Today in El Diario: Mexican Protesters Blast Drug Wars, Prefer 'Kisses, Not Bullets'

More than 100 people marched with signs and drums from the Mexican Consulate to the United Nations on Sunday, to ask the powers that be to bring a halt to the drug-gang violence plaguing the Aztec nation, the Spanish-language newspaper reports.

The march in New York City was part of a coordinated international protest: There were also marches in 42 Mexican cities and 20 foreign ones in which citizens and supporters pleaded for peace and justice and a halt to the bloodshed of the drug war.

The march began with an indigenous prayer honoring Mother Earth. Then, members of the Coatlicue theater held posters saying, "Enough blood, already," "Peace in Mexico," and "Kisses, not bullets."

"I'm suffering because of what's happening in my country," Francisca Rivas, a Chiapas native, told the newspaper. "Mexico is falling apart. The violence has claimed the lives of thousands of innocent people. It's the time that we come together and say, "Enough!"

Monserrat Mendez Alvarez, who helped organize the event, explained the movement's symbolism: "We left from the consulate because that represents Mexican soil, and then marched toward the United Nations, because that represents justice and peace on a global level."

Reyna Garcia told the paper that she wished more people had attended, saying, "I'm sad about today because so many Mexicans live in the area, but so few came out to ask for an end to violence in our dear Mexico."