There is an undeniable tension in the crowd as the performers scale the jagged rocks. Clearly, there are no ropes, no nets, no padding and nothing to cushion a fall should there be a slip.
The risks are real and the La Quebrada Cliff Divers of Acapulco are placing themselves at serious risk of injury with every performance. Even though audiences are separated from them by a vast gap of rocks and water, collective hearts pound and mouths go dry as each diver soars out beyond the cliffs to land in the waves that crash below.
Just the climb up is hazardous enough, according to Angel David, a thirty-three-year old diving veteran, who explains that the daily demands of the cruise ship passengers and other tourists who expect a show almost regardless of the weather, increase the danger. There are five regular shows each day and extras are often added to accommodate the cruise traffic. Each diver makes nine or ten dives in a day. The most spectacular shows are those performed at night, during which the divers hold blazing torches in their hands.
“Even when it rains,” says David, “we dive. The rocks get very slippery and it’s easy to fall, but people who are here just for one day expect a show.”
Fellow diver Fernando Ontiberos, 20 years old, agrees. Last year, he suffered a dislocated shoulder after sliding off the wet cliffs and hitting the water at an awkward angle.
“You have hit the waves at just the right moment, at the right angle,” David explains, “and you have to punch into the water to break it.” He curls his large hands into fists and holds them tightly together to demonstrate the correct position. “If you don’t,” he shrugs, “you really get hurt.”
It’s no wonder. During their plunges from the cliffs, from heights of between 30-45 meters, the divers hit speeds of 70 kms per hour. Such speed could easily snap a neck and end a career, if not a life.
Appropriately enough, ‘Quebrada’ in Spanish means ‘broken.’
And yet, in the 75-year history of La Quebrada, not a single diver has been killed. Bones have been broken, backs have been twisted and many divers develop Parkinson’s disease which they suspect may be the result of repeatedly battering their heads against the waves, but no diver has ever lost his life performing at La Quebrada.
Perhaps that’s because these cliff divers are literally born to the sport.
“You can’t dive at La Quebrada,” says David, “unless your father, your grandfather or your uncle was a diver. It’s a legacy.”
It’s also a skill set that’s carefully honed from childhood.
“When you’re a little boy,” says David, “you go to La Quebrada with your father or your grandfather, to swim around the base of the cliffs, and watch him practice. When you’re about seven years old, you learn to dive from the lower spots and work your way up.”
At approximately 15, young divers are ready to join the show.
“In the old days,” says David, “you just climbed the cliffs and learned by doing, but today, we have a trainer.”
The trainer, a Canadian named Yves Miller, teaches the divers safer techniques by making use of a trampoline.
“The divers from the 30’s and 40’s sure didn’t do that,” laughs David.
While there may be new training methods in place, the divers must avoid the same jagged rocks and manage the same punishing wave action. The area of water they’re aiming for is small – approximately seven meters wide – and they rely heavily on their teammates to signal from the water below when the time is right to launch. A moment too soon or too late could mean hitting a wave at a bad angle or crashing into the sharp rocks – and that’s when limbs are broken.
Though the divers take the risk in stride, they don’t hesitate to enlist divine support. Many report that they pray each day to the Virgin of Guadeloupe, and dedicate the dives made on the 12th of December each year to their patron saint.
According to David, the oldest diver at La Quebrada gave his last performance at age 70, while fellow divers looked on with some concern.
“We shouldn’t have worried,” David laughs, “He lived another two years and died of something else!”
If You Go
A great vantage point from which to see the divers is La Perla, a restaurant perched on the cliffside near La Quebrada. Dinner seatings are coordinated with the dive shows, and a commentary is broadcast in the restaurant. Expect to be greeted by the divers at the end of your meal, and be sure to have their well-earned tip handy!
Looking to book a Acapulco holiday? Check out the tripatlas.com/new Trip Builder where you can request a quote local travel agents who are waiting to offer you custom prices on your trip.
Liz Fleming is an award-winning Canadian travel journalist who specializes in adventure, health and wellness and learning travel. For more from Liz, go to: Liz Fleming’s Travel Tales