing motorists. Trailing behind them were a half dozen men hoisting a large cardboard sculpture fashioned in the form of a long tube with a monster’s head. The eye-catching figure bore the legend “Siapa, primero tapen sus fugas” (first plug up your leaks).
Siapa Director Jose Luis Hernandez Amaya said the project is still only in the early planning stages and there is no possibility construction work will get under way this year.