Emos vs Punks: fifteen years after the fight that paralyzed the Glorieta de Insurgentes

In the Mexico City all sorts of events can be found that can go beyond fiction. One of these events, marked in time and generally remembered, was the fight between Emos and Punks who performed in the Glorieta de Insurgentes, in Mexico City, and this is usually remembered with humor.

However, the day it happened was taken for something serious, since a police operation was even triggered to try to calm the spirits in the place. it was sunday March 16, 2008 when the event occurred, In other words, last Thursday, he was 15 years old, in the Insurgents roundabout, which served as the framework for fight between urban Emos and Punks tribes. What could have been a peaceful protest, has become a tough confrontation marked by the intolerance and discrimination.

The call was made by the first social networkspredecessors of Facebook, Instagram and TikTok: Hi, Metroflog, Messenger and MySpace, where a call was made to protest against attacks due to intolerance and threats of lynching by punks.

The then-emerging tribe known as the Emos characterized by the use black clothes, tight pants, wearing dark colored bracelets or bracelets, use long hair with bangs that cover the eyes and listen to bands like My Chemical Romance, Bullet for my Valetine, Alessana, among others.

In addition to the long bangs, they used black outlines and headbands in the shape of a tiara. They carried their ideology by acting on their emotions and feelings, and promoted equality and respect between urban tribes which remained in the first decade of the 2000s.

The appointment was at 3 p.m. that Sunday, and while some arrived on time, others began to arrive a little later. Many of them, the majority, were seen arriving by the Subway of the public transport system (STC), and they began to gather. However, a few hours later a group of punks started arriving. That’s when the attacks started, first verbal, but gradually evolved into physical attacks.

The Punks argued that the Emos copied their styles and had no identity, besides conveying no other message beyond emotions.

Punks were characterized by their independent and counter-cultural philosophy. This the subculture was born from the musical genre in the 70s, with British bands like Sex Pistols, The Clash, and also some others of American origin like Ramones or The Dead Boys, among others. Their predominant aesthetic characteristic is their Mohican hairstyles, which they regularly dye in bright colors, such as red, blue or green, in addition to using military-style boots, chains on their pants and leather jackets. black leather.

The first hits started with studded belts from Emos to Punks, the latter began to run after their adversaries, the police showed up and began to disperse them to regroup them and prevent further attacks. However, it was only for a few hours, as the young people continued to shout and hurl insults at each other, they came to help the Punks a group of Darketos.

The grenadiers came to separate the emoswhile the Auxiliary Police did the same with the Darketos and punks. were needed more than 100 elements to try to control the young, but it was not enough. To everyone’s surprise, a group of Hare Krishnaplaying and singing which attracted the attention of all present, invited to join them and although this was not the case, the two tribes dispersed, leaving the place.

The balance was white, despite the fact that it was a large concentration and with the presence of the police, no serious injuries or people in a vulnerable situation were reported. Shortly after, the statements of the people who had been present during the confrontation were published in various media. Testimonies have been given via social media claiming that they attacked just for fun.

However, these were not the only attacks as clashes were also reported in other cities across the country such as Querétaro, Monterrey, Guadalajara and Puebla.