- Title: Mexico's Muxe festival shines spotlight on tradition and gender diversity
- Date: 17th November 2024
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MUXE PAGEANT PARTICIPANT, MUXE MI AMOR (SWEETHEART MUXE), SAYING: "Muxe Mi Amor (Sweetheart Muxe) is the great love I have for the muxes, for their struggle, for their voice, and for this moment they are organizing for all of us." (NIGHT SHOTS) VARIOUS OF MUXE PAGEANT PARTICIPANTS PARADING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MUXE PAGEANT PARTICIPANTS, MICHELLE DE LA CRUZ, SAYING: "It is a celebration of diversity, it is a celebration of resistance, it is colour, it is light and it is also a celebration of life." VARIOUS OF QUEEN MUXE 2024 NAOMY MENDEZ BEING MADE UP AND STYLED MENDEZ LOOKING AT HERSELF IN MIRROR MENDEZ WALKING THROUGH CURTAIN AND SHOWING OFF HER HAIRSTYLE MENDEZ WAITING TO TAKE PART IN PARADE VARIOUS OF MENDEZ AND MUXES DURING PARADE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) QUEEN MUXE 2024, NAOMY MENDEZ, SAYING: "This event is a moment where we can be ourselves, where we can fight for our rights, and where we can be recognized. But especially, we must continue raising our voices and being more united to continue fighting for our rights and to be heard because, at the end of the day, what we want is to continue fighting as the people that we are." MENDEZ TALKING WITH HER MOM MENDEZ AND HER MOM HOLDING HANDS AND LIGHTED CANDLES AND STATUE OF ANGEL (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MENDEZ'Z MOTHER, ROMERO ROQUE, SAYING: "Since she was 10 years old, she wanted to be queen. So today, her dream has come true. We always go hand in hand with her; when she said she would change her name at first, we doubted it, but she did not want to lie or deceive people. We are parents, and we must understand our children's wishes and understand them." (NIGHT SHOTS) VARIOUS OF MUXE PAGEANT PARTICIPANTS AND PEOPLE DANCING (NIGHT SHOT) FULL MOON
- Embargoed: 1st December 2024 18:22
- Keywords: Juchitan Mexico Muxes
- Location: JUCHITAN, OAXACA, MEXICO
- City: JUCHITAN, OAXACA, MEXICO
- Country: Mexico
- Topics: South America / Central America,North America,Human Interest/Brights/Odd News,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA002037517112024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Members of southern Mexico's third-gender 'muxe' community gathered on Saturday (November 16) to celebrate sexual and gender diversity.
The festival, known locally as a "vela," took place in the city of Juchitan, Oaxaca state, where streets were filled with music and dancing.
With a lively pageant, the muxes, mostly gay men of ethnic Zapotec descent, tried to outdo one another with their fabulous outfits.
Muxes, in the Indigenous Zapotec cultures of this region, are individuals born biologically male who embrace a mixed gay and feminine identity.
Muxes are widely-accepted in the area despite an ingrained Roman Catholic heritage and known for their dedication to family, especially for taking care of parents as other siblings move out to start their own families.
(Production: Jose Cortes, Manuel Carrillo, Liamar Ramos) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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