The half-dozen bars, most only a few years old and well-appointed, are clustered on a small hill along a gravel road south of town. Outside along the dusty streets of boys town - also known as La Zona de Tolerancia or Zone of Tolerance - scattered groups of men from nearby Air Force installations, teen-agers and other Americans wander to bars like the Rio Club and La Camelia. ″This is really mild compared to a lot of places.″ ″We’re just here to check it out,″ said one Texas man, gazing around the bar.
While nude dancers perform on stage, prostitutes lead customers toward the bar’s back rooms. On a Thursday night in Acuna, across the border from the Texas town of Del Rio, about 50 American men mingled with Mexican women at the Hunters Saloon beneath a glittering banner that proclaims in English: ″Welcome Hunters.″ Visiting the prostitutes, Williams said, was just ″part of growing up in West Texas.″ They’re accepted with little controversy, although Texas’ Republican gubernatorial candidate, Clayton Williams, drew heat after admitting recently that he frequented border brothels during his college years more than 30 years ago because they were the only place to get ″serviced.″ CIUDAD ACUNA, Mexico (AP) _ In a handful of cities on the Mexican border, American men still throng to the brothels of ″boys towns,″ legal prostitution zones little changed by fears of sexual disease or campaigns for more wholesome tourism.Īt least five Mexican border cities have flourishing boys towns, and though some have been moved away from central tourist districts, they remain popular attractions for businessmen, hunters and teen-agers.