Playing toques in Plaza Garibaldi on June 26 (photo by Scarlet Sanschagrin)

I was in Mexico City a couple of weeks ago, and we went to Plaza Garibaldi where all of the mariachi hang out, waiting to be hired.  There are great bars on the plaza where you can sip tequila (NOT shoot it – don’t get me started!) and listen to mariachi music all evening.  If you’re feeling a bit fatigued and thinking it might be time to call it a night… just wait until the guy with the toques comes along!

Toques is a game where everyone in the group holds hands and the lucky people on the end hold onto metal handles attached to a machine.  The machine is basically a car battery, and the operator slowly cranks up the voltage which courses through everyone’s bodies until the first loser lets go.   (I’m not saying that playing this game is good for your health, I’m just saying it exists!)

Imagine my surprise when I ran across Electric Eel (1954) today on the archive and realized the primitive genesis of this electrifying game!

Whether you go with toques or an electric eel, there’s nothing quite like a few hundred volts to perk you up for the rest of the evening.  Trust me.    — Alexis