As news of the Florida tragedy spread across social media, many Mexicans wondered why the Xalapa shooting failed to make international headlines.
The Xalapa story didn’t even make it into the mainstream English language press, calling into question the empathy that is afforded to hate crime victims when they are neither from the United States or white. As recently as 2012, 98 percent of murders in Mexico went unsolved. Those inside the club sent out pleas for help on social media, reminiscent of the terrified text messages sent by some who were inside Pulse for Latin Night on Saturday.Īuthorities largely blamed the Xalapa shooting on drug conflicts in the area, and the murderers were never apprehended.
and began shooting as soon as they were in the club’s doorway. Security cameras captured multiple suspects, who arrived at Xalapa’s Bar Madame on motorcycle around 1 a.m. On May 22, an attack on a gay bar in Xalapa, the capital of the Mexican state of Veracruz, left five dead and 14 wounded.
But unfortunately, that’s not the only fatal attack that has been perpetrated against Latinos in the queer nightlife community this year. United States gun culture and the country’s rampant homophobia undoubtedly created the tragedy in which 50 were gunned down at gay Orlando nightclub Pulse on Sunday morning.
