A tangerine in Xcalak
%2014_58_14.png)
" We must always keep working even if the end is uncertain, even if we don't know where things will end up or how they will happen. "
Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra, explorer and documentary filmmaker.
Colors of Xcalak - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
We must always keep working even if the end is uncertain, even if we don't know where things will end up or how they will happen.
Today I find myself walking along the beach, alone. It seems my thoughts aren't even keeping me company. I can't quite say I'm confused, but I also don't feel like what I came here to do has a specific, final direction. This year I've ventured to this stretch of sand in southeastern Mexico numerous times. I'm in Xcalak once again, searching for a story to uncover. I know I want to document the manatees and show the world the wonders of this species, but I want to do it in an original way. Of course, I've always loved art and have enjoyed expressing my opinions in different ways. Unlike many, I seek to create what truly comes naturally to me, not just a rehash of what already exists. Although there are few documentaries about Xcalak and the manatees, those that exist are very similar and cover the same topics: hurricanes, the "forgotten" town of the southeast, the manatees, what they eat, where they move, and so on. I think we can learn all this just by doing a Google search and asking a few people who know the place. So I refuse to tell this story without truly experiencing the place; meeting the people who live there, seeing what happens in my dreams while I'm there, eating at the various restaurants (even though there are very few).
Xcalak from the sky - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
I gaze at the white foam of the waves breaking against this tiny sliver of the vast Mesoamerican Reef that my eyes can glimpse. The more I try to focus on finding the answers to decipher this story in my head, the more I can't help but contemplate the simple beauty of what's happening around me. Although the smell of sargassum isn't very pleasant, it gradually becomes less bothersome. In fact, that smell helped me identify other scents around me more easily; it's as if it creates a base that makes everything else shine. I keep trying to concentrate, but I'm still distracted; a bird sings atop a palm tree laden with enormous, green, and juicy coconuts. Delicious! I can't help but think that I'm hungry now. I realize I've been distracted again and go back to searching my mind. I focus on my mission, but no matter how hard I look, I realize something is missing. I know the history of this place, the people who still live there, and I've heard many stories about those who have passed away: famous fishermen, elderly people who were children when the hurricane devastated this town many years ago. I know the names of the dive sites and the stories behind them, and I have drone footage of every corner, street, facade, stone, and seashell that dots this beautiful, remote town. Its isolation has given it a unique beauty compared to other coastal communities I've visited. I know the natural events that occur cyclically, the snapper migrating down to the sea as it leaves the estuary, and how the whole town gathers to fish at the pier. Without a doubt, coming to this town as an observer has been quite an adventure, full of learning. I have spectacular shots of the manatees, the fish, and the most breathtaking dive sites I've ever seen. This place is definitely my favorite. So, I don't understand why I can't bring this to a close in my mind.
A beautiful manatee - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
Many of the things I've done in my life, and that we do in life, are because we somehow know or can visualize where they'll end up. The truth is, otherwise, we wouldn't do them. Few truly venture into the unknown, starting something without knowing where it will end. But I have no doubt that they are the happiest. They learn the most, feel the most, suffer the most, but in the end, the reward is much greater. Life itself works this way; even if we plan everything, it takes unexpected turns, and we must adapt. But it's very easy to write if you already know how it will end, it's easier to take a photo if you already know how you want it to turn out. In nature photography, this is impossible. That's what happens when you capture the photo you imagined in nature, not the one nature allowed you to take. In life, we tend to take few risks and settle for what we have, because everything in this life is a gift, but the best gifts are always in the most difficult places to reach. For this occasion, I decided not to think about how this documentary was going to start or how it was going to end until I had filmed everything, known everything, but more importantly, lived and felt everything.
As I listened to the whistling wind and realized I was once again pondering the crab's immortality, I took a tangerine from my fanny pack, started peeling it, and realized that time is infinite. My mind wandered again, and as I peeled this orange and delicious tangerine, each tiny piece of peel released a citrus aroma that made my mouth water. Do you know how hard it is to find a tangerine in Xcalak? In my experience, I can tell you it's easier to find a jaguar or a manatee than a tangerine. This little one mistakenly accompanied me in my backpack from Mexico City. Time flies when you're alone; thousands of thoughts race through my mind, and I haven't even finished peeling this tangerine yet. Ups and downs run through my head; it's as if all the good and bad thoughts I have are simultaneously living inside me. I think I'm trying to meditate, while peeling a tangerine, my head a beautiful mess and my emotions all over the place. A fish in the distance sparkles and steals my attention once more in the sea.
