Mexican Amusement Park Stages Fake Border Crossings As Attraction

Those in the Mexican state of Hidalgo who find themselves at Parque EcoAlberto can wind up being chased by dogs, sirens and border patrol agents as they attempt to cross "la frontera" into the U.S.. But they aren't in any real danger. That's because these these crossings are staged, PBS reports. The attraction starts with a group meeting their coyote, or smuggler, who is brief yet frank about the perils of illegal crossing into the U.S.. A fake coyote named Simon said to a group of students in Spanish:

"Tonight we're going to talk about migration. But for us it isn't just something rhetorical, but rather the opposite. Because we have endured, we have suffered, of hunger, thirst, injustice, heat, cold, we have suffered from everything."

Amusement park visitors can enjoy activities such as rappelling and hot springs, but the border crossing attraction isn't exactly meant to be entertaining. The park is located in the heart of the indigenous HñaHñu community, which estimated to have lost 80 percent of its population to the U.S. by way of illegal border crossing, mostly. Most of the population is said to have gone to Arizona or Nevada. The purpose of the Night Walk is to encourage Mexicans to stay in Mexico

"Our objective is to stop the immigration that exists amongst our citizens, principally from the state of Mexico to the U.S.," park administrator Maribel Garcia said.

The event appears to be kicking off at just the right time. There is net-zero migration from Mexico to the U.S. for the first time since the 1960s, one estimate reported. A variety of factors such as stricter border control, stricter laws, rising smuggling fees and a poor economy in the U.S. that is keeping Mexicans home. Titi, a worker at the park who sometimes acts as a "coyote," said the attraction is not meant to be taken as a training course.

"We try to help people so that they won't leave," Titi said in Spanish. "It's time to create some employment, to work with our own and regenerate everything, or at least what we can, even though it might be slow going."

The tour, however, is $20 and parks are usually attended by middle-class citizens or students, who are significantly less likely to attempt a border crossing. In spite of that, the tour sometimes touches someone who was considering making the attempt to cross the border, located 800 miles away from EcoAlberto. Jazmin Arely Moreno Alcazar, a student on the tour, told PBS that she got the message following the excursion.

"It's not worth risking it because if we can't stand a few hours, we won't be able to stand days. Because it's very ugly," Alcazar said.

As revenue for the park increases, Garcia hopes the tour will reach a wider range of people and encourage them to stay put.