Mexico Working to Make 2009 a Record-Breaking Year

If you ask most people in the U.S. what words pop in their heads when they think of Mexico, they would probably say “Swine Flu” or “drug cartel crisis.” But Mexicans are working hard to bring the phrase “world record” to mind.

Since January, Mexicans have broken the world records for the biggest cheesecake, kissing, dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album, and the biggest mariachi band.

Is this wave of record attempts part of a public relations campaign, or is it more of a bottom up movement instigated by the citizenry?

The answer is probably a little bit of both. The records are a smart way to attract some “positive” news about Mexico during a year in which feel good stories have been few and far between.

Quirky Goals. But the quirkiness of the lofty goals the record breakers have set for themselves suggests that most of the efforts probably grew organically. Anyone who’s been to Mexico will tell you that some of the people’s greatest passions are food, romance, dancing, and mariachis. When I was in Guadalajara in June, I saw so many couples kissing in the parks and public squares, I thought the city might be trying to set its own record.

The most recent bout of record breaking efforts was this past weekend when Mexicans shattered milestones set for dancing to “Thriller” and the largest mariachi band.

On Saturday, nearly 13,000 people in Mexico City celebrated what would have been Michael Jackson’s birthday by dancing to “Thriller” in front of the Monument of the Revolution. The record was previously held by a group of about 250 U.S. college students who all danced to the album in May.

On Sunday, 549 mariachi musicians teamed up in Guadalajara to form the world’s largest mariachi band. The old record belonged to 520 mariachis that performed in Texas in 2007.