"Expo Divorce" to rescue broken hearts in Mexico

By Andrea Sosa Cabrios Jul 9, 2011, 0:02 GMT

Mexico City - Seeking divorce advice? You can find some answers at Mexico City's 'Expo Divorce and Widowhood.'

The three-day event that ends Saturday aims to assist those dealing with broken hearts or mourning their late partners. Those attending the fair can seek legal advice or psychological support, take laughter therapy workshops, buy self-help books and even take quick-cooking classes in case no one is waiting for them at home with a warm plate of food on the table.

'Expo Divorce and Widowhood seeks above all to preserve the family, offering countless options to save a marriage or provide comfort in case of a loss,' organizers say.

Should a divorce be imminent, however, the expo aims to give those affected all the resources possible to get through such a situation. 'All's fair in love and war,' as the saying goes, and divorces often combine both things.

The list of speakers at the event shows the breadth of the offerings: Mexico City's Association of Notaries, associations of psychologists and death-and-dying experts, law offices, life insurance companies, family therapy groups, a funeral home and also a lingerie firm.

According to organizers, the number of divorces in the Mexican capital has skyrocketed since the so-called 'express-divorce' proceeding - which can take as little as four weeks - went into force in 2008.

In 2000, there were 14.1 divorces per 100 marriages in the city, while in 2010 there were 23 for every 100, most of them at the request of women.

'We are not promoting divorce, on the contrary. If there is no longer a healthy life together, one needs to provide the instruments for a separation to occur in an appropriate way,' Andrea Santos, one of the organizers, told reporters.

In the case of widows, the fair offers help to solve pending legal issues, and to get over the pain as well as possible.

Workshops at the event deal with topics like alimony, overcoming pain, managing the 'psychological divorce' once the marriage is over, what to do with children in such cases and sexuality after divorce or widowhood.

Books to be presented at the fair have titles like A Manual How Not to Die of Love, by Walter Riso; Starting Over, by Tere Diaz Sendra and Manuel Turrent; and Jealousy, by Juan Antonio Barrera.

For more extreme cases, the book Suicide: The Last Decision, by Alejandro Aguila Tejeda, will also be on hand. It deals with suicidal personalities, Biblical references to suicide, and cognitive distortions affecting a decision-making process, among others.