‘Imagine someone from Mexico doing anything anywhere near this disrespectful to an American monument’
Most tourists know not to climb all over and disrespect sites of historical and cultural importance, but there’s always one that wants to ignore the signs and do a stupid dance at the top of the stairs for everyone to see.
And that’s exactly what one woman did at a Mayan pyramid in southeastern Mexico, and it went down about as well as you’d expect.
In footage that has since gone viral on TikTok, an unnamed woman can be seen climbing the ancient structure – known as the Castillo de Kukulcán, one of the new seven wonders of the modern world – despite being booed by onlookers who begin filming her on their phones.
It isn’t known if she simply ignored or did not see signs telling her not to climb the steps, but she climbed to the top and threw her arms in the air at the pyramid located in Chichén Itzá.
Her trip down the stairs wasn’t so joyous though as the crowd waiting for her called for her “sacrifice” as a punishment.
The crowd chanted “jail, jail, jail”, “lock her up” and “sacrifice, sacrifice”, “because this woman does not respect the rules”, the Merco Press reported.
@angelalopeze this is so disrespectful… don’t mess with my Mexican people ?? #chichenitza #disrespectful #mayanpyramid #vacation #crazy #viral ♬ original sound – ang
And it wasn’t just a few passersby either, the video shows the sheer size of the crowd gathered at the pyramid.
The woman is then sprayed with water from bottles as she tries to leave the historic site as the boos continue.
Climbing on the pyramid has been banned since 2008 by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and is punishable by a fine ranging from $2,558 (£2153) to $5,115 (£4,305) USD, which is calculated based on the amount of damage caused.
While the woman’s ethnicity is not known, the crowd added in their chants “if she is from abroad, she should leave Mexico”.
Social media commentators had a lot to say about the woman’s actions, with one writing: “Please tell me she is not an American.”
“Imagine someone from Mexico doing anything anywhere near this disrespectful to an American monument,” speculated a second.
“Every media outlet would be running the video continuously for weeks. But when Americans do it to a Mexican monument, it’s not news.”
Another person wrote: “I don’t understand why they want to climb it. It’s so steep, and it’s historical. I mean one mistake and they’re tumbling to their death.”
A third said: “People say ‘what if she didn’t know ‘, there’s a little fence like around the whole pyramid …. I’m pretty sure its to prevent people going on it.”
Related links:
- Couple take selfie after surviving disastrous plane crash
- Tom Parker’s widow finds love with electrician 8 months after The Wanted singer’s death
- Couple die just weeks apart leaving their 2 young children behind in ‘incomprehensible’ tragedy
- Toddler starved to death after being stranded at home when his father died of heart disease
- Couple married for 63 years die in house fire after husband refuses to leave injured wife’s side
- New mother dies after taking cocaine on first night out after birth
