Centro Histórico in Ciudad de México, Mexico — The Valley of Mexico (The Central Highlands)
First Mass Arrest of Gays in Mexico
Photographed By J. Makali Bruton, July 24, 2018
1. First Mass Arrest of Gays in Mexico Marker
Con la palabra gay se introduce casi al mismo tiempo la defensa de los derechos humanos de los representados por ese término.
Carlos Monsivais
A cien años, en desagravio de las 41 victimas de la primera redada homófoba del siglo XX en México. Por el pleno respeto a los derechos humanos y civiles de gays y lesbianas.
noviembre 17 de 1901 – noviembre 2001
Comunidad Lésbica - Gay
Pie de dibujo: Relieve de Reynaldo Velázquez Zebadua
First Mass Arrest of Gays in Mexico
At 3:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 18, 1901, the police assaulted a meeting of homosexuals, some of them dressed as women. This raid invents a past for gays in Mexico; a past that is, in short, the negotiation with the present.
With the word “gay”, the defense of the human rights of those represented
this page online
- Carlos Monsiváis
A hundred years ago, in reparation for the 41 victims of the first homophobic raid of the 20th century in Mexico. For the full respect of the human and civil rights of gays and lesbians.
November 17, 1901 - November 2001
The Lesbian and Gay Community
Caption: Relief by Reynaldo Velázquez Zebadua
Erected 2001 by Comunidad Lésbica - Gay.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Civil Rights. A significant historical date for this entry is November 18, 1901.
Location. 19° 26.208′ N, 99° 8.775′ W. Marker is in Ciudad de México. It is in Centro Histórico. Marker is on Calle Dr. Mora just north of Avenida Juárez, on the left when traveling north. Calle Dr. Mora is pedestrian only and forms the western boundary of the Parque Alameda. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Ciudad de México 06000, Mexico. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Convent of San Diego and the Inquisition (within shouting distance of this marker); The Temple of San Hipólito (about 120 meters away, measured in a direct line); Temple of San Hipólito y Casiano (about 120 meters away); The Hospital of San Hipólito (about 150 meters away); Angel Albino Corzo (about 150 meters away); Manuel Buendía
Photographed By J. Makali Bruton, July 24, 2018
2. First Mass Arrest of Gays in Mexico Marker
The marker can be seen here on the outside wall of the José Martí Cultural Center.
Regarding First Mass Arrest of Gays in Mexico. On the night of 20 November 1901, Mexico City police raided an affluent drag ball, arresting 42 men, half of them dressed as women, and dragging them off to Belón Prison. The resulting scandal, known as the "Dance of the 41 Maricones", received massive press coverage and prompted a series of widely circulated prints by José Guadalupe Posada that depicted the dance. The cross-dressers were publicly humiliated, forced to sweep the streets under police guard, inducted into the 24th Battalion of the Mexican Army and sent to the southeastern state of Yucatán, where the Caste War was still being fought. Rumors that then-President Porfirio Díaz's nephew, Ignacio de la Torre, had attended the dance but was permitted to escape further added to the scandal's notoriety. Although the official account was that she was a "real woman." Historians, including well-known cultural commentator Carlos Monsiváis, argue that male homosexuality in the modern sense was "invented" in Mexico when the 1901 raid occurred. Since that time, the number 41 has come to symbolize male homosexuality in Mexican popular culture, figuring frequently in jokes and in casual teasing. Although the raid on the Dance of the 41 was followed by a less-publicized raid on a lesbian bar on 4 December 1901 in Santa Maria, the regime was soon worried by more serious threats such as the political and civil unrest that eventually led to the Mexican Revolution in 1910. Adapted from Wikipedia
Additional keywords. LGBT LGBTQ
Credits. This page was last revised on April 17, 2020. It was originally submitted on July 26, 2018, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. This page has been viewed 325 times since then and 38 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 26, 2018, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana.