Enigmatic Xcalak - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
The colors of the water here are so unique, unlike anything else in the Caribbean. Different shades of blue, green, brown, and orange shimmer, all on a canvas of perfect harmony. Underwater, even more colors emerge: many shades of purple, red, pink, and other hues paint the reef hidden beneath the almost always warm waters. Today is calm, with good swells visible just beyond the reef's protection. Because of this location, the weather is very difficult to predict, and to be honest, as beautiful as it is, it can be downright awful. There are days of relentless winds, gusts of wind, rain, and thunder that, if you're unlucky, will make you never want to return. Spending so much time here has given me a very complete understanding of this place, both in my mind and in my own. The weather here is also unpredictable, and when the forecast predicts a sunny day, the wind and clouds arrive to prove us wrong.
I return to my hands and realize I'm almost finished peeling this tangerine; so juicy that all I want to do is pop it in my mouth and take a huge bite, filling it with juice. The heat is intense, though gusts of wind arrive, making each one a welcome relief. Today the sun seems larger than usual; it's powerful, and when there's no wind, the heat billows, disturbing my vision and creating a very particular effect in the space I observe. What am I going to do with all this material? How am I going to edit it? What's the point of editing it? Why am I doing this? Will anyone care? Am I doing it for my own ego? Am I doing it because I don't really know what to do? Am I running away from something? Am I trying to do something meaningful? Will this really help the species? Is this really what this place needs? Will we continue to refer to this place as the forgotten town of southeastern Mexico, or is it the place with the greatest potential for the natural world and for people to live in harmony? What on earth am I doing? Perhaps all of these options are true at the same time. Only time will tell; I know I must be patient.
The vibe of Xcalak - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
At that moment, a huge coconut fell from the palm tree that was sheltering me from the sun when I decided to take refuge in its shade. I came very close to being among the percentage of people who die from a coconut falling on their head, rather than dying from a shark attack, even though I've had hundreds of encounters with sharks. What an irony! A damn coconut almost killed me, and all because I wanted to make a documentary about manatees that very few people will probably ever see…
At that moment, filled with relief at being alive, I was about to bite into my tangerine, but a couple of children's laughs distracted me; they threw a branch and it landed very close to me. If it hadn't been the boogeyman, some kids would have killed me. Between laughs, I yelled back (in a mocking tone) that they almost killed me and burst out laughing. They laughed too and came closer to the shade where I was hiding. One of them asked me what I had in my hand, and I replied that it was a tangerine I had just finished peeling. He told me he had never seen a tangerine before. I decided to give him the tangerine I had so wanted to eat, and in the blink of an eye, everything made sense. The things I work on aren't for me. What does it matter if I'm judged? What does it matter if I don't get validation? What does it matter if no one sees it? I have to share this with others so that the reward isn't mine alone, but mutual. So that what I do finds its victory in the work of others. Because in the end that's what we are; we are not the sardine swimming in the ocean, we are the entire school.
The Ancient Guardians - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
A few days after returning from my visit to my favorite place on the planet, I sat down at my desk at home and shared images and videos I had promised not to reveal until I finished my work. These images found their place in the work of others; in books that fill me with joy, and it is an honor for me to see my work there. These images became a school of fish and ceased to be just a single sardine.
Scientific evidence of collision with manatee vessel - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
Working to bring the manatee to everyone's attention - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
My photos in one of the most important books published about manatees - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
My photo on the cover of the book that summarizes the life of the most important manatee researcher in Mexico - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
Chapter 10 Cover / Strategies for Conservation - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
Ecotourism in the area - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
Cover in the official PACE of the GOBMEX and other conservation articles - Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra
Lost in My Lens - Tito Sanchez
"Few are those who truly venture into the unknown, to start something without knowing where it will end. But I have no doubt that they are the happiest, those who learn, feel, and suffer the most; in the end, the reward is much greater. Life, even when we plan everything, takes unexpected turns, and we must adapt."
The best gifts are always found in the hardest places to reach.
Alonso I. Rodríguez de la Parra