The La Quebrada diving show in Acapulco has resumed its spectacle 45 days after Hurricane Otis, the strongest hurricane ever to hit Mexico’s Pacific Coast, which damaged much of Acapulco and its surrounding port.
The cliffs known as La Quebrada have been the site of high-diving performances for tourists since 1934. Following Otis, the accumulation of debris along the coast of La Quebrada made the waters unsafe for swimmers and divers alike. This past weekend, however, Acapulco’s divers announced that they will slowly resume the shows, offering two schedules during the December holidays, depending on the number of tourists.
The La Quebrada divers jump over 40 meters from the cliffs into a narrow channel below in what is one of the best-known performances in Acapulco. In 2021, the performance won the Touristic Excellence Award in a competition that also included European and Middle Eastern tourist attractions.
On Friday, the divers offered a first performance for free at 1 p.m. local time. “We are offering this show free of charge to the public, locals and tourists, mostly to distract them a little from what has happened in the port,” diver Giovanni Vargas told the news outlet EFE, adding that the divers have seen a drop in tourism after the devastating impact of Otis. A second show began around 6 p.m. and cost the normal entrance price of 100 pesos (US $6) per adult and 50 pesos (US $3) per child.
“We’ll see what happens when the holiday season begins in December,” Vargas continued, “We hope to regularize schedules and welcome many tourists to visit us,” he said.
The divers reminisced about when people used to see them from their boats but could no longer do so due to the losses that occurred with recreational and private yachts. “It’s sad not to have those boats that came to visit us,” Vargas told EFE.
Acapulco’s residents are facing a challenging holiday season with much of the city still lacking running water and many people still missing. Although the official death toll from Hurricane Otis is 50, local news agencies claim that the actual figure could be up to seven times higher.
With reports from EFE
