Quintina Ayvar de la Cruz is the dwelling embodiment of the surroundings that has been her residence for 97 years. She has the proper brightness for the inexperienced mangroves close to her residence in Juluchuca, Mexico, and she or he sparkles just like the salt that’s the focus of her life’s work—and the supply of her nice pleasure.
“I began doing this as a baby, after I was about six years outdated,” says Ayvar de la Cruz, recalling his first experiences harvesting salt from a neighboring space known as Las Salinas. “I began with my dad and mom, then continued with my brothers, then with my kids since they have been eight.”
Quintina Ayvar de la Cruz. Pictures by Leia Marasovich.
Harvesting normally begins in February or March and lasts from 3 to 4 months relying on the climate. Members of the Ayvar de la Cruz household are the one remaining inhabitants of the area who proceed to reap salt within the conventional method, which is finished solely by hand with the assistance of instruments made solely from uncooked supplies. regionally, as an alternative of counting on trendy strategies. system. It begins by mixing rustic concrete from sand and clay to kind shallow sq. basins on the fringe of the lagoon. These lagoons are then crammed with each contemporary and salt water, earlier than lime (within the type of mineral powder) is added to the small swimming pools to assist separate the salt from the water. A particular rake known as tarecua create favorable circumstances for this course of. There, the combination dries within the solar for concerning the subsequent 5 days and the salt is collected after the water has evaporated.
“We began at six within the morning,” Ayvar de la Cruz stated. “We began early as a result of when it is cool you’ll be able to transfer ahead with out getting too drained. At noon, the warmth turns into very sturdy.” Breaks are taken from roughly 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. When the solar is much less intense, work continues till the sunshine is gone, round 8 p.m.
The times are lengthy and the work is difficult, however Ayvar de la Cruz focuses on the expertise of this extraordinary surroundings. “You’re feeling the contemporary air and funky water of the mangrove forest. It’s a feeling of freedom and peace.”
The salt lakes the place Quintina Ayvar de la Cruz harvests. Pictures by Leia Marasovich.
At a distance of about 90 years, she will be able to nonetheless clearly and impressively describe the sensation of her first contact with the salt fields – the sensation of being carried in her father’s arms and on the again of a donkey as they made the journey. journey there and, later, to the closest city, Petatlán, to promote the salt and its dazzling whiteness when piled on mats of harvested palm fronds.
Over the previous decade, all different salt producers within the area have modernized the method. One of the vital adjustments is the usage of plastic panels as a base for drying areas, making the manufacturing course of quicker.
“Salt created from plastic may be offered less expensive and that hurts our native market,” stated Don Alejandro, Ayvar de la Cruz’s son. “We do not market our salt artisanally, however everybody round right here is aware of that we’re the one ones who make salt the pure method.”
Don Alejandro (left) holds the salt his household produces. Pictures by Elena Valeriote.
Ayvar de la Cruz lamented that the salt flats at the moment are crammed with “the odor of plastic,” and her son famous that staff usually depart their gear within the lagoon out of season and that when storms hit the coast, items of plastic can can drift elsewhere, endangering native wildlife. The encompassing mangroves are vital habitats for a wide range of vegetation and animals, together with shrimp, fish, crabs, pink herons, deer and coati (a kind of badger), in addition to a kind of tree colloquially often known as salad (“salty”) as a result of it will probably survive in salt water.
In 2006, the Ayvar de la Cruz household was contacted by a brand new lodge enterprise known as Playa Viva. Its proprietor, David Leventhal, is planning to construct a resort close by based on the rules of regenerative tourism, and he’s keen on studying concerning the native ecosystem and group . Playa Viva hopes that collaborating with residents like Ayvar de la Cruz may help create an area that enables guests to expertise the fantastic thing about this stretch of Mexican shoreline, whereas additionally having a constructive influence on society and the surroundings will last more than they need.
In 2013, Playa Viva established the Revitalization Belief, with environmental and social targets starting from restoring ecosystems to nurturing endangered species to stocking and donating faculty provides for youngsters. Two p.c of all income from visitor bookings goes to those native packages.
