Mexicon

(Did you mean a Mexican convention?)

The Mexicons were a series of conventions focused around written SF held in the UK intermittently from 1984 to 1994. (David Langford jokingly described it as a "vile, elitist written-sf con".)

The convention's origins lie in an informal discussion at Channelcon, the 1982 Eastercon. Linda Krawecke wrote in the programme book for Mexicon I that:

... a committed group of us were seated near the bar in case by some freak circumstance it should open early, muttering away and airing our favourite gripes while watching as barbarian hordes and Logan's Runners ambled by. The muttering had to do with the changing nature of Eastercons.... This rapidly aging gripe was about how the mass popularity of Science Fiction had broadened the definition of what was once primarily a written medium to include films, television, comics, computers, costumes, war games, and Star Trek porno. The conclusion was that written sf, both as literature and as a basis for fanzine culture, is now a fringe itself in the wider field of what is now known as "Sci-FI". It's a sad day to discover your star is no longer the only one shining in the universe, so we griped and waited for the bar to open.

"What we really need, " someone began, "Is a special special interest group. Something truly fringe that we can claim to belong to and demand that the next Eastercon cater for us." "Yeah, but like what?" "Llke Mexican fandom," Abi Frost threw at us. We all turned to stare at her. "You mean there is such a thing?", Gregory asked. "Oh, surely there must be somewhere... things. I don't see why Mexican fans running around doing Mexicanly fannish type Mexican fans should be neglected just because they're a small special interest group."

Things blossomed from there. We would become Mexican fandom and demand bilingual programme books and programmes catering to Mexican fans. We'd want siestas scheduled for the afternoons as well as tequila on demand and tacos served at the banquet. Our plans grew wild. Chris Evans suggested we all wear sombreros with "Kees Me Queek" badges on them as inspired by the "souvenir of Brighton" hats he'd seen earlier that day.Greg suggested that we all wear tight black trousers with silver-spangled stripes running down the seams, and Harry Bell suggested bandoleros. Without realising it we had slipped Into using a Hollywood-style pseudo-Mexican accent and each new suggestion was greeted with many "arriba"s and "si si"s.

In the fanthology produced for Mexicon 6 in 1994 Frost maintained that it was Evans who coined the name 'Mexicon'.

The 'Mexicon Charter', also in the programme book, elaborated on the convention's principles:

1) Mexicon is a specialist convention dealing centrally with the written form of Science Fiction, and deliberately shuns fringe elements by not catering for them.

2) Any explorations around this theme, must derive from it and reflect it.

3) The planned events should be tailored to fit into a Linear Programme, which aims to involve as many of the attendees as possible.

4) It should, as far as possible, examine the active issues and controversies of the day as they relate to sf.

5) It should strive to keep registration and hotel costs as low as possible.

6) Where it does not contravene 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 above, Mexicon should endeavour to try not to take itself too seriously!

7) Charter? We don' wan' no steenkin' charter!

Convention	Dates	Location	GoHs
Tynecon II	May 25-28 1984	Newcastle, UK
Mexicon 2	February 7-9 1986	Birmingham, UK
Mexicon III	May 26-28 1989	Nottingham, UK
Mexicon IV	May 3-6, 1991	Harrogate, UK	Howard Waldrop
Mexicon 5	May 28-31, 1993	Scarborough, UK	Pat Cadigan, Norman Spinrad
Mexicon 6: The Party	May 20-22, 1994	Stevenage, UK

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Convention
	1984—1994

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