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Churchgoers celebrate Mass via television. Congressional candidates campaign with real-time speeches on the Web. A magazine promises Internet tours through the real Mexico - the one with open museums and pyramids. And rock bands plan online concerts.
The H1N1 epidemic is creating a virtual Mexico.
With school canceled nationwide and many parents forbidding their kids to party, teenagers are logging a lot more time chatting on Facebook, Twittering and downloading music and movies from the Internet. So are many adults, especially after most business and government offices in Mexico City shut down on Friday for five days.
Two rock bands are making a go at reaching shut-in fans, announcing a virtual concert for today. Los Estramboticos, a Mexico City group, and Pastilla, a Latino band from the United States, will perform in a studio and broadcast it online. At least they can get exposure while Mexico's ban on concerts lasts.
But boredom was still not enough to lure many Mexican City residents from their homes on Sunday, 10 days into a flu outbreak that killed at least 22 people and sickened more than 560 in the country, most of them in the capital region.
Normally packed churches were all but empty. Priests in surgical masks offered Mass before a handful of faithful - also wearing masks. Cardinal Norberto Rivera held a televized service from the Metropolitan Cathedral for those staying home.
Sunday also marked the official start of campaigning for the July 5 congressional elections - but the government urged candidates not to hold rallies where the virus could spread. So candidates turned to the Internet to reach a population afraid to join screaming crowds, shake hands or hold out babies for kisses.
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(Agencies) |
經(jīng)常去教堂做禮拜的人現(xiàn)在跟著電視做彌撒，議會(huì)候選人通過(guò)網(wǎng)絡(luò)發(fā)表實(shí)時(shí)演講來(lái)競(jìng)選，一家雜志許諾通過(guò)以開(kāi)放博物館和金字塔而著稱的the real Mexico網(wǎng)站推出墨西哥網(wǎng)絡(luò)游，搖滾樂(lè)隊(duì)也在策劃網(wǎng)絡(luò)演唱會(huì)。
甲型H1N1流感正將墨西哥變?yōu)橐粋€(gè)虛擬國(guó)度。
由于全國(guó)學(xué)校停課，很多家長(zhǎng)不允許孩子參加派對(duì)，所以青少年們將更多的時(shí)間用在了上Facebook聊天、寫(xiě)Twitter以及從網(wǎng)上下載音樂(lè)和電影等網(wǎng)絡(luò)活動(dòng)上。很多成年人也用這樣的方式來(lái)打發(fā)時(shí)光，尤其是上周五墨西哥城多數(shù)商家和政府部門開(kāi)始五天的停業(yè)和停止辦公之后。
兩個(gè)搖滾樂(lè)隊(duì)則試圖博得宅在家中的粉絲們的青睞，他們宣布將于今天舉辦一場(chǎng)網(wǎng)絡(luò)演唱會(huì)。墨西哥城的Los Estramboticos樂(lè)隊(duì)和美國(guó)的Pastilla拉丁樂(lè)隊(duì)將在演播室中進(jìn)行演唱，并通過(guò)網(wǎng)絡(luò)播出。至少在墨西哥禁止舉辦音樂(lè)會(huì)的這段時(shí)間，他們還能露面。
雖然呆在家里很無(wú)聊，但這還不足以讓很多墨西哥城的居民于上周日走出家門。截至當(dāng)天，甲型流感已爆發(fā)10天，至少有22名墨西哥人因此喪生，560多人患病，大多數(shù)患者居住在首都地區(qū)。
平時(shí)擁擠的教堂空無(wú)一人。牧師們戴著口罩在幾名同樣戴著口罩的虔誠(chéng)教徒前面做彌撒。諾伯特?里維拉主教在都會(huì)大教堂為呆在家中的教徒提供電視彌撒服務(wù)。
將于7月5日舉行的議會(huì)選舉的競(jìng)選活動(dòng)也于上周日正式開(kāi)始，但政府要求候選人不得舉行集會(huì)，以防病毒傳播。因此候選人們只有通過(guò)網(wǎng)絡(luò)向人們做宣傳，現(xiàn)在墨西哥人對(duì)擁擠的人群、握手或把孩子抱給別人親吻都很害怕。
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（實(shí)習(xí)生許雅寧 英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津姍姍編輯）
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