Las Sombrillas de Sayulita

This image is really special to me, not only because it’s of my good friend Mirian, an incredibly talented Mexican surfer with an amazing story, but because of how it came together. I was working on a magazine article about my life in Mexico, around six months after I’d first moved there. I was walking around Sayulita photographing the town and the main break, which has been photographed so many times before. I was trying to find ways of seeing Sayulita differently than it had been photographed before. It was around 3pm in the afternoon, which was unusual for me back then, as I mostly photographed at sunrise and sunset. Even though it was December and the Mexican winter, it was still lovely and warm during the day with cooler evenings.

After walking up and down the beach, I decided to sit up in the lifeguard tower and simply watch what unfolded.

I really love this perspective the colourful umbrellas that everyone rents on the beach, the people swimming in the foreground of mostly Mexican tourists enjoying Sayulita during the high season, and then two local surfers further out. The other surfer paddling is actually another friend of mine too, Emmanuel. There were many more people in the water that day, but from this angle you can’t really tell.

To me, this image paints a picture of what Sayulita means to me. It’s vibrancy. How colourful and full of life it is. It’s a place where tourists come to visit, but it’s also home to a really strong surf culture. I was so drawn to the longboard community there that it eventually became the focus of my photography.

Again, it’s that layered scene that I love so much, with soft, beautiful, even light bringing everything together. It captures how I feel about Sayulita. Even amongst all its hustle and bustle, there are always these beautiful scenes unfolding. It’s the calm amongst the chaos.