New York, December 10 “Santa Claus doesn’t pee in the street and doesn’t scare the children” is not the title of an upcoming Christmas horror film, but two of the main rules of the well-known “SantaCon”, an event that takes place every year differently thousands of people dressed as Santa Claus with the aim of getting drunk on the streets of downtown New York.
The starting signal for the twenty-first edition was given by the organization’s master of ceremonies at 11:00 in the morning (16:00 GMT), perched on a dilapidated bus dressed for the occasion with a white beard and red hood.
“We’ve been maintaining the tradition of a queer Santa for 21 years,” said the organizer before inviting the 1,000-strong crowd gathered near Times Square to scatter among the 64 participating midtown Manhattan bars, led by an elf and an inflatable Papa Noel, the organization bus, or the map that the organization posted on the santacon.nyc website.
ALL KINDS OF COSTUMES
“This is my first year at SantaCon. I really like it. I like all the colors people are wearing. Everyone is wearing red, everyone is wearing green, but not me, I am wearing pink, I am dressed like a big pink bunny ‘ Jody told Efe, whose plan for today is to ‘walk around, drink beer, smoke some weed’ and have fun.
And it is that, although the Santa Claus costume is the most abundant, among the crowded attendance there are also elves, reindeer, devils, fairies, elves, at least one platypus and, of course, pink bunnies like Jody.
Given the latitude and traditions, many Santas have also replaced the hat that ends with a white pompom for a cowboy hat, obviously red.
For Makeda, Maddy and Sarah, dressed orthodox, albeit without beards, it is also their first Santacon. All three are Florida residents and came to New York to visit their friend Natalie. They took advantage of their time in the city, home to events like No Pants Day, Hot Dog Eating Championship, or Mermaid Parade, to join SantaCon.
“I’m going to go with the flow, go to bars and have a good time with my friends,” Natalie says. A sentiment shared by her colleagues, although Maddy fears that the pilgrimage to the premises is accompanied by long lines to enter, given the number of participants eager to sip the concoctions from the bars.
AVOID EXCESSES
To avoid, as far as possible, that the scents of alcohol hinder the understanding of the Santas too much, the organization has not remembered to remember, over and over again, the five commandments of the event: Don’t scare the children, don’t create problems with the police or the waiters, do not urinate or throw garbage on the street and donate money to the organization.
The city’s subway and bus network, in anticipation of this pre-Christmas concentration, has announced that it will redouble its efforts to maintain the ban on alcohol in its facilities.
Not far from the concentration camp, the New York police were already working to arrest several Santa Clauses to verify their date of birth, given that the minimum age for the consumption of spirits is 21 and, moreover, it is forbidden to consume them on the street publish.
Unlike other attendees this year who embark on the adventure of getting drunk for the first time disguised as a nice old man from the North Pole, Jason is a Santacon veteran.
It’s his sixth time on the call, he says, before explaining that the first time he’s come with his uncles.
She tells Efe that she repeats because of the “holiday spirit” because “everyone tunes in and normally people are very friendly, like one big happy family,” she says, although she acknowledges that sometimes things “get out of hand” for some. people .
“You know, sometimes people do things they shouldn’t do,” he says before recalling the organization’s five rules and finishing with a joke: “If you do it right, you’ll have fun; if you do it wrong, you’ll go to jail.”
jorge fuentelsaz
