On Tuesday morning cops found a man, who remains unnamed, contemplating jumping off a bridge. According to SDP Noticias, the man originally from the state of Guerrero felt very lonely and depressed in the city.
Cops approached him and offered him tacos. At first he was like “Meh, they kinda look good, but no.”
Pandemia. Brote. Vacuna. La Peste. Although you may find these terms in a glossary about the Covid-19 outbreak, that’s not what these words actually refer to. Instead, they’re options on the menu at a Mexican taqueria called “Tacovid: Sabor Viral”, a perhaps surprisingly very successful Coronavirus-themed restaurant.
Although to many having a Covid-themed taqueria may seem morbid or disrespectful or perhaps gross – I mean who wants to order a plague taco? – the taqueria is making light of a very serious situation with humor. Something that several other businesses have done since the pandemic began.
”Tacovid: Sabor Viral” is the Mexican taqueria going viral – pun intended – for its Covid-themed menu.
Me queda claro que mi país, sin el clásico humor que lo caracteriza sería más decadente y difícil de sobrellevar. Dicen que toda adversidad es una oportunidad… #FelizViernesATodospic.twitter.com/HUCEV6EqMV
Ok…virus-themed tacos don’t exactly sound appetizing. Especially, as we’re still in the midst of a very real pandemic. But one 23-year-old man in the Mexican city of León, who was forced to close down his dance studio because of Coronavirus, is counting on a Covid-themed restaurant – and so far he’s been surprised by its success.
Brandon Velázquez converted his dance academy into a taquería at the end of July, and given that Mexico and the rest of the world was – and is – in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic decided to call it Tacovid Sabor Viral.
“I had to close my dance academy during the pandemic [but] then an opportunity arose to return to the same place, however, people still did not go out for fear of getting infected.” he told the newspaper El Universal.
“I had always wanted to open a taqueria and, at the end of July, the opportunity to do so occurred. It was how I took advantage of the moment to create this business with a coronavirus theme,” he added.
Items on the menu are named after – you guessed it – the Coronavirus and don’t sound like anything you’d willfully choose to order.
The young entrepreneur detailed the name of each dish, taking full advantage of the Coronavirus theme.
“We have around 12 different dishes, among them are the ‘Tacovid’; we have ‘Forty’, ‘Quesanitizing’, ‘Pandemic’, ‘Outbreak’, and many others. The price varies depending on the dish you order,” he told El Universal.
In addition to themed dishes, the servers also fit the Coronavirus-theme.
When the pandemic hit Mexico, the government urged Mexicans to observe “su sana distancia” and the now common mascot – Susana Distancia – was born.
“In the restaurant, a waitress dressed as a nurse with the name of ‘Susana’ takes orders and works the tables, referring to the healthy distance campaign that was implemented as a precautionary measure,” he says.
To his surprise – and honestly mine as well – the taqueria has been very successful.
Brandon told El Universal that he’s been pleasantly surprised by the support he has received from customers. “I’m surprised because we have had really good sales, despite the circumstances, we have had a lot of support by the community and we’ve already expanded to have two locations.”
“Customers are funny about the theme we are using in the business, and they are delighted with the dishes we are offering. They enjoy it and have a good time,” added Brandon.
Things are looking so good for Brandon and his Covid-themed taqueria, that he’s looking to expand the food business and add new dishes to the menu. “There is always the idea of new names for other dishes that we want to include in the menu.”
Brandon also said that he’s looking to build out a business model so the restaurant could expand to other parts of the country as a franchise.
Apparently, people are really into Covid-themed foods, as this isn’t the first place that a shop as cashed in on the pandemic. Back in April, a panadería was selling out of Covid-themed baked goods so quickly, they couldn’t keep the shelves stocked.
The year 2020 seems to be the year that just won’t stop throwing us curve balls. In its latest attempt to shock and terrorize us, workers in Mexico City’s sewer system have found what appears to be a giant rat inside the system. The photos and video are straight out of a horror film.
Some on social media quickly wondered if this wasn’t an actual Master Splinter of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fame. But it turns out that the ‘giant rat’ has a far more normal origin story.
Images of a ‘giant rat’ from Mexico City’s sewer system quickly went viral on social media.
In what many are calling another sign of the apocalypse brought to us by the year 2020, Mexico City cleanup crews discovered what looked like a monster drowned rat while dredging the sewers. The giant-size “rodent” was part of 22 tons of litter the workers had removed from the city’s drainage tunnels following heavy rains, according to the Border Report.
During the cleanup process, the workers reportedly turned a corner and encountered what they described as a “giant rat,” which sat hunched over and sported incredibly realistic fur. As it turns out, the ’giant rat’ was actually a Halloween prop that had been washed out of its warehouse by the storm. The decoration somehow ended up in the labyrinthine network of sewer tunnels, where it sat undiscovered for years — until now.
Apparently, the ‘giant rat’ was a homemade Halloween decoration that went missing after a rainstorm.
Gente: No entiendo por qué nos inundamos cada año en la Ciudad de México. La gente también: Encuentran botarga de rata gigante en coladeras de la Magdalena Contreras pic.twitter.com/ym77U0TfCH
Since the ‘rodents’ discovery, a woman named Evelin López has come forward to claim the rat, which she reportedly created from scratch for Halloween. Lopez said it had gone missing “years ago” during a torrential downpour, and no one could help her retrieve it.
Fortunately, the monster rat appears to be in safe hands — as a now-viral video shows it being hosed off on the street by sewer workers after being rescued from its subterranean lair. Witnesses told El universal that they marveled at the “beast’s” naturalistic appearance, and as can be expected many admitted that they’d of gone running in fear if they had seen it on the street.
The rat’s rightful owner said she has no idea what to do with her “Princess Bride”-evoking prop. Social-media pundits suggest recycling the beast for this year’s Halloween festivities — provided they hose it off a few more times first.
Unfortunately, the rat was discovered only because crews cleaned up debris after a woman drowned following torrential rains.
The ‘giant rat’ / Halloween prop was discovered to have caused a flood which drowned a 54-year-old woman trapped inside her apartment. The woman that died was named in local media reports as Doña Mari. She was 54 and drowned in her home after the water flooded into her residence.
The water caused furniture to move and block the door trapping her inside and drowning her. Her body was discovered by a neighbor, who went looking for her after realizing she wasn’t with other residents who had congregated outside after leaving their homes due to the flooding.
Authorities cleaned the drainage system in the area in hopes of reducing the flooding, and that is when they found the giant fake rat.
