Mexican singer Paquita la del Barrio on gay adoption: ‘It’s better that the child die’

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Ten more same-sex couples were married in a public event in downtown Mexico City over the weekend, just days after the first landmark gay weddings were performed in Mexico’s Federal District, or capital. The Sunday event reportedly turned into a spontaneous street party. On the surface, despite some protests, the last few days played out as joy and celebration for gay rights activists in heavily Catholic, heavily macho Mexico.

That was not the case, however, for Paquita la del Barrio. The iconic singer of ballads about scorned women and disgracefully sexist men said in an interview over the weekend that she did not approve of a portion of Mexico City’s new same-sex marriage law that allows for gay couples to adopt children.

Specificity at this point is crucial. Not only did the singer say gay adoption was ‘not in my taste,’ she said she’d prefer a child die on the streets rather than be adopted by two adults of the same sex.

‘It’s better that the child die instead of that life for the little creatures,’ the singer said in response to a reporter’s either-or hypothetical. Watch the clip, with English subtitles, at YouTube.

GLAAD, the U.S.-based Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, responded with a swift and furious condemnation of the comments -- in two languages. Several prominent gay-oriented groups also registered their outrage.

Paquita’s loaded opinion might sound outrageous to her many gay fans on both sides of the border. But keep in mind, this is the same singer who recently admitted she has performed for narco kingpins at private parties, and that Mexico’s drug lords have her ‘respects.’

--Daniel Hernandez in Mexico City