The theatrical milieu began to be the object of homophobic attacks. In zarzuelas and reviews, it was common for actors and actresses to dress in clothing of the opposite sex. However, as of the Dance of the Forty-One in 1901, El Popular stated that one of the reasons immorality was taking hold was the variety shows presented in theaters at that time. In 1902, when the zarzuela Enseñanza libre [A Free Education] by Perrín and Palacios celebrated its 100th performance, the actors appeared in cross-gender roles. This role-swapping 100th performance was in keeping with a tradition that had been going on for fifty years on Mexico City stages. Certain journalists described the show as "repugnant," insulting to the actors, to the company and to the public. They also said that the cynicism of the Moriones sisters (the producers of this variety show) had reached the limit, since they were also rehearsing a zarzuela written by Mexicans with the precise title, Los cuarenta y uno [The Forty-One]. The producers’s agenthastened to discredit the journalists, reminding them that the 100th performance of comedies and zarzuelas had always been done that way, and the fact was that the public had never been offended and had never complained! But the idea of any possible presentation of a musical production with the title, Los cuarenta y uno, was categorically rejected. And to keep their theater from being closed and themselves from being exiled to the state of Yucatán, the Moriones never again presented a variety show with "papeles cambiados" [role swapping]. Through portraits and caricatures, artists such as Diego Rivera (1886-1957), José Clemente Orozco (1883-1949) and Antonio Ruiz (1897-1964) ridiculed and attacked the feminization of a certain sector in Mexican culture.