Cultural taboos are tested in a new era of freedom

MEXICO CITY – Which of these landmarks doesn't belong in Mexico City's historic center?

a. The Palace of Fine Arts

b. The Cathedral

c. The new sex plaza with 80,000 square feet of strip clubs, adult-movie theaters and boutiques stocked with sex toys

The angry buzz is that a blatant sex beacon has no place in the heart of this centuries-old city, setting the stage for a showdown over this month's opening of the first sex mall in Latin America. As topless posters go up in the three-story building and promoters schedule American porn stars for the opening, city officials are waffling over their approval and warning they may block the inauguration.

Yet in this very Catholic, very traditional country, there's no opposition from the church. And the mall is already attracting hand-holding couples and groups of women curious about the offerings.In Mexico's new era of freedom of expression, ushered in by President Vicente Fox's government, sexual expression has blossomed. Now everyone – from government officials to sexologists to priests – is confronting Mexicans' conflicted attitudes about sex.

"People secretly go to these places and then publicly criticize them. We cannot continue this double morality," said the Rev. José de Jesús Aguilar, deputy director of information for the archbishop's office in Mexico City. "Every person has to decide for himself. If someone wants to try it out, then try it. If people are scandalized by what they see, then they should share their opinion."

Alberto Kibrit, the 24-year-old businessman who dreamed up the idea for the plaza, says it will help end taboos by drawing men and women and people of all sexual persuasions.

The mall's skylights, marble floors and rose-colored walls run counter to the sordid images of traditional sex shops. With more than 100 shops, it feels more like a shopping center than a sex palace.

It has a museum with exhibits about sexual practices around the world and a bookstore that offers sex manuals and children's books explaining reproduction.

Boutiques sell lingerie, exotic oils and French maid costumes. In the food court, exotic dancers strip to scanty underwear. Instead of after-dinner mints, they hand out condoms.

Opponents say the mall, which will also offer table dancing, live sex shows and XXX-rated movies, will draw prostitution to the colonial street that is just around the corner from the majestic Palace of Fine Arts.

"It can bring crime," said Erika Sarabia, assistant manager of the Krispy Kreme that opened next door a month ago. "We feel insecure because there will be a lot of people around here at night, and most of them will be men, or women who want them as clients."

Across the street, managers at the Pasteleria Ideal worry that the sex plaza will frighten away longtime customers. For 77 years, the bakery has sold breads and wedding cakes to downtown patrons.

"This is a place where families come," said sales manager Arturo Romo. "It is a long-standing tradition that parents and their children stop by on Saturday and Sunday."

There were once so many bakeries on the downtown street named 16 de Septiembre that "it was known as the street of pastries," Romo said. "Now, they've put a mall over there with all those adult products and hung a 20-foot-long banner saying it is the world's sex capital."

Such complaints have made city officials consider backing away from final approval of the project, said Gerardo Zapata, spokesman for the government sector responsible for the city's historic center.

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