national pride, crime, politics, division, unity, society
SOURCE: MSNBC
Global sing-along to rouse unity in Mexico
Ads call on Mexicans to belt out national anthemThe Associated Press
Updated: 3:01 p.m. ET Sept. 13, 2004
MEXICO CITY - Warning: If a co-worker or stranger suddenly jumps up and starts singing Wednesday, don’t be alarmed. They aren’t crazy. They are just Mexicans participating in a worldwide call to song to celebrate 150 years of their national anthem.
An ad campaign is calling on all Mexicans — wherever they are — to stop what they are doing at noon Wednesday (1 p.m. EDT), the eve of Mexico’s Independence Day, and sing the rousing ode to war and country.
While the campaign is primarily aimed at celebrating the anthem, it has another motive: uniting a country increasingly divided by everything from politics to crime.
“There is a crisis of dishonesty, fragmentation, crime,” said Erwin Salas Juarez, a spokesman for the nonprofit council organizing the campaign. “We have to unite society.”
Organizers hope that on Wednesday, offices will grind to a halt in the capital, Mexicans visiting the Eiffel Tower will stop taking photos, and farmers will look up from their fields to join in the anthem’s first words: “Mexicans, at the cry of battle prepare your swords and bridle; and let the earth tremble at its center at the roar of the cannon.”
German Castelan, 20, a university student looking for part-time work in Mexico City, said he has nothing to celebrate and won’t be singing.
“I’m not really into it right now because...
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