On Saturday, 14 February 2009 – Valentine’s Day – 39,897 people gathered in the Plaza de la Constitución, the main square in Mexico City, Mexico, to beat the record for the most people kissing simultaneously.

From 10 a.m., Mexico City Town Hall offered multiple activities to the visitors. DIF-DF, Culture and Tourism Secretaries, and Youth and Woman Institutes set up stands in order to promote a culture of respect, plurality and love, which they hoped would last longer than for just this 14 February, through information, conferences and recreational activities.

From 4 p.m., the presenter Gabriela Ruffo was in charge of warming the attendance up and inviting passers-by to join the event. There were also performances by Tiaré Scanda, Carlos Payés and DJ Martín Parra.

After Susana Zabaleta’s performance of that internationally famous song “Bésame Mucho” by Consuelito Velázquez, and in front of 40,225 Mexicans and tourists at the Plaza de la Constitución, the countdown to the record attempt began.

For a 10-second period, couples, families and friends, sent a message of peace, freedom, diversity, respect and non-violence to the world through hugs and kisses of every kind. “The City of Mexico has shown to the country and to the entire world that here life can be lived with no fear and you can breath tolerance. In this city you can go out and be kissed, you can show your affection,” stated the secretary of tourism from the Mexico City Government, Mr Alejandro Rojas Díaz Durán.

That Saturday, at 7 p.m. Guinness World Records Adjudicator Carlos Martínez announced: “It is official: the new Guinness World Records™ record for the most people kissing simultaneously has just been broken in Mexico City, Plaza de la Constitución, with 39,897 participants.”

Carlos Martínez also added that the official figures showed a total of 40,225 people in the square 20 minutes before the record attempt; more and more people were gathering in the Plaza de la Constitución all the time, but as not all attendants kissed, not all of them could be included in the final official figure for the record. However, more than 95% of people participated, with a figure large enough to break the previous record set in Weston-super-Mare, UK, last June, with 32,648 people kissing at one time.

After the record attempt was over, the fair named “Amor es... sin Violencia, Bésame mucho” (“Love is… no Violence, Kiss me much”) ended with a concert by Mexican singer Vicente Fernández, attended by more than 200,000 people.

27 February 2009