A group of American tourists in Cancun, Mexico, broke into a spontaneous “build the wall” chant as they disembarked an entertainment cruise late last week, according to witnesses.
Peruvian Anaximandro Amable Burga was onboard the Captain Hook Pirate Ship, which sails on the waters just off the coast and features dinner and a swashbuckling pirate show, with his new wife, Sully, who is Mexican. They were celebrating their honeymoon.
“After the show, a group of Americans, maybe under the influence alcohol, maybe not, started singing ‘Build the wall,'” Amable wrote on Facebook.
The Yucatan Times newspaper decried the incident, noting that it’s not isolated.
“This is just one of the many blameworthy behaviors that young spring breakers have shown recently in Cancun and that are described as acts of xenophobia and discrimination against Mexicans within their own country, which is (or should be) totally unacceptable … This situation is far from being an isolated incident, and it adds to the growing number of complaints from tourism sector workers, who point out that in recent days many Spring Breakers have been offensive, rude and haughty towards Mexican people,” the newspaper said.
President Donald Trump promised during his election campaign to build a wall along the American border with Mexico, and has moved forward with the project as president, though no funding has yet been allocated for the massive land acquisition and construction project. “Build the wall” has become an adversarial chant that has caused anxiety among people of color and immigrants in middle schools, at sporting events and other situations.
