Mexico City, Mexico – Despite the pandemic and the presence of the omicron variant in the country, on Monday, 661 couples, several of them already living together for years, got married in a collective wedding ceremony in the municipality of Nezahualcóyotl, 20 kilometers east of the center of Mexico City, on the occasion of Valentine’s Day.
According to figures from the municipality, the number of couples who took part in this annual ceremony was relatively small; in past years as many as 1,200 couples were married, this time only 661 marriages took place. Still, it was a vast improvement over last year’s event, which was held virtually.
Given that this was the first massive face-to-face wedding to take place in the municipality during the pandemic, along with the wedding dresses, rings and flowers, the newlyweds-in-waiting also wore face masks, used antibacterial gel, and followed health protocols.
The couples were married at no charge and professional makeup was provided by local beauty schools. The municipal government also raffled gifts and trips among the newlyweds.
Jonhatan García finally tied the knot with his partner of 10 years, with whom he has a child. He said the timing was right: “We would have liked to get married before, but it [the pandemic] was worse then,” he said.
José Luis Ibarra married María Edith Peña after the couple met in a shopping mall two years ago. “Really happy. Really proud to have a partner like her and hopefully it will be for life,” he said.
“We already treated each other like a couple. There was always good chemistry, good communication and above all, a lot of love,” Edith said.
Dolores Bojórquez, who married a professional Lucha Libre wrestler called Flama Roja (Red Flame) said the public service had enabled them to say their vows. “We wouldn’t have been able to marry due to the economy … we took advantage of this free wedding,” she said.
Bojórquez added she was grateful to have the opportunity to marry, despite the pandemic. “We wouldn’t have ever expected to marry in face masks but we have to be thankful that we are here and that we could marry… and the truth is that getting married like this made the paperwork much easier,” she said.
However, the mood in Mexico was less festive than normal. Only 17% of people planned to celebrate Valentine’s Day and 57.5% were set on staying home, according to a survey by the insurance website HelloSafe México. The survey of 985 Mexicans was compiled from January 21-February 1.
Source: Infobae
