The Instituto de la Juventud in Mexico City has created a humorous and pushy campaign that mixes prevention tips against covid-19 with one of the country’s most striking cultural traits: wrestling.
A team of “luchadores” were called to tour the Central de Abasto market, the largest open market in the country, to check whether people were, in fact, wearing masks and using the alcoholic gel as measures to reduce the chance of contagion from the new coronavirus.
With a tone, at the same time both serious and playful, the professional fighters approached those who were without a mask with simulated grapples, forcefully placing a mask on people for protection and disinfecting their hands.
Those who refused or hindered the action were sprayed with a disinfectant liquid, yielding curious scenes recorded and photographed.
The masked fighters also stopped to take pictures with fans and give autographs. Ciclón Ramírez Junior, who wears a flashy sky-blue outfit, had one of the most enthusiastic performances of the day.
Emperador Azteca, Hijo del Pirata Morgan, Miss Delicious, along with others, are some of the famous wrestlers who participated in this campaign.
The movement is carried out in various parts of the country’s capital to promote preventive measures, but the local market is the main target, it was considered one of the epicenters of the pandemic in Mexico, and is frequented by thousands of people every day.
The Central de Abasto is located in the municipality of Iztapalapa, in the eastern region of Mexico City, and operates 30,000 tons of goods every day. It is the largest market in Latin America, with an area of more than 741 acres.
Professional wrestlers enforce the face mask rule at the Central de Abastos market in Mexico City. pic.twitter.com/1BDljcv953
— SBS News (@SBSNews) March 12, 2021
Mexico is going through a rough situation, like many other countries are during this pandemic: the country is close to reaching 200 thousand deaths, but it has kept open places such as the market, which is an important center for the sale and distribution of food in the region.
Vaccination has already started and the country was one of the first in Latin America to start immunization, but the process continues at a slow pace due to the lack of new doses.
