A simple video invitation went viral. Now, 20,000 people are expected to attend
Texas Border Business –
Mexico News Daily – A big-hearted family man’s video invitation to his daughter’s quinceañera has taken over social media in Mexico and abroad after internet trolls mocked the event, sending the video viral.
And what was intended as a simple and small gathering of friends and family has turned into an enormous affair that authorities now predict will bring 20,000 people to the small town of La Joya in the state of San Luis Potosí.
“Hello, how’re you doing? We invite you on December 26 to our daughter Rubí Ibarra García’s quinceañera party,” said Crescencio Ibarra in the video, in which he was accompanied by Rubí and Anaelda, her mother.
Ibarra listed the bands that were to play at the traditional 15th-birthday celebrations and hinted that there would be a raffle with a 10,000-peso, blue-ribbon chiva, or goat, for first prize.
The video, however, was copied and posted online without the family’s authorization, according to Ibarra.
It went viral and before long over one million people had responded to the invitation to the party.
Copycat events were created on Facebook along with playful jokes and mocking memes about the party itself, the venue and the goat — some funny, some not.
Faced with a situation going out of control, Ibarra asked Facebook users to remove the spoof events while clarifying that the invitation was meant only for a select group of friends in La Joya, and not all of Mexico.
Undeterred, people online got even more organized, assembling a massive call to attend Rubí’s birthday party, along with calls for volunteers to help prepare the food needed to feed the huge throng of guests.
Internet stardom also earned the Ibarras TV celebrity status: they have been interviewed not only on national television but also by Despierta América, a Spanish-language morning television show airing on Univision in the U.S.
With regard to the massive number of people seemingly intent on helping celebrate his daughter’s birthday, Ibarra was unfazed. He said “it would be magnificent if they could come, but honestly, I don’t think all those celebrities and other people will show up.”
But authorities seem to think otherwise.
Government Secretary Alejandro Leal said yesterday that the state would provide logistics support to the municipality of Villa de Guadalupe, in which La Joya is located, in preparation for an estimated crowd of 20,000.
The state will send in personnel several days before the event to help the municipality prepare for security, water requirements, washrooms, ambulances, traffic control. Even a helicopter will be deployed should there be an emergency of any kind.
Telcel got into the act yesterday by sending in several vehicles carrying personnel to upgrade communications systems in order to guarantee cellular telephone and internet service for the party-goers. The newspaper El Universal reported they were scouting locations for new antennas that would guarantee a signal at the Ibarras’ home.
One online comment on the story offered the observation that at least something good was coming out of all the hype.
Meanwhile, national and international firms have rallied behind the event, having spied a marketing opportunity.
Probably the most controversial is a campaign mounted by Prudence, a brand of condoms, whose Facebook ad announces “We now have balloons for your 15th birthday party Rubí.” It has been both roundly criticized and loudly applauded.
The international music streaming platform Spotify has joined in, creating a special playlist for Rubí’s party, and the airline Interjet has jumped on board by offering a 30% discount to travelers heading for the festivities.
It was before the event began to take on farcical overtones that Rubí’s mother offered a caution.
She urged those who do plan to attend — “whom we’ll receive with open arms” — to take into account that “we’re a normal family . . . who want to celebrate my daughter’s 15-year party in the most normal way possible.”
If the state’s attendance prediction is correct, Señora Ibarra may not get her wish.
