10 Second Lip Lock 
Mexico City - Mexico City set a new record on
on Valentine's Day (Sat. 14/02/09) where 39 897 people locked lips in the city centre for the
world's largest group kiss. Carlos Martinez of Guinness World Records verified the record
of people who entered the kissing area of the city's
Zocalo main square, which can hold 100 000 people. They have beaten Weston-super-Mare, an
English town that set the previous kissing record in 2007.
The giant Zocalo, was
half-filled as mostly young couples embraced and held one another in a
lip lock for 10 seconds.The kiss was delayed for several hours as organisers waited for people to gather.
As the crowd grew, city workers in cupid wings offered hugs,
teenage boys carried signs volunteering their kissing services and
couples practiced openly in a country that surprises many with its
pervasive public displays of affection. As soon as the kissing stopped, participants started chanting
"Cente!" the nickname for Mexico's most popular ranchera singer,
Vicente Fernandez, who followed the smooch-fest with a free concert. The event also included workshops on violence-free relationships and AIDS prevention.
"We did it! Long live Mexico," said Mexican singer-actress
Susana Zavaleta, who serenaded the crowd before the kiss with the
classic Mexican ballad, "Besame Mucho," or "Kiss Me a Lot" which was also the
name of the event. The Valentine's Day kiss was meant to show love at a time when a
crackdown against drug traffickers has led to widespread violence
across the country. At least 6 000 people died in drug-related
conflicts in 2008. "More than 35 000 will simultaneously kiss to show that warmth
and love are at the core of this capital, the heart of the Mexican
Republic," the city's tourism department, which organised the
gathering, said in a statement.The event "is aimed at changing people's attitudes toward
human relations, especially between couples, so that respect, equity
and tolerance are at the centre of any relationship," the statement
said.
Source: News24.com
