el crispito

I was first told about Alarma! by a friend of mine who has turned me on to many many things. Lest you get the wrong idea, he does complain that I don't take his book suggestions, which I must nevertheless say are quite sublime. Yet he also shares an interest in Mexico and lives right next to it. He was able to get a few, but not outside of Mexico. No, Alarma! probably won't replace the Weekly World News in your local market any time soon.

It is pornography in the sense that it appeals to that lurid interest in the grotesque, but any nudity is incidental. It's often featured at ogrish.com. Art exhibits have been named for it. One source claims it sells 15,000,000 copies per week, but I don't think that's an audited number. Still, enough people buy it to keep them in business.

In contrast to America's culture of life, Mexico does have a greater incorporation of death into their culture. It is much more visible largely in part due to the arts. Perhaps the most accessible is that of José Guadalupe Posada, but Kahlo's retablos also reflect the comfort with death that Mexico has developed through many years of exposure to iconography showing the martyrdom of saints. [see also Kahlo's El ciervo herido and Unos cuantos piquetitos]

Yet I don't mean to go too far. Alarma! has no artistic pretense. It only claims to contain "únicamente la VERDAD," and even that is questionable. Mexico does have a view of life that is more inclusive of the big adios, but this magazine is not a representative example of that perspective. And people in Mexico are not the only ones that delight in the macabre.

You won't get much insight into the Mexican psyche from it, but if you ever need evidence that it's better to avoid getting involved in organized crime, operating dangerous machinery or even driving your car, Alarma! has it, in color.