Theme park in Mexico offers an ‘immigrant experience’ where participants can reenact an illegal border crossing to the U.S. for $17
- The unusual attraction is offered at Parque EcoAlberto in El Alberto, Mexico
- It was launched to try and dissuade people in the area from moving to the U.S.
- During the event, there is no actual border crossing and no laws are broken
Scrap your standard fairground rides.
One theme park in Mexico is offering visitors the opportunity to become an immigrant for the night, and reenact an illegal border crossing to the U.S. with a four-hour walk over challenging terrain.
Parque EcoAlberto in El Alberto, Mexico, advertises the unusual experience via its website, with the price listed as $17 ($350 Mexican pesos) per person.
One theme park in Mexico is offering visitors the opportunity to become an immigrant for the night, and reenact an illegal border crossing to the U.S. with a four-hour walk over challenging terrain
There is also an ‘extreme’ six-hour version which costs $25 ($500 Mexican pesos).
A description notes that the illegal border crossing experience has been running since 2004.
It was apparently launched in a bid to teach young Mexicans in the area ‘that they do not need to try to risk their lives looking for a better life in another country’.
The blurb highlights that 70 per cent of the population in El Alberto emigrated to the U.S. in search of the ‘American Dream’.
Participants are warned that they should be in good physical condition and wear shoes suitable for walking in ‘difficult terrain’.
Participants are warned that they should be in good physical condition and wear shoes suitable for walking in ‘difficult terrain’. Above, a photo from the immigrant experience
More conventional activities at the eco-park include kayaking and abseiling. There is also a waterpark
The border crossing experience starts at a Catholic church in the community, where participants are given a ‘motivational talk, emphasizing that it is not a training activity and that it has the internal purpose of creating awareness’.
They are then led on a route through the mountainous landscape until the experience ends with a ‘big surprise’.
During the event, there is no actual border crossing and no laws are broken.
However, efforts have been made to make the landscape and experience as real as possible.
Images from the Parque EcoAlberto website show participants in the illegal immigrant experience wearing bandannas around their eyes at one point to prevent them from seeing where they are going.
More conventional activities at the eco-park include kayaking and abseiling. There is also a waterpark.