Bootlegging reaches new levels in Mexico
Jeremy Schwartz
Cox News Service
May. 27, 2005 12:00 AM
MEXICO CITY - It's easy to get lost at the Tepito marketplace, Mexico's largest collection of pirated goods and illegal merchandise. Semipermanent booths form tight alleyways that stretch for what seems like miles, and thousands of vendors hawk everything from Adidas sneakers to the latest Nicole Kidman thriller The Interpreter.
You can find nearly anything you can imagine in Tepito and at prices that are fractions of the originals: knockoff Calvin Klein jeans, dubbed copies of Eminem's new record, versions of the latest PlayStation 2 videogames, Microsoft Windows and Photoshop software, and DVDs by the thousands, including new releases that haven't left theaters yet.
Mexicans buy more illegal music, software and DVDs than legal versions, according to industry estimates, a trend that has accelerated in recent years with new dubbing technologies. advertisement
The buying and selling of counterfeit goods is a way of life in Mexico City, where an estimated 300,000 residents make their living selling fake and illegal CDs and movies.
But the piracy epidemic reached new heights - even by Mexico City standards - earlier this month when officials warned of bootleg condoms and unlicensed mariachi bands.
The pirated condoms, with names like "El Cameleon" and "Vive," pose an alarming health risk, authorities said, because they haven't undergone testing and aren't certified. They've turned up in massage parlors,
nightclubs and even a few pharmacies, according health workers.
The fake mariachis are only slightly less dangerous.
Instead of playing a tune, some of these fake musicians are mugging and pickpocketing tourists, officials say.