Promote salt. Pictures by Elena Valeriote.
One of many predominant packages funded by the Regenerative Belief is ReSiMar—brief for “Sierra to Mar Regeneration”—referring to its central space, between the Sierra Madre Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. By way of ReSiMar, Playa Viva goals to regenerate your entire ecosystem of this watershed. Sourcing components from sustainable fisheries and different small companies that rely on the watershed, like that of the Ayvar de la Cruz household, is a part of this effort.
Playa Viva dedicated to buying salt for its restaurant completely from the Ayvar de la Cruz household, and when it started welcoming visitors to Juluchuca a couple of years later, it additionally supplied excursions of Las Salinas collectively throughout harvest season. salt. This relationship with Playa Viva was an vital supply of help within the household’s efforts to proceed harvesting salt as their ancestors did, and it gave them the chance to share their work with foreigners for the primary time. fairy.
A mural of Ayvar de la Cruz in her hometown. Pictures by Elena Valeriote.
ReSiMar additionally data key details about watersheds to grasp the scope of their impacts and decide which facets want essentially the most consideration. In 2023, the ReSiMar staff displays water high quality, specializing in air pollution within the type of plastic packaging and glass bottles. From there, they recognized a necessity to enhance recycling and ecological teaching programs, so that they centered on bringing college students to the watershed and establishing a city group middle. “Water research present important baseline knowledge on water high quality and amount throughout each the moist and dry seasons,” Levanthal stated. “We then evaluate this knowledge from 12 months to 12 months to look at adjustments.”
With almost a century of reminiscences recorded whereas dwelling on this a part of the Guerrero area alongside the Pacific coast, Ayvar de la Cruz additionally holds inside him the historical past of this place. She is aware of the vegetation and animals that stay on this distinctive tropical ecosystem, the pure rhythms of the seasons, and how one can work with them to reap salt in a method that native communities have practiced for a whole bunch, if not 1000’s of years. For that reason, it’s all the extra exceptional that in 2024, for the primary time in Ayvar de la Cruz’s lengthy life, uncommon climate patterns brought on a break within the timeline of historic custom This.
“Yearly there’s a wet season, the lagoon is filled with water. It was then emptied and the salt flats have been left to dry, prepared for work. It was a pure cycle that at all times occurred,” stated Alejandro Ayvar, the youngest of Ayvar de la Cruz’s six sons. He and his brothers, together with their three sisters, helped their mom with salt harvesting from a younger age. “This season, the lagoon was not drained sufficiently and the salt manufacturing areas weren’t dry sufficient.”
Ayvar de la Cruz and household. Pictures by Leia Marasovich.
Unseasonably late rains that brought on native estuarine techniques to overflow their banks and Las Salinas to flood throughout regular harvest instances are only one instance of the results of the local weather disaster which are being felt on this area. On this planet.
“It is not the identical anymore,” Ayvar de la Cruz stated of the native local weather lately and the way this impacts the salt flats. “The temperature of the water has modified lots and it takes longer to reap the salt.”
Because the local weather adjustments and youthful generations of the Ayvar de la Cruz household discover extra financially secure prospects in different fields of labor, the way forward for this custom stays unsure, however the legacy by Ayvar de la Cruz won’t quickly be forgotten. Her particular connection to this native surroundings and her dedication to this historic method of harvesting salt are commemorated in a mural on a constructing close to Las Salinas, painted ca. six years in the past.
There’s additionally worth in merely chatting about salt, contemplating its origins and the individuals who harvest it. As for the attainable problem of making techniques that protect our historical meals practices, preserving the reminiscence of them is no less than simple.
“Thanks for coming to make my day,” Ayvar de la Cruz stated on the finish of the interview. “To recollect is to stay once more.”
All interviews have been translated from Spanish to English with the help of Ximena Rodriguez, Juan Carlos “Johnny” Solis and David Leventhal.
