Queer Ancestor Spotlight: El Baile De Los Cuarenta y Uno
El baile de los cuarenta y uno, or ‘The Dance of the Forty-One’, refers to a social scandal in early 20th century Mexico. As with many aspects of queer society in this era this event revolves around a police raid of a private home during a dance at which 19 men were dressed in drag. The Mexican government attempted to suppress discussion of this event since it involved elite members of society but it became heavily satirized in the Mexican press and media. Some, such as writer Carlos Monsiváis, refer to this event as the invention of homosexuality in Mexico.
Hoja Suelta, José Guadalupe Posada, 1901
On November 17, 1901 a large group of men gathered in a rented house in Mexico City to attend a dance party. It is unclear what prompted the raid but in the early hours of November 18 the police swarmed the house after a man in woman’s clothing answered the door. A contemporary press report noted:
On Sunday night, at a house on the fourth block of Calle la Paz, the police burst into a dance attended by 41 unaccompanied men wearing women's clothes. Among those individuals were some of the dandies seen every day on Calle Plateros. They were wearing elegant ladies' dresses, wigs, false breasts, earrings, embroidered slippers, and their faces were painted with highlighted eyes and rosy cheeks. When the news reached the street, all forms of comments were made and the behaviour of those individuals was subjected to censure. We refrain from giving our readers further details because they are exceedingly disgusting.
What made this particular event such a scandal was the names associated with the party. While 41 attendees were arrested a popular rumor at the time claimed there were actually 42 men present. The man who was allowed to escape and who’s attendance was covered up was claimed to be Ignacio de la Torre, the son-in-law of Mexican President Porfirio Diaz. It was also claimed that Ignacio helped to plan the dance in collaboration with another member of Mexico’s aristocratic elite, Antonio Adalid, the godson of Maximilian I and Carlota the former Emperor and Empress of Mexico. The dance was noteworthy not only for being a same-sex gathering place and hosting men in women’s clothing but also for the “Raffle of Pepito”, a contest in which the prize would be a sex worker.
Of the 41 men arrested only 19 were convicted. These men were conscripted into the army and sent to the Yucatán to fight in the Caste War against the native Mayans, called Yucatecos. Most of the men remain unknown but a few names have been found in legal records: Pascual Barrón, Felipe Martínez, Joaquín Moreno, Alejandro Pérez, Raúl Sevilla, Juan B. Sandoval and Jesús Solórzano. These men argued that homosexuality was not a crime in Mexico and fought being conscripted. As a result the charges were changed to a “crime against decency” and the punishment was the same.
This event has left it’s mark on Mexican culture and how it relates to the LGBTQ+ community. As a result of the scandal the numbers 41 and 42 have become associated with homosexuality, with the number 42 being reserved for men considered to be ‘bottoms.’ These numbers often appeared along with images and engravings that ridiculed and satirized the raid and men involved. Essayist Francisco L. Urquizo wrote in 1965 how deeply the association with the number 41 is with homosexuality, stating:
In Mexico, the number 41 has no validity and is offensive... The influence of this tradition is so strong that even officialdom ignores the number 41. No division, regiment, or battalion of the army is given the number 41. From 40 they progress directly to 42. No payroll has a number 41. Municipal records show no houses with the number 41; if this cannot be avoided, 40 bis is used. No hotel or hospital has a room 41. Nobody celebrates their 41st birthday, going straight from 40 to 42. No vehicle is assigned a number plate with 41, and no police officer will accept a badge with that number.
In November 2020 a fictionalized account of this event focusing on Ignacio de la Torre premiered at the Morelia International Film Festival. It went on the be nominated in 2021 for a number of Ariel Awards, given by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences, including Best Picture. It won for Best Actor, Best Art Direction, Best Makeup, and Best Costume Design.
Learn more about the El Baile De Los Cuarenta y Uno:
The "forty-one", one hundred years later - Miguel Hernandez Cabrera (2002)
El baile de los 41: la fiesta gay de la élite de México que desató un escándalo hace más de un siglo - BBC Mundo (Spanish)
The 41 and the great raid - Letras Libres
Dance of the 41 - Official Netflix Trailer
'El Baile de los 41' ('Dance of the 41') Memorial Plaque - Atlas Obscura
