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Trannies Party 'Till Dawn in Mexican Town

Festival recognizes cross-dressing 'muxes,' crowns a queen

By Laurel Jorgensen, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 23, 2008 7:06 PM CST

(Newser) – Indigenous gays and transvestites partied into the wee hours last night in a southern Mexican town, Reuters reports. The annual bash for so-called "muxes" ended today with a parade that crowned a trannie queen and celebrated the harvest, as it has done for decades. But only recently has gay pride inspired them to publicly cross-dress in this macho society.

“There have always been muxes, but before they would wear just a dress shirt with a feminine touch, like gold buttons,” one local said. “The transvestites are the new generation.”
People in the area considered muxes spiritually empowered until the Catholic Church clamped down centuries ago. "They came in and rapidly suppressed all these practices, which doesn't mean they went away," one expert said. "It means they went underground."

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

Two transvestites pose during the Gay Pride Parade in Mexico City, Saturday, June 28, 2008. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Jorge Ledesma and Oscar Ramos, both immigrants from Mexico, prepare for a a drag queen show backstage at Shooters Bar in San Diego, California May 7, 2006. (Getty Images)

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When I get all dressed up like this, my father always say, 'Oh Pedro! You look just like your mother when she was young.'
- Pedro Martinez, 28, as he readied for the weekend festival of the muxes

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Trannies Party 'Till Dawn in Mexican Town