Quintana Ivor de la Cruz is the residing embodiment of the surroundings that has been her dwelling for 97 years. She has a radiance that matches the inexperienced mangroves close to her dwelling in Juluchuca, Mexico, and he or she shines just like the salt that’s the focus of her life’s work—and an amazing supply of pleasure in her life.
“I began younger, once I was about six years previous,” stated Ivor de la Cruz, recalling his early experiences amassing salt from the realm often called Las Salinas. “I began with my mother and father, then continued with my brothers, then with my youngsters once they had been eight years previous.”
QUINTINA IVER DE LA CRUZ. Pictures by Lia Marasovich.
Harvesting normally begins in February or March and continues for 3 or 4 months, relying on the climate. Members of the Ivor de la Cruz household are the one remaining inhabitants of the area who proceed to gather salt within the conventional approach, which is completed solely by hand with instruments made solely from native, pure supplies fairly than counting on fashionable ones. EQUIPMENT It begins by mixing a country concrete from sand and clay to kind shallow sq. basins on the fringe of the lagoon. These lagoons are stuffed with each freshwater and saltwater earlier than lime (in its mineral powder kind) is added to the small swimming pools to assist separate salt from the water. One known as a particular rake tarecua This facilitates the method. There, the combination is dried within the solar over the following 5 or so days, and the salt is collected because the water evaporates.
“We begin at six within the morning,” says Ivor de la Cruz “We begin early as a result of when it is cool, you’ll be able to go forward with out getting drained. By midday the warmth grew to become intense.” A break is taken from round 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM. When the depth of the solar is low, work continues till all lights are extinguished, round eight o’clock within the night.
The times are lengthy and the work is tough, however Ivor de la Cruz focuses on the expertise of being on this extraordinary surroundings. “You are feeling the contemporary air and funky water of the mangroves. It is a feeling of freedom and serenity.”
The salt pool the place Quintana Ivar de la Cruz harvests. Pictures by Lia Marasovich.
90 years or extra aside, he can nonetheless describe with spectacular readability the sensation of that first encounter with the salt flats – the sensation of being carried in his father’s arms and on the again of a donkey as they traveled there and, later, to the closest city, Petatlán, promoting salt. to do, in addition to its sensible whiteness when organized in a mound over mats product of palm fronds after harvest.
Over the previous decade, different salt producers within the space have modernized the method. Some of the important adjustments is the applying of plastic sheets as the bottom of the drying areas, which makes manufacturing even quicker.
“Salt made utilizing plastic will be offered very cheaply and it hurts our native market,” stated Ivor de la Cruz’s son Don Alejandro. “We do not market our salt as artisanal, however everybody right here is aware of we’re the one pure option to do it.”
Don Alejandro (left) holds the salt produced by his household. Pictures by Elena Valeriote.
Ivor de la Cruz laments that the salt flats at the moment are surrounded by “the scent of plastic,” and his son notes that employees typically depart their tools within the lagoon out of season, and when hurricanes hit the coast, items of plastic can find yourself elsewhere, endangering native wildlife. . The encompassing mangroves are dwelling to quite a lot of crops and animals, together with shrimp, fish, crabs, pink deer, deer and koti (a sort of badger), in addition to a sort of tree identified colloquially. Saldo (“salty”) as a result of it survives in salt water.
In 2006, the Ivor de la Cruz household was approached by a brand new hospitality enterprise known as Playa Viva. Its proprietor, David Leventhal, was planning to construct a close-by resort primarily based on the rules of regenerative tourism, and he was keen on studying in regards to the native ecosystem and group. Playa Viva hoped that collaborating with residents like Ivar de la Cruz would assist create an area that may permit guests to expertise the fantastic thing about this stretch of Mexican coast, whereas additionally having a constructive social and environmental influence that may outlast them. .
