Residents of San Pedro Huamelula, a southwestern Mexican city, were blessed by “prosperity” last week after their mayor Hugo Sosa “married” an alligator.
Mr Smosa wedded the small reptile on Thursday in a ceremony that dates back hundreds of years to pre-Hispanic times and to Mexico’s indigenous communities.
Residents danced to traditional music and, according to reports, begged the mayor to seal the nuptials with a kiss.
Mr Sosa was pictured planting his lips on the small alligator more than once, safe in the knowledge that its mouth had been tied up to prevent any biting.
The alligator, which is nicknamed “little princess”, also wore a traditional white wedding dress complete with a veil and other colourful garments.
Locals carried the reptile through the streets of San Pedro Huamelula, in the country’s Oaxaca state, while men waved their hats and trumpets played before the ceremony.
According to reports, the tradition is a combination of rituals from the Chontal and Huave indigenous communities, who would pray for nature’s bounty, and Catholicism.
The seven-year-old reptile is believed to be a deity representing mother earth, whose marriage to a local leader will bering prosperity and join humans with the divine.
"We ask nature for enough rain, for enough food, that we have fish in the river," said Mr Sosa, the mayor.
Elia Edith Aguilar, the “godmother” who organised the wedding, told reporters” “It gives me so much happiness and makes me proud of my roots”.
"It's a very beautiful tradition," she added.
Additional reporting by Reuters
