Man Arrested for Public Indecency at Sports Park in Yucatán

A man in the Yucatán town of Tixkokob was arrested after being caught pleasuring himself in broad daylight at a public sports facility, because apparently that's what passes for recreation these days.

The incident went down at "El Puerto Seco," a popular sports and exercise area in Tixkokob, a small town about 30 kilometers northeast of Mérida. According to Al Chile, which first reported the story, neighbors and athletes using the facility spotted the man engaged in what they generously described as "actos obscenos," the polite legal term for what everyone on Facebook was calling "ahorcando el ganso."

For the uninitiated, that's Yucatecan slang for choking the chicken. There are other versions of the phrase, including "sacando la masacuata" and "afilando el machete," all of which paint a vivid picture that no one asked for.

Second Case That Same Day

Here's the kicker: this wasn't even the only public indecency arrest in the Mérida metro area that day. Earlier, in the town of Cholul, another man was reported for doing the same thing at a traffic light while staring at two women. Two incidents, same day, same general area. Yucatán's tourism board must be thrilled.

The Tixkokob case blew up on Facebook before police even arrived. Residents started posting warnings about the man, with comments ranging from outrage to the kind of dark humor that Yucatecos are famous for. One local reportedly wrote that the guy was "jalandole el ganso a plena luz del dia," which needs no translation but absolutely does need punctuation.

The social media pressure apparently worked. Municipal police from Tixkokob responded to the reports and picked up the suspect. Authorities confirmed the man was detained and that the proper legal procedures were being followed, which in Mexico typically means he'll face charges under the state's public morality laws.

Social Media Had a Field Day

In Yucatán, public indecency is a minor offense that usually results in a fine and a few hours in detention. The suspect was not identified by name, which is standard practice in Mexico for low-level offenses. No details were released about his age, whether he was intoxicated, or what exactly motivated him to choose a sports park full of people as his venue of choice.

The bigger question, the one nobody in official channels is asking, is why two separate men decided to commit the same extremely specific crime in the same metropolitan area on the same day. Coincidence is the charitable explanation. A trend is the disturbing one.

For now, Tixkokob residents can go back to using their sports facilities without unsolicited performances. And the man known locally as the guy who got caught "sacando la masacuata" has earned himself a permanent place in the town's gossip circuit, which in a small Yucatecan community, is a sentence far worse than anything a judge could hand down.