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Bottle Caps
Over the years there have been various methods of electing the Queens of Carnaval. Originally it was by direct invitation of the organizing committee. Later, starting in 1924 and lasting until 1960, it was a centavo a vote. Finally, the Queens were chosen on the basis of beauty and poise. On three occasions, in 1961, 1962 and 1972, the procedure used was called the corcholatazo (bottle cap method). On all these times the Pepsi Cola Company worked with the organizers of Carnaval to bring about a successful conclusion. In 1997, once again the bottling company and Codetur renewed the practice, expecting to achieve the same results as before.
A little round vote that smells like a soft drink
The original idea of voting by bottle caps came from the renowned publicist Don Eulalio Ferrer, an executive with a branch of Pepsico in 1960.
His first campaign started on No. 28, 1960, when the bottles with marked caps began to circulate. In those days the tops of the bottles had caps that utilized a layer of cork on the inside. Under that were the words that qualified the caps as votes: Carnaval Mazatlan 1961 - vote. The inscription also included the design of a crown in its center.
Sets of five ballot boxes were prepared, each with the photograph of a candidate for Queen of Carnaval. These were placed at the offices of the organizing committee, at City Hall, at the corner of Juan Carrasco and Gutierrez Najera, in front of the Fisherman’s Monument and in the plaza beside the church in the Colonia Juarez.
Starting on Dec. 11, 1960, there were weekly tallies at the bandstand in the Plazuela Republica. After each computation, the bottle caps were burned in the ovens of a local foundry. The final computation took place on Sunday, Jan. 22, and the vote counting lasted around eight hours (at the last minute they had to incorporate extra officials to help count the ballots because of the unanticipated huge number of bottle caps that had been accumulated in the ballot boxes. Each hour from the beginning of the tally, the partial results were announced. During the last hour of the count, the partial results were announced every 15 minutes.
And the bottle caps were priceless
During the first campaign among candidates for Queen of Carnaval the critics noted that the system awakened an enormous passion among large numbers of people. The activities of the candidates in collecting votes had great resonance. For a few days, worthless bottle caps became money. Dances and film showings were organized, with the price of admission fixed in numbers of bottle caps. It is said that in some stores and markets one could make purchases with them; it is certainly true that there.were bazaars of clothing and toys where the candidates received bottle caps as payment for these items. A good many people took part in backing one candidate or another, and the caps acquired great estimated value, so that a customer would ask for his bottle cap in a store after drinking a cola, and the storekeeper would refuse. Since at that time there was no mechanism for consumer complaints, the storekeepers got away with charging a different price for colas. Those with bottle caps were quite expensive.
Although there weren’t many votes deposited in the public ballot boxes, still there were rumors that some people tried to extract, by means of a magnet suspended on a thread, the bottle caps of one candidate and deposit them in the ballot boxes of another. Then too, there were attempts to rob ballot boxes, to the point that the newspapers reported the posting of special ballot box guards in the last days of the campaign.
In 1962 and again in 1972, the bottle cap campaigns were repeated. In each case the winners put special marks on the caps they collect, but, it is said, the competition never reached the frenzied levels of the first time.
To the Queen
The queens whose candidacies were successful thanks to the accumulation of bottle cap votes were:
In 1961, Anita de Rueda, Queen of Carnaval and Alma Valades, Queen of the Juegos Florales.
In 1962, Isela Wong, Queen of Carnaval and Hortensia Freeman, Queen of the Juegos Florales.
In 1972, Elvira Gloria Torrero, Queen of Carnaval and Alma Rosa Chio, Queen of the J Juegos Florales.
In 1997, Linda de Rueda Cevallos, Queen of Carnaval and Paloma Palacios Dominguez, Queen of the Juegos Florales.