MEXICO CITY (AP) – Mexico City police are trading in their bulletproof vests and drab brown uniforms for sombreros and mariachi suits in a bid to draw visitors. Starting Nov. 1, 70 officers will fight crime in Mexico City’s historic center dressed in authentic “charro” outfits, the capital’s public safety director, Marcelo Ebrard, said Thursday. Charros are Mexico’s original cowboys, and their outfits include spurs, guns and pointy-topped, broad-brimmed hats known as sombreros. The proposal was put forth by tourism officials who believe the costumes will help draw visitors while still allowing them to fight rising crime.
—Mexican police dressed up like the Frito Bandito may be amusing in itself . . . But when I first read this, I thought it said they would all be wearing “Charo outfits.”
