Cuna del Surfing Mexicano by Jesus Salazar
HEY THERE, MY NAME IS JESUS SALAZAR, MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS CALL ME CHUY (CHEWIE AS IT SOUNDS IN ENGLISH). I WAS BORN IN ENSENADA, BAJA CALIFORNIA, SO THIS IS WHERE MEXICAN SURFING STARTED ABOUT 60 OR 70 YEARS AGO, PROUD WE HAVE A SOLID SURF/SKATEBOARDING SCENE HERE IN OUR SMALL TOWN.
I USED TO BE A SKATEBOARDER, I WAS THE ONE DOCUMENTING AND MAKING VIDEOS OF MY FRIENDS. IT WASN’T UNTIL 2012 I MANAGED TO GET MY HANDS ON A REFLEX CAMERA, FOR ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTARY VIDEO PURPOSES ON AN ACADEMIC EXCHANGE OPPORTUNITY IN PUERTO RICO DURING MY BACHELORS DEGREE, ENDING COMING BACK WITH A BRAND NEW CAMERA. I HAVE ALWAYS FELT THAT FEELING OF DOCUMENTING EVERYTHING (DON’T KNOW WHY), SO I STARTED DOING STILLS OF MY FRIENDS SURFING JUST FOR FUN AND NEVER TURNED BACK TO DO ANYTHING ELSE, I STILL WAKE UP THINKING ABOUT SURFING AND PHOTOGRAPHY.
SO YOU KNOW HAWAII HAS GOT THEIR 7 MILE MIRACLE, WELL HERE IN BAJA PENINSULA WE HAVE OUR VERY OWN 800 MILE MIRACLE, ITS FULL OF VERY GOOD SURF, A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN STILL FIND UNDISCOVERED WORLD CLASS BREAKS, ADVENTURE INTO THE DESERT ONLY TO FIND CRAZY LANDSCAPES AND FOR US SURFERS, LONELY WAVES ALL OVER. SO I LOVE TO SHOOT AND BE BASED HERE IN NORTHERN BAJA, I MOSTLY SHOOT THE PLACES THAT GAVE LIFE TO MEXICAN SURF, IT GIVES SO MUCH MEANING TO MY BODY OF WORK. FOR ME IT’S MORE ABOUT THE PLACE THAN SHOOTING SURFERS, BUT WHEN I DO WORRY ABOUT SHOOTING SURFERS, IT’S GOT TO BE STYLISH, I’M SICK OF AIR REVERSES AND THREE FINS.
SO FOR NOW I’M IMMERSED MY SELF INTO ACADEMICS, I’M DOING A MASTERS IN COASTAL MANAGEMENT AND I’M DOING A HISTORICAL RECONSTRUCTION OF MEXICAN SURFING, I LOVE GETTING MY SELF INTO THE ARCHIVE, I’VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF HOLDING TRANSPARENCY FILM STILLS OF PROS LIKE FLAME MOORE, TALK TO OLD SURF PHOTOGRAPHERS LIKE LEO HETZEL AND CHRIS KLOPF WHO ALSO PHOTOGRAPHED THE BREAKS I’M SHOOTING, THEY ACTUALLY WHERE THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPHERS TO DOCUMENT SURFING AROUND HERE, JUST TO NAME A FEW. SO, YES I’M VERY SO INTO MEXICAN SURFING HISTORY, MY WISH IS TO BE SOMEDAY LIKE THOSE PHOTOGRAPHERS AND TO LIVE SOME DOCUMENTS FOR THE GENERATIONS TO COME.
I ALSO DO A LOT OF TRAVELING FOR WORK, I DO PHOTOGRAPHY FOR CONSERVATION, AND GET TO SEE VERY BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPES, AND GET TO HOPEFULLY PROTECT THOSE PLACES, SOME RADICAL FAUNA, ENDEMIC SNAKES, ETC HAVE WORKED FOR NUMEROUS ONGS ALL OVER MEXICO, AND ALSO TRAVEL FOR SURF. BUT MOSTLY WOULD DRIVE DOWN HERE IN BAJA TO SOME OF THE MOST AWESOME WAVES IN THE WORLD, THIS IS ACTUALLY MY MAIN FOCUS, BAJA.
KNOW IN THE CRISIS, IM GETTING INTO DEVELOPING MY OWN FILM WORK, ALSO SKETCHING SOME UPCOMING PROJECTS AND WRITING MY THESIS ON MEXICAN SURFING HISTORY, I LOVE IT BECAUSE I GET TO READ A LOT OF SURFING STUFF, AND YES, WHEN THE SURF IS GOOD I GO GET SALTY. ONLY BAD THING IS THAT I GOT TO RESCHEDULE A TRIP TO ONE OF OAXACA’S GREATEST SURFING COMMUNITIES, AND DO SOME CONSERVATION WORK THERE, HOME OF A WORLD CLASS WAVE THAT IS ABOUT TO DISAPEAR DUE TO COASTAL DEVELOPMENT. HOPEFULLY THIS SHIT IS OVER SOON SO THAT I CAN GET MY ASS ON THE ROAD AGAIN!
Comments
RMZ said:
Chingon hermano, Mexican American surfer living in a land locked state in the USA. And, I’ve always wondered about Mexican Surf history. Always just hearing about the gringos that surfed our waves. Amazing to discover you. Barbarian Days opened my mind and along the way I surfed from Costa Rica to the Canaries. Soon, I will make my way down to Baja for something other than partying. I was always afraid of the ocean now I yearn to explore it. Cheers bro!
Raúl said:
Ánimo Chuy, excelente trabajo, bien representada la Baja, mucha suerte¡
Maggie said:
El mejor 🙌🏻✨🇲🇽⚡️
ErreCon said:
⚜️🏄♂️🌊 Eraboyler shuy 🌊🏄♂️⚜️
Alanmbron said:
Masiso chuy! representando a ensenada, baja california brazo poderoso!
Raz said:
Chingón Chuy! Gracias por poner en alto el nombre de la Baja como tierra radical.
guillermo mendez said:
LOS TIEMPOS DE DIOS SON CORRECTOS ,Y FUISTES ELEGIDO PARA ESTE TRABAJO REVIVIR ALGO QUE SOLO A TI TE PERTENECIA EN LOS TIEMPOS EXACTOS ,FELICIDADES POR TU TIEMPO Y DEDICACION ,EL QUE PERSEVERA ALCANZA ,FELICIDADES ,TU AMIGO DE SIEMPRE MEMO MAC MENDEZ
Polo Sanmiguel said:
Definitely you are one of the best surf photographer in Baja. Thank you for sharing this 🌊