Posted on 11/14/2004 5:57:56 PM PST by BenLurkin
MEXICO CITY (AP) - A woman who fumbled a few phrases of Mexico's national anthem while singing the song before a soccer game in Guadalajara has been fined $40 for the blunder. Guadalupe Madrigal acknowledged she got the words wrong while singing before an Oct. 30 soccer match between teams from Guadalajara and Monterrey, Mexico's Interior Department announced Saturday in a written statement.
"She indicated she was sorry to have sung the national anthem poorly," the department announced. "She indicated that she did not do it on purpose or with bad intentions, but recognized that she had made a mistake."
Madrigal, who could not immediately be reached for comment, could have been fined as much as $880 under Mexican law regarding the national seal, flag and hymn.
Officials decided to apply a $40 fine after taking into consideration Madrigal's economic situation - and the fact that thousands of spectators from across Mexico witnessed the performance.
On Sept. 15, Mexico celebrated 150 years of the anthem by calling for an international sing-along.
The fine indicates the government's commitment to ensuring "the necessary respect that patriotic symbols deserve," the statement said.
AP-ES-11-14-04 1956EST
Geeez! Perhaps we need fines here for bad singing. I don't know how many times I've heard some maroon botch the words to the Star spangled Banner before a ball game.
If you burn their flag in public, the mob will kill you before the police can get there to arrest. It is literally worse than killing someone down there. I did not make that up.
I was also thinking about Roseanne Barr, grabbing her crotch and spitting after her awful singing of the Star Spangled Banner.
Mexico has a national anthem? Even for forty dollars, I don't think that I would bother to learn it.
Roseanne.............god that would have been the death penalty...........
Isn't their national anthem "La Cucaracha?"
What did she forget? Audio
kinda makes you wonder why so many people get upset about them coming up here
She can thank her lucky stars she wasn't Islamic and singing at an Islamic hosted game. I'd hate to imagine what they would do to her. What's the penalty for flubbing the words there?
It's a good thing they don't sing the second, third, and fourth verses. We'd all be in trouble.
How in the world did she manage to grab herself? Stop, don't tell me.
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