A $6 bribe turned this Mexican teen into an overnight internet celebrity
A young woman has become an overnight social media sensation after getting caught on video trying to bribe a cop with $6 to get out of an apparent drunk driving incident.
And no, it’s not Lindsey Lohan.
It’s 18-year-old Mexican college student Lorena Daniela Aguirre, a young woman in a small cocktail dress who got caught behind the wheel while apparently intoxicated in the central state of Guanajuato. She reportedly crashed into several cars after dodging a pedestrian carrying a baby and then, too drunk to speak coherently, tried to bribe the cops with a 100-peso bill (which actually is even less than $6 given the plummeting value of the peso).
The cops declined the bribe and eventually forced Aguirre into a waiting patrol car. She was reportedly with two male friends. One of them can be seen in the video trying to flee the crash scene.
But that’s where the story begins. The whole incident was filmed by a local news channel and uploaded to YouTube and… BOOM! a new star was born.
Although this video was produced by a news agency, it’s similar to others that are being recorded and uploaded to shame those in the country’s elite who think they can misbehave with total impunity. Mexicans are increasingly turning to smartphones and social media tools like Periscope to perform a new digital form of vigilante justice.
Most Mexicans are shaming Lady 100 pesos but there are also many who are turning what should be a life-changing lesson in reckless stupidity into a celebrity fantasy.
Aguirre, thanks to her good looks, has become wildly popular on the Mexican internet. A Facebook public figure page created in the aftermath of the video has garnered more than 200,000 followers in just a few days. Another Facebook page, claiming to be the real Aguirre, has over 90,000 followers. Both pages have become a gathering of men drooling over Aguirre, comparing her to a Mexican pop star known as Belinda and engaging in a heated online debate about who’s hotter.
It’s not clear whether the pages are real or a parody, but they’ve taken on a life of their own with fans and critics flooding the comments section with fiery rants and rumors, including that Aguirre is already receiving offers for brand sponsorships and maybe entertaining an offer from Playboy magazine and MTV.
Someone created an Android app game where Lady 100 pesos has to dodge the cops by throwing 100-peso bills.
Now there’s even a Mexican corrido song about her:
The mockery is also producing a flurry of internet memes and funny headlines. “Uber offers Lady 100 pesos free rides until she fixes her van,” reads a headline by Mexican news satire website El Deforma.It’s not clear what Aguirre thinks about her newfound fame, or if she’s even in control of it. Some of her alleged Facebook posts have her apologizing while others have her thanking her followers and promoting products.
Fusion tried to reach out to the main Facebook accounts to confirm Aguirre’s identity and request comment, but did not receive a response. Fusion reached out to the Guanajuato municipal police but did not receive a response.
Mexican media reports she was slapped with a fine and released by police after a few hours. It’s unclear what the charges are against her or if they have been dropped.
Aguirre’s bizarre rise to fame is well on its way to becoming a national debate. Yes, we know what you’re thinking: the internet works in mysterious ways.