MEXICAN MAYOR MARRIES ALLIGATOR

Victor Hugo Sosa, mayor of San Pedro Humelula in Mexico, has married his alligator bride.

The ceremony was described as colourful and traditional.

Mayor Sosa kissed his new bride more than once during the ceremony. The alligator’s mouth was tied shut to avoid unwanted biting.

RTE reports that the ritual marriage likely dates back centuries to pre-Hispanic times among Oaxaca state’s Chontal and Huave indigenous communities, like a prayer pleading for nature’s bounty.

“We ask nature for enough rain, for enough food, that we have fish in the river,” said Sosa, mayor of the small fishing village on Oaxaca’s steamy Pacific coast.

The seven-year-old reptile was dressed in a white wedding dress and referred to as a little princess. She represents mother earth and her marriage to the local leader of the village symbolises the joining of humans with the divine.

RTE adds that as trumpets blared and drums provided a festive beat, locals carried the alligator bride in their arms through village streets as men fanned it with their hats.

Image credit: Cosmopolitan