Story By: Maja Mishevksa, Sub Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
CEN/@adanalejandro.ruizgarcia
Organisers of this stage show have been accused of racism after getting a child to dance around in a coronavirus costume wearing an Asian hat and sporting a ‘Fu Manchu’ moustache.
The bizarre scenes were recorded at the Simon Bolivar Primary School in the municipality of Melchor Ocampo, in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas and have received over 1 million views online.
In the video, cumbia music can be seen playing at the school’s carnival party when a student comes out dressed as the molecular structure of a virus complete with an Asian conical hat.
Two other students are dressed as doctors and dance with the virus on stage while pursuing it with a syringe.
Alejandro Ruiz Garcia, who posted the video online, said that teacher Martha Lorena Ramirez had come up with the idea for the costumes and the children’s parents helped create the costumes.
Garcia said onlookers laughed at the bizarre performance and netizen ‘Eduardo Cervantes Lopez’ commented: “We even do dances with coronavirus, everybody is in a state of alert but Mexico is doing dances, hahaha.”
However, other netizens criticised the costume, such as ‘Janeth Gzz’ who wrote: “And what if the virus had come from here and they put a Mexican sombrero on it, would we like that?”
While ‘Li Panyunlong’ said: “Hahah, besides, it is very racist!”
And ‘Diana Mp’ commented: “Why racist?” and ‘Makario Arteagua Lara’ answered: “Because the coronavirus is using a Chinese hat and moustache, which is a stereotype.
“You should have not shared with your friend, it is like when there were H1N1 they would have used a costume of mice dressed up as Speedy Gonzalez with traditional outfits and having a siesta under a cactus in the desert next to a donkey.”
Seven people have been reported as infected with COVID-19 in Mexico so far, with one of them in a serious condition.
The Mexican authorities have taken measures to avoid the spread of the virus.
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