Mexicans are Die-Hard Fans
Every nation has hoards of full-on soccer fans. Germany, Italy, Poland, Korea all worship their sports stars.
In Mexico City, if the Mexican national team or even the a local team wins a big game, thousands of revelers celebrate around the Angel of Independence with such fervor that people are often stamped to death.
After a Pumas-Ámerica match, fanatics hurl flags and beep horns until after 5 a.m. in nearly every central neighborhood.
But not just in sports. When it comes to anything involving spectacles and crowds - e.g., music, theater, fiestas, parades - Mexicans seem to behave in a strangely intense way.
Who would have guessed that in a conservative, Catholic nation, over 18,000 people would remove their clothes in a photo-shoot in the capital's main square? Spencer Tunick, the photographer, said he was shocked.
It was the largest nude spectacle ever recorded - not because Mexicans are avid nudists (on the contrary) but because they have a knack for transforming spectator-ness to spectacle.
So I took notice when posters went up several weeks ago soliciting "dance volunteers" to show up at Revolution Plaza to honor Michael Jackson. The organizer's goal was to break the world record.
That’s when I started thinking about why being a spectator seemed so important to Mexicans.
When I slept that night, I dreamed of warriors preparing for battle while crowds of admiring, frightened people watched.
Suddenly I found myself seated at a stone amphitheater in front of young men running barefoot with shocking intensity. I sensed their ferocity and could nearly smell their fear but - strangely - what I remember most was how privileged I felt to be watching a win-or-die ball game.
That was when I thought about the Aztecs, about their beliefs and the thousands of people chosen to climb atop pyramids to be slain in the name of their gods.
As they marched to their deaths, the common people peered up toward the bloody altars.
All of them were spectators.
In fact, this seemed to be perhaps the Aztec's greatest weapon: control people’s minds in a way that fixed them with their own vision.
Through spectacle more than war, they conquered.*
On Saturday, Aug 29, the gathering at Revolution monument took place to honor the so-called king of pop.
The Guinness Book of World Records later reported that 50,000 people had gathered, and nearly 12,000 had danced to Thriller.
This handily broke the record for the World's biggest ever Michael Jackson dance.
As a Mexican friend of mine said the next day: "What a show!"
* Until they themselves were conquered by the spectacle of a Spaniard posing as a feathered God.
