MORELIA, Mexico (AP) — Mexico’s often violent disputes between street performers reached a new level this week when a group of guitar-toting mariachis attacked a flame-swallower.
What happened next was, perhaps, predictable.
According to security camera footage obtained by The Associated Press, the mariachis in their white jackets at first seemed to be winning, punching the flame-swallower to the ground and kicking him on the sidewalk in front of a taco restaurant named Hell.
The video then shows the mariachis — some with clothing in flames — running away. The flame-swallower had doused them with flammable liquid from a small can and set them alight. The mariachis quickly shed their clothes or extinguished the flames. None returned to the fight.
Because competition for tips in Mexico is so fierce, performers and windshield washers often stake out and defend lucrative street corners. Street vendor groups in Mexico City often square off with cudgels and sometimes guns over territory.
It is not clear how Sunday’s dispute began in the city of Morelia west of the capital. Police said in a statement that nobody was arrested and only the flame-swallower had to be treated at a hospital.
Police said he told them he had argued with the mariachis, who then attacked him.
Vatican makes fresh overture to China, reaffirms that Catholic Church is no threat to sovereignty
Jon Bon Jovi, 62, hints he's been with 100 women
Penélope Cruz marks her 50th birthday in star
Proposed $2.77 billion settlement clears first step of NCAA approval with no change to finance plan
Colombia's president says thousands of grenades and bullets have gone missing from army bases
Trump's comparison of student protests to Jan. 6 is part of effort to downplay Capitol attack
Lionel Richie, 74, and girlfriend Lisa Parigi, 34, enjoy dinner date in Los Angeles
Report says China is accelerating the forced urbanization of rural Tibetans
How major US stock indexes fared Tuesday, 4/30/2024