![]() ![]() Mexico is home to almost 60,000 Jews, and while there are no systematic attacks against them, the most recent national survey on discrimination highlighted religious beliefs as the second-most common reason for offenses, behind physical appearance. El País Jewish community not letting guard down The singer and guitarist of a band called Punishment Battalion during the Empire Strikes Back concert. The company refused to make any statements to EL PAÍS. Initially, they had expected around 150 people, but the high demand made Desperados División look for a venue that could accommodate twice that number. The day before the event, they received details of the location and a QR code. Each of the people who paid 1,580 pesos (around $80) for a ticket was contacted via WhatsApp and registered on an access list. The concert was organized by a company called Desperados División. As the temperature in the room rose, the attendees began to remove their jackets, revealing all manner of tattoos on their necks and arms: swastikas, German phrases and the occasional portrait of Adolf Hitler. Dozens of members of the audience chanted the words between songs and some of the musicians made the raised-arm gesture as they left the stage. The Nazi salute, accompanied by shouts of “Sieg Heil,” were in evidence as the night went on. Their opening songs criticized the modern world: “The new times are shit, where is the old school that didn’t hesitate to fight?” Then, they moved on to other, more aggressive and discriminatory numbers: “Fucking faggots dirtying my city, hang them and burn them!” They announced themselves with the promise of “hard and nationalist” music. The first three bands on the stage were SunCity Skins, Last Chance and Royal Aces Convicted, from Mexico. SunCity Skins performed discriminatory songs at the concert. ![]() Just as we know who they are, they also keep an eye on us.” The night ended without confrontation: after the concerts it was all camaraderie and the suspicious stranger, who had joined several groups after exchanging his details on social media accounts, turned out to be a like-minded attendee. They come to break up our events, they throw Molotov cocktails at us, and if we’re alone in the street and bump into a small group of them, they won’t hesitate to kick the shit out of us. “If there are 300 of us in here, outside there can easily be 1,000 anti-fascists who want us dead. We’re just waiting for him to try to do or say something to kick his ass and get him out,” explains Vázquez, pointing to a solitary man.Īccording to the neo-Nazis, they have to gather in clandestine conditions as they too are persecuted. We don’t know how he bought his ticket or how he managed to get in. “See that guy over there at the beer stand? He is an anti-fascist. Although most attendees knew each other, the presence of the occasional stranger raised suspicions among the organizers. Once inside the venue, hundreds of men (mostly with shaved heads) and fewer than 20 women congregated in the 90 square feet of Salón Pentatlón, an events hall in the Santa María la Ribera neighborhood.ĭozens of men in red T-shirts with the word “security” emblazoned on their backs patrolled the room, keeping an eye on each and every member of the audience. All attendees had to pass through a rigorous security filter to enter their identity was verified with a QR code, official photographic ID and checked against a long list containing over 300 names. To avoid any setbacks involving the authorities, the location was kept a secret until a day before the event. ![]() Although it was not the first time that far-right groups have organized an event like this in Mexico, it was probably the one with the highest attendance so far. El Imperio Contraataca (The Empire Strikes Back), a clandestine concert featuring five bands – two from Spain, three from Mexico – brought together more than 300 people where hate slogans were chanted and Nazism was glorified. This was no ordinary event it was one that matched his neo-fascist ideology. He had purchased his ticket more than three months in advance. On October 29, Sergio Vázquez (his name has been altered to protect his identity), a 33-year-old lawyer from Monterrey, Mexico, traveled more than 500 miles to attend a concert in Mexico City.
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