Mexico’s often violent disputes between street performers reached a new level this week when a group of guitar-toting mariachis tangled with a flame-swallower. Because competition for tips in Mexico is so fierce, performers and windshield washers often stake out and defend lucrative street corners. Street vendor groups in Mexico City often square off with cudgels and sometimes guns over territory. It is not clear how Sunday’s dispute began in the city of Morelia west of the capital. Police said in a statement that nobody was arrested and only the flame-swallower had to be treated at a hospital.
