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The official poster and trailer for Mexican cinema’s queer period piece El Baile de los 41 has finally dropped, only one month ahead of its premiere. Starring Sense8’s Alfonso Herrera and directed by David Pablos, the movie follows an important event in Mexico’s unofficial queer history.
The movie is set during the early 1900s, a period in Mexican history that was defined by extensive modernization and repression of free expression during the 31-year-long dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz. The plot follows the events leading up to an infamous party in which 41 men, “cuarenta y un maricones” (41 homosexuals), were arrested for engaging in homosexuality and cross-dressing, since half of the attendees were dressed in women’s clothes.
But according to widely-believed rumor in which the movie bases its plot, the party actually had 42 attendees.
The 42nd guest, Ignacio de la Torre y Mier (played by Alfonso Herrera), was released because of his marriage to Amada Diaz, President Porfirio’s eldest daughter. Out of the 41 arrested, only 19 were transported to a jail in Veracruz as the rest were able to bribe their way out although they were still outed across multiple newspapers.
In Mexico, the number 41 is still associated with homosexuality and the scandal has become a staple of Latin American queer culture. The event even played a significant role in the buildup to the Mexican Revolution, during which the number was used to ridicule the incumbent Mexican government and ruling class for its ties to homosexuality.
Also in attendance at the infamous event was the godson of Maximiliano I, Emperor of the Second Mexican Empire and a rumored homosexual. Ironically, the leading figure of the Mexican Revolution, Emiliano Zapata, was speculated to be bisexual. His sexuality became the center point of cultural discussions last year when an artist depicted him effeminately riding a horse, which led to a national outcry.
While the country might oftentimes be reduced to the label of machista or homophobic, Mexican history is filled with its fair share of queerness that remains hidden and excluded from official records. That’s why queer-made media like El Baile de los 41 is so important in order to fill in the gaps and let queer people everywhere know for how long they have existed and how much of a role they have played in every history there is.
El Baile de los 41 will be released on November 19th.
© 2021 Chaos+Comrades. All Rights Reserved
