Hotel Snubs Nobel Laureate

Staff at Cancun's five-star Coral Beach Hotel had egg on their faces after trying to throw out a woman in indigenous Mayan garb, assuming she was a beggar or street vendor. Turned out the person they tried to hustle out of their lobby was Rigoberta Menchu—Nobel peace prizewinner, Unesco goodwill ambassador, Guatemalan presidential candidate and indigenous rights activist, the Guardian reports,

What's more, Menchu was at the resort at the request of Mexican president  Felipe Calderon to participate in a conference on drinking water and sanitation, and was due to give interviews. The attempted eviction failed when other guests recognized Menchu. (More Cancun stories.)