On April 15 and April 16, “Sirenas Al Agua”,, whose main goal is to promote women’s surfing in Mexico, will take place in Ensenada.

This event, which includes a men’s category with limited capacity called Open Air Show, will take place in Playa San Miguel, located after the toll booth before reaching Ensenada. Due to its rocky shore and waves, this surfing spot is only for experienced surfers.

Surfers from Cancún, Puerto Escondido, Veracruz, Acapulco, Los Cabos, Bahía Tortuga, Punta Abreojos, and Baja California will be attending. However, this invitation is not open to foreigners.

Yolanda Sierra, member of the group “Nosotras y el Mar” and organizer of “Sirenas Al Agua” explained her reasoning:

We were going to have an interview with an American tourism brand and through my organization we were taking care of that, the fact that we are local. You see how everything’s increasing and we are being affected thanks to this foreign government ,which is why we didn’t want to make this so public. This invitation is open for women, but it is not that open to them. The goal is to promote Mexican women’s surfing, and they (American women) have a lot of support and endorsements, and there’s not a lot of that in Mexico.

The brand that Sierra is talking about is Baja Window to the South, who were denied an interview for inviting Americans to surf in Baja Californian beaches.

As such, Yolanda Sierra stated that for there to be better experiences in the water, there must exist good communication and coexistence rules between surfers.

There must exist a respectful connection towards locals, that they don’t feel that just because they come from the United States, they can take over our beaches, but they must be more prudent and respectful because they are coming to surf in our beaches. We go there very early to pick up trash, we are fighting for access. These are our beaches and we are fighting to take care of them.

Another worry is the hoarding of waves, which is why she asked foreigners to show respect.

For example, a lot of people come here and they have surfing experience. They block the waves regardless of whether there are women, children, or local people surfing. They surf in a group, and they don’t care about the harmony between locals, or respecting the waves, or surfing.

As a counterargument, Francisco Palacios, Secretary of Surfing in Ensenada stated that it is very important that foreign surfers participate, because it helps to elevate the level of local and national competitors.

The veteran surfer claimed that there exists a good relation between the people who practice this sport.

Because this is a women’s tournament, I think there’s going to be friendship bonds between surfers because they are going to have fun. In a way, it is a way to direct surfing, which is peace, harmony, and coexistence.

In addition, he highlighted the participation of Mexican surfers such as Mariana Valencia, Diana Palacios, and Paola Olachea, young women who show a lot of promise who will participate at “Sirenas al Agua” next weekend.

“Surfing benefits local commerce and it has always been a touristic attraction in the state because it is the cradle of surfing in Mexico”, he concluded.

Yolanda Sierra admitted in a later post that the local economy and commerce do benefit from foreign tourism.

Currently “Sirenas al Mar” does have participants from San Diego, California. This will be a family event which will promote environmental culture and ecologic activities and there will also be a bazaar for local entrepreneurs.

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