Mexico City sets kissing record on Valentine’s Day

Mexico City puckered up to set a new record as nearly 40,000 people locked lips in the city centre for the world's largest group kiss.

Mexico City puckered up to set a new record as nearly 40,000 people locked lips in the city centre for the world’s largest group kiss.

Carlos Martinez of Guinness World Records verified the record of 39,897 people who entered the gated kissing area of the city’s Zocalo main square on Valentine’s Day,besting Weston-super-Mare,an English town that set the previous kissing record in 2007.

“We did it! Long live Mexico,” said Mexican singer-actress Susana Zavaleta,who serenaded the crowd before the kiss with the classic Mexican ballad,”Besame Mucho,” or “Kiss Me a Lot” also the name of the event.

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The Valentine’s Day kiss was meant to show love at a time when a crackdown against drug traffickers has led to widespread violence across the country. At least 6,000 people died in drug-related conflicts in 2008.

“More than 35,000 will simultaneously kiss to show that warmth and love are at the core of this capital,the heart of the Mexican Republic,” the city’s tourism department,which organised the gathering,said in a statement.

The event “is aimed at changing people’s attitudes toward human relations,especially between couples,so that respect,equity and tolerance are at the center of any relationship,” the statement said.

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