Most people kissing at one time-world record set
by Mexico City
MEXICO CITY, Mexico--40,000 people have gathered in
Mexico City's huge central plaza to pucker up for peace and
locked lips on Valentine's Day -setting the world record for
the Most
people kissing at one time.
Photo: Couples kiss in Mexico City.Thousands
gathered in Mexico City's central plaza to pucker up for peace
and break the world record for the largest number of people
kissing at one time. (AP Photo/Claudio Cruz) -enlarge
photo
"We did it! Long live Mexico," said singer
Susana Zavaleta, who serenaded the crowd with the classic
Mexican ballad "Besame Mucho," or "Kiss Me a Lot".
The giant Zocalo was half-filled as mostly young
couples embraced and held one another in a lip lock for 10
seconds.
The previous world record of simultaneous
kisses was previously held by Britain with 32,648 people.
The seaside resort town 225km west of London held the Guinness
World Record for the largest group kiss since July, 2007 when
more than 32,000 people kissed for 20 seconds. Tourists chiefs organised the kiss-off in
Mexico City's Zocalo main square in protest at the soaring
drug violence in the country, which claimed more than 6,000
lives last year.
Organisers said it also aimed to send a message
to a local mayor who tried to ban kissing in the public square.
As people awaited for the appointed moment
on Saturday, city workers in cupid wings offered hugs, teenage
boys carried signs volunteering their kissing services and
couples practised openly in a country that surprises many
with its pervasive public displays of affection.
The kiss "sends a message to the whole world
about Mexico's respect for al kinds of freedoms," said local
tourist official Alejandro Rojas Diaz.