Under a bright Nicaraguan sun and defying the odds of contracting the coronavirus, 400 couples married Monday in a single ceremony as part of the ‘mass weddings’ that a local radio station has organized every February 14 for the past 19 years. The couples, accompanied by family and friends gathered at an esplanade on the shores of Lake Managua to get legally married. Some brides wore elegant white dresses with their partners in black suits and ties, an unlikely attire for a tropical Managua afternoon. The event, organized by the pro-Sandinista radio station Nueva Radio Ya, has been held every Valentine’s Day in Nicaragua since 2003. According to radio station’s officials, more than 10,000 couples have been married in the 19 ‘mass weddings’ held so far. Since COVID-19 first appeared in Nicaragua in March 2020, the government has stood out for not decreeing quarantines or suspending classes. As well, more than 600 couples get married on the outskirts of Mexico City, in a civil ceremony organised by the city council for Valentine’s Day. Emotional, some with tears in their eyes and almost all with smiles on their faces despite protective masks due to the coronavirus, more than 660 couples formalised their love on Monday, 14 February, in a collective wedding in a populous suburb of Mexico City. The massive ceremony, which the municipality of Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl – east of the Mexican capital – has organised every year since 2013, is an opportunity for thousands of couples to regularise their unions and gain access to various legal benefits.
