Mexico City’s beloved “Queen of Albur” passes away

The Deputy Executive Secretary of Mexico’s Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System, Eunice Rendón , informed this morning of the passing of Lourdes Ruiz , better known as the Queen of Albur, who resided in the tough neighborhood of Tepito, Mexico City .

An albur is a word play in Mexican Spanish that involves sexual double entendre. It is very common among groups of male friends in Mexico, especially urban youth, construction workers, factory workers, mechanics, and other blue collar-derivative male groups; and is considered rude otherwise, especially when in the presence of women, given the sexual innuendo in the jokes.

Strangely enough, Lourdes Ruiz was broadly recognized as the ultimate master of albur, well above her male peers.

Lourdes Ruiz became famous in a contest called Trompo contra perinolas in the Mexico City Museum in 1997, where she won first place in an ‘albur’ tournament.

She worked as a promoter of popular culture in the country’s capital and often gave conferences about Mexico’s double entendre technique.

Through social media, Rendón regretted the passing of Ruiz, who she claimed taught her of the “greatness of Tepito’s Barrio Bravo” and its people.

“We lived many adventures and projects to help the neighborhood,” she wrote in her Twitter account, adding that the “Queen of Albur ” would always be remembered for her “magical personality.”

A wake over her body will be held in the chapel of Funerales García , in Mexico City’s Juárez Neighborhood .

The Cuauhtémoc borough also expressed its condolences for the loss of Ruiz Baltazar, who they called “ a brave social fighter, a strong woman, and an authentic person who was always there to help our beloved Tepito neighborhood .”

How did the ancient Nahuas speak?

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