Paquita announces show at gay disco to apologize for adoption comments

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Paquita la del Barrio now says she’s sorry. The Mexican singer who inflamed a controversy over her comments on gay adoption in Mexico City announced that she would hold a press conference and concert next week to offer apologies for saying she’d rather see a child die on the streets than be adopted by a same-sex couple.

The singer’s apology event, set for Tuesday afternoon, will take place at Spartacus, a huge gay disco in Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl, the sprawling Mexico City suburb sometimes referred to as ‘Neza York.’ The singer is a longtime friend of the club’s owner.

In one interview since the controversy erupted, Paquita said her comments were rooted in her ‘poor education’ and small-town upbringing. (She isn’t called Paquita la del Barrio -- or, ‘Paquita from the ‘Hood’ -- for nothing.) In another short interview, she told reporters that ‘the majority’ of her friends are gay. ‘I don’t have anything against anyone,’ Paquita said.

Jorge Cruz Garsias, the owner of Spartacus, told La Plaza he has been friends with Paquita for more than 20 years. The singer used to hang out on weekend nights at Spartacus before she became internationally famous, he said.

‘I’ve never felt any kind of rejection from her, I don’t know what happened this time,’ Cruz said. ‘I am not in agreement with what she said, but she is my friend, so let her make her retraction, and ask for forgiveness.’

As outrageous as her comments might have been for many fans, Paquita’s disapproval of gay couples adopting children is not that far out of the mainstream in Mexico. A recent poll by the firm Buendia & Laredo found that 71% of respondents were opposed to Mexico City’s new law that allows adoption by same-sex couples. Only 10% were in favor.

-- Daniel Hernandez in Mexico City