Cozumel, Q.R. — Hundreds participated in the sea crossing from the mainland of Playa del Carmen to the island of Cozumel. Around 360 canoeists paddled their way to the island in the annual Scared Journey event Friday.
The Chankanaab Natural Park was their final destination after paddling the 33 kilometer “Conjuro al Cielo” or Sacred Journey. Canoeists left Xcaret on the Riviera Maya mainland Friday morning for the island of Cozumel to pay tribute to the goddess Ixchel.
The Cozumel Parks and Museums Foundation (FPMC) also supported the event, reaffirming its commitment to safeguarding intangible heritage and promoting cultural tourism with identity, respect and authenticity.
Juanita Alonso Marrufo, the General Director of the FPMC, highlighted the importance of these types of events which strengthen collaborative work between public and private institutions. “The journey is about reviving an ancestral rite that connects the past with the present through the sea,” she said.
“The soul of our people lives on in their traditions. This journey is a living way of preserving and disseminating our culture, of looking to the past while continuing to row toward the future,” said Alonso Marrufo.
Hundreds of people waited on the shore of Cozumel to applaud the efforts of those who braved the waves, driven by faith, history, and collective will. A Mayan ceremony, filled with symbols, dances and sacred words, engulfed the atmosphere with mystical energy, comforting sailors and the public with the strength of the ancestral spirit.
“The Sacred Journey, besides being an event that attracts visitors, is an act of love for culture, a ritual of resistance, and a celebration of identity,” she said. Cozumel, the sacred island of the Maya, once again became a meeting point for generations between the winds of the past and the hope of the future.
