MEXICO
CITY — Armando Ruiz and Verónica Villafuerte held each other tight,
cuddling, caressing, stretched out on a bench in the middle of a busy
promenade here. Nearby, just past a couple deep kissing in the grass, a
man toyed with the buttons of his paramour’s blouse.
Children played all around. Cars passed. No one cared.
“It’s a little more open now,” Mr. Ruiz said after sitting up. “We can enjoy ourselves.”
In
Havana or Rio de Janeiro, well, big deal. But historically this has
been a city of formalities, of long-sleeved shirts, not skin-tight
skirts. Blushing has generally been the response to overt sexuality,
along with a lexicon of double entendres to mask X-rated desires with
banal words, like “coger” (which, officially speaking, means to grab).
And
yet, despite such reserve — or perhaps because of it — public affection
has increasingly become a symbol of what experts describe as a city
learning to loosen up. Government officials here now boast about having
some of Latin America’s most liberal laws on abortion and same-sex marriage.
Meanwhile, sex shops can now be found in even the fanciest
neighborhoods; oh, and this month, Mexico City played host to a five-day
sex entertainment show that drew 120,000 fans — placing it among the
biggest sex fairs in the world.
“What’s
happening is that the undercurrent is becoming more official,” said
Luis Perelman, president of the Mexican federation for sexuality
education and sexology. “We’re seeing less doublespeak.”
But if there is less embarrassment and shame, as Mr. Perelman and others argue, why now?
That seems to depend on which Mexico one sees: the romantic, or the dismal.
Demographers
— optimists in this case — see links between coupling and economics.
Several studies have shown that compared with a generation ago, Mexicans
are having more sex at younger ages, a trend that generally tracks with
Mexican economic expansion. Sex and affection, some Mexican
demographers argue, tend to be signs of confidence, expressions of faith
that opportunities await.
Salaries
and culture also intertwine. Mexico’s growth has created a larger
middle class that — in addition to opening up the country’s political
process — has made technology and international media more accessible.
The hookups on “Jersey Shore,” for instance, are now just as easy to see
here as in Miami, while pornography can be downloaded at public parks
with Wi-Fi.
The
so-called love hotels, where local couples have canoodled for decades,
can no longer keep sexuality hidden. “They see it all on TV or the
Internet, so they no longer feel they are the only ones doing it,” Mr.
Perelman said.
And, as Mr. Ruiz put it, “We don’t care as much about what other people think.”
Clearly,
that seemed to be the case for a teenager at a mall recently, with his
lips ardently attached to, of all things, the knee of his girlfriend; or
for the man on a busy corner an hour later, passionately kissing a
woman while wrapping his leg around her like an ivy vine.
But
Mr. Ruiz and Ms. Villafuerte, who are both 40, may be more typical.
They met three months ago while selling hats in an outdoor plaza, and in
a year when the Mexican economy is expected to grow by 4 percent, after
growing by 5.5 percent last year, they said they had taken an afternoon
off to spend time together because they could afford to.
Neither
looked particularly sensual. Mr. Ruiz wore round glasses below a shiny
balding head; Ms. Villafuerte’s blue eyeliner was her only hint of
provocation. But they both said that their affection reflected a
positive shift.
“When we were young, people would point and gawk at you for this kind of thing,” Mr. Ruiz said. “Now, there’s more acceptance.”
Pride may be a better term. Two years ago, Mexico City actually beat the world record for simultaneous smooching when 39,897 people locked lips downtown.
Other
couples, however, described public affection in more ominous terms.
Mexico these days is essentially Jekyll and Hyde: positive economic
growth is paired with a sprawling war on drug cartels that has claimed
34,000 lives since 2006.
For
people like Paulina Pérez, 26, who was sitting on her boyfriend’s lap
during a break from in-line skating in the upscale neighborhood of
Polanco, public affection reflects not a spike in happiness, but rather a
deficit of trust.
Mexicans,
she said, have always drawn a line between formal relationships and
relationships with those inside “their circle of confidence.” Hugs,
kisses and warmth color the latter, while handshakes and a polite
distance dominate the former.
This
is generally what makes amorous Mexican couples stand out. “Public
displays of affection draw attention precisely because of the disconnect
with the general culture,” said Rubén Gallo, who edited The Mexico City
Reader, a chronicle of the capital.
But
the gap between the social spheres seems to be widening. While
drug-related violence has made Mexicans more afraid of strangers, it has
intensified their closest bonds, Ms. Pérez said. So the affection that
looks to some like an opening — a more honest account of sexuality — may
actually be, for others, a reflection of turning inward to fight off
despair.
“Affection is a way to forget,” Ms. Pérez said. “You forget your problems, and you live.”
Her boyfriend, tapping her behind, said he agreed.
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