New Wakes: Music, Drinks and Party To Bid Farewell to Borregos Victim

"Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

With blaring horns filling the garage of what used to be his house with reggaeton music, dirty dancing, beers in hand and his friends sitting in a circle a couple of meters from the coffin where Isma's body rested, they said goodbye to him.

There were no tears, no cries of pain, much less people fainting from sadness. Nor were there cookies and coffee. At the wake, there were no silent hugs from friends and acquaintances who, with their heads bowed, simply watched the coffin.

It was quite the opposite. It looked more like a celebration than a wake.

"Just the way he liked it," one of his friends wrote in the video they uploaded.

And that's how Ismael Morales was, just like his farewell, he lived his life until his last day: as a party.

Coolers full of bottles, several Polaris RZR vehicles waiting for them to tour the beach and city roads, cocktails by the sea, sand and sun characterized his last trip with friends where there were yacht parties and long nights at the club.

He lived life fast. One of the activities he most enjoyed was riding a motorcycle. Aboard different models, the young homicide victim in the Borregos restaurant lived for the adrenaline of riding a motorcycle on all possible roads. Mountains, sandy terrain, paved roads, you name it, Ismael tried it and tried to master it.

The day he was killed was not unlike the night of his wake. Cuts of meat, empty tequila bottles, and mariachis staged the joyful scene where Ismael and his friends were hanging out in a restaurant on a Sunday night moments before he was murdered.

At 10:25 p.m., while they were waiting to get into their car with their friends, two hooded men arrived and shot them. Three women were wounded but managed to run inside and take shelter, while Ismael was killed on the spot.

León, Guanajuato 

La Silla Rota