The Latin Temper

First, a blonde show girl took a bath on stage. Then the announcer was hung by his heels from the rafters. At other times, paisanos kept things moving by eating through ten pounds of gelatin or gobbling up a pile of flour. Last week, two months after it began, Albricias y Sorpresas (Prizes & Surprises) had become the most popular of Mexico's 20 radio giveaways.

Not as liberal in its gifts (average: 400 pesos) or as polished in its situations as U.S. "bank night" shows, Prizes & Surprises has more genuine hilarity because its audience is more forthright. The 500 fans who weekly jampack XEW's bright, modern studio in Mexico City are game for any gag or gimmick. Men have taken off and pressed their pants on stage; women have wrestled with greased pigs.

The more outrageous the stunt, the more the Mexicans love it. Last week's gag: forcing contestants to sing with a mouthful of mush and peanuts.

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