The personal spending habits of Jalisco Governor Aristoteles Sandoval came under the spotlight after he forked out 1.5 million pesos (US$85,000) for his daughter’s fifteenth birthday party, an event he unsuccessfully tried to keep secret.
According to the website Fisgon Politico, Sandoval celebrated his daughter’s special day by hiring Juan Magan, a superstar Spanish DJ and singer who is reported to charge 986,000 pesos (US$56,000) an appearance.
The star performer was also put in the Ambassador Suite of the Hotel Presidente Intercontinental for three nights, at a total cost of 53,000 pesos (US$2,992). These costs, when added to the charges for renting the events hall and paying the service staff, totaled more than 1.5 million pesos.
Although guests were not allowed to take photographs and had their phones confiscated at the door, details about the event emerged online regardless. One young partygoer uploaded a photo with the famous DJ, while Juan Magan’s dancers put a group photo on Instagram.
Embarrassingly for Sandoval, his own spending contradicts the advice he has given to his subordinates in government. The official line is that Sandoval’s team should practice discretion in their private lives, avoiding extravagant celebrations of birthdays and anniversaries.