In 2013, Playa Viva based the Regenerative Belief with environmental and social objectives that vary from restoring ecosystems to elevating for the discharge of endangered species and donating college provides for youngsters. Two p.c of all income from visitor reservations is channeled into these native packages.
Salt on the market. Pictures by Elena Valeriote.
One of many main packages funded by the Regenerative Belief is ResumeQuick for “Resurgent from the Sierra to the Mar” – which refers back to the space between the Sierra Madre Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. By way of ReSiMar, Playa Viva goals to revitalize all the ecosystem of this watershed. A part of the trouble is sourcing elements from sustainable fisheries and different small companies that rely upon the watershed, just like the Ivar de la Cruz household.
Playa Viva dedicated to purchasing salt completely from the Ayvar de la Cruz household for its eating places and, when it started welcoming company to Juluchuca a number of years later, it provided a visit to Las Salinas collectively throughout the salt assortment season. This relationship with Playa Viva has been an necessary supply of help within the household’s efforts to reap salt as their ancestors did, and it has given them the chance to share their work with foreigners for the primary time.
A mural of Ivor de la Cruz in his hometown. Pictures by Elena Valeriote.
ReSiMar information necessary details about water our bodies to know the scope of their influence and to find out which points require probably the most consideration. In 2023, the ReSiMar staff tracked water high quality, specializing in air pollution within the type of plastic packaging and glass bottles. From there, they recognized a necessity for higher environmental schooling and recycling packages, in order that they centered on bringing college students to the reservoir and establishing a metropolis group middle. “Water research present important baseline information on water high quality and amount throughout each the monsoon and dry seasons,” Leventhal stated. “We then evaluate this information from 12 months to 12 months to watch adjustments.”
With virtually a century of reminiscences of residing on this a part of the Guerrero area alongside the Pacific coast, Ivor de la Cruz additionally carries the historical past of this place inside him. He is aware of the crops and animals at dwelling on this distinctive tropical ecosystem, the pure rhythms of the seasons and tips on how to work with them to reap salt in a approach that native communities have practiced for a whole lot, if not hundreds, of years. Because of this, it’s all the extra attention-grabbing that, in 2024, for the primary time within the Ivor de la Cruz’s lengthy life, uncommon climate patterns prompted a break within the timeline of this historic custom.
“Yearly, there’s a wet season and the lagoon fills up. It’s then emptied and the salt flats dry, prepared for work. It is a pure cycle that occurs on a regular basis,” stated Alejandro Ivar, the youngest of Ivar de la Cruz’s six sons. He and his brother, together with their three sisters, have helped their mom acquire salt since childhood. “Throughout this season, the lagoon has not emptied sufficient and the areas the place the salt is produced haven’t dried sufficient.”
Ivor de la Cruz and household. Pictures by Lia Marasovich.
Native estuarine programs overflowing throughout regular harvests and Las Salinas flooding is an instance of the implications of unseasonably late rain crises as they’re being skilled on this a part of the world.
“It isn’t the identical anymore,” stated Ivor de la Cruz in regards to the native local weather in recent times and the way it has affected the salt flats. “The temperature of the water has modified loads and it takes longer to gather the salt.”
As local weather adjustments and youthful generations of the Ivar de la Cruz household discover extra financially steady prospects in different areas of labor, the way forward for this custom stays unsure, however Ivar de la Cruz’s legacy is not going to quickly be forgotten. His singular connection to this native surroundings and his dedication to this historic technique of amassing salt are commemorated in a mural on a constructing close to Las Salinas, painted by a visiting artist about six years in the past.
There’s additionally worth in speaking about salt by contemplating the place it got here from and who collected it. As difficult as it might be to create programs that protect our historical meals habits, not less than preserving their reminiscence is simple.
“Thanks for coming to make me completely satisfied,” Ivor de la Cruz stated on the finish of the interview. “Remembering resides once more.”
All interviews translated from Spanish to English with the help of Jimena Rodriguez, Juan Carlos “Johnny” Solis, and David Leventhal.
