Festival of the Authentic, Intrepid Danger-Seekers

Mexico, like many other Latin-American countries, is characterized by an overwhelming dominance of the "machista" mentality and the fulfillment of traditional male and female roles. That's why our trip to Juchitán for  La Vela de las Auténticas Intrépidas Buscadoras del Peligro, or Festival of the Authentic, Intrepid Danger-Seekers ended up being as educational as outrageous. On the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, being gay is celebrated and having a homosexual son (specifically a transexual) is actually considered quite a blessing since,  

"These sons do handicrafts and sell embroideries in the market with the women, while the men work in the fields, so it's a monetary boon to the family. And while daughters marry and leave home, a muxe cares for his parents in their old age."

Muxe we met representing San Francisco in the pageant

Muxe (pronounced "MOO-shays") is the local name given to men who dress like women, or dress like men but have male lovers and hold traditionally female jobs—weaver, party planner, hairdresser. There are still strong indigenous roots in this area, so the word muxe is Zapotec word derived from the Spanish “mujer,” or woman; it is reserved for males who, from boyhood, have felt themselves drawn to living as a woman, anticipating roles set out for them by the community.

The story of how muxes came to be is as follows:

God gave San Vincente Ferrer (Juchitán's patron saint) a bag full of homosexuals to distribute throughout Mexico, one in each town BUT when he got to Juchitán, the muxes became too exuberant—they all burst out of the bag here." 

SCANDALOUS 

The festival ends with a ball on Saturday night that began at 9 pm and ended at 5 am the next morning. For about $10 (which I didn't pay because I'm a girl) you receive a case of beers (approximately 24), food, and entertainment of all forms. There was a live band and dancing but more importantly, "there were muxes in trajes (traditional Mexican dresses), ball gowns, miniskirts and thigh-high boots-some of them with prosthetic breasts and one with very real-looking implants". The entire town was there, fathers dancing with daughters, mothers and grandmothers, muxes and more muxes. It was truly an amazing trip. It was approximately 13 hours on a bus each way with tons of shambles en route. Lots of running, sweating, getting left behind, and winding roads. We headed to the beach the next day to recover from what truly was one of the most outrageous things I think I've seen. 

 Here is some more evidence: 

                                                                                  

This man just hopped onto our small van and started playing his guitar as we weaved around this gigantic mountain...just one of the ridiculous things that made this weekend. People pretend they don't hear him so they don't have to give him $, obviously, I was caught filming him and had to..



This place had no AC and no toilet seats, "Hotel Modelo" I think not

For 130 pesos you got an entire case of beers (24 beers) and free food, live music and dance..THAT is why it was shambles

   


Ate Tlayuda a typical Oaxacan  dish to recover from the night before. Had some Iguana right before this and was not a fan





Playa Azul-The virgin beach we'd been searching for

 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo :)





Pups laying out on the beach with us

 *Sources and more information can be found in the NYtimes and Travel & Leisure