Mexico-Cliff Diving

Acapulco cliff divers drive tourism through risky career

  • English

Shotlist


Acapulco, Mexico - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Alejandro Rivera, Acapulco cliff diver, walking
2. Rivera hanging T-shirt on hook in dressing room
3. Rivera doing warm-up
4. Divers standing on cliff, getting ready to dive
5. Diver diving into water
6. Boat floating on water with spectators
7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Alejandro Rivera, Acapulco cliff diver (starting with shot 6):
"It's an adrenaline-fueled activity. Most people won't feel adrenaline more than three or four times in a month, while we feel it five to seven times a day. It's a feeling that puts you on alert in the moment."
8. Various of divers diving from cliff into water
9. Visitors gathering at logo of "Acapulco"
10. Diver diving into water
11. Diver climbing cliff
12. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Jorge Ramirez, vice-president of Clavadistas Association (partially overlaid with shot 13):
"This activity involves a mortal risk. No-one's ever died, but injuries are common with things like detached retinas, ruptured eardrums, spinal cord injuries, lower back problems. We've seen broken arms, broken wrists and elbows. There's a lot of risk."
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
13. Stones in water
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
14. Rivera praying to god
15. Sculpture of diver
16. Aerial shot of cliff, water
17. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Alejandro Rivera, Acapulco cliff diver (partially overlaid with shots 18-20):
"I won't stop cliff diving, because it's a sport, a tradition and an art-form. And it's something that lets me earn money for doing something I love, like any other professional sportsman."
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
18. Diver diving into water from cliff
19. Various of Rivera praying to god
20. Rivera posing for photo with visitor
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
21. Rivera jumping on stone wall
22. Rivera waving to visitors
23. Boats floating in river
24. Visitors
25. Aerial shot of divers diving from cliff into water

Storyline


At Mexico's beach resort of Acapulco, a group of professional cliff divers are eagerly putting their lives at risk on a daily basis, performing shows for the public and attracting tons of tourists in the process.

The Acapulco cliff divers have risked their lives daily for decades. Alejandro Rivera, now 28-year-old, is one of the divers at the tourist attraction. He dropped out of school at the age of eleven and never considered learning a trade. In his family, becoming a cliff diver is the only occupation.

Five times a day, come rain or shine, Rivera takes the 35-meter plunge from a sheer cliff into the Pacific Ocean.

"It's an adrenaline-fueled activity. Most people won't feel adrenaline more than three or four times in a month, while we feel it five to seven times a day. It's a feeling that puts you on alert in the moment," said Rivera.

The practice started 85 years ago, when local fishermen took higher leaps of faith. Today, it draws thousands of visitors a year according to the Clavadistas Association based in Acapulco.

Careers in the high-diving game take their toll on the body, which is a fact well-known to former diver Jorge Ramirez, now the vice-president of Clavadistas Association.

"This activity involves a mortal risk. No-one's ever died, but injuries are common with things like detached retinas, ruptured eardrums, spinal cord injuries, lower back problems. We've seen broken arms, broken wrists and elbows. There's a lot of risk," said Ramirez.

Rivera said it's a career that comes with risks, but ultimately the decision to pursue it is left up to the individual.

"When you get injured for the first time, that's when you decide whether to make this your career. It's your trial by fire, after which you'll either try again to get better, or get scared by the thought of another injury, and give it up forever," said Rivera.

Despite all this, Rivera can't see himself doing anything else.

"I won't stop cliff diving, because it's a sport, a tradition, and an art-form. And it's something that lets me earn money for doing something I love, like any other professional sportsman," said Rivera.

Rivera will continue to dive off the cliffs for as long as his body will allow it, and only then might he consider a more traditional line of work. He said it's to honor his hometown over everything else.

DOWNLOAD
  • ID : 8116372
  • Dateline : Recent
  • Location : Mexico
  • Category : sport
  • Duration : 2'33
  • Audio Language : Spanish/Nats/Part Mute
  • Source : China Global Television Network (CGTN)
  • Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland
  • Published : 2019-07-18 17:55
  • Last Modified : 2019-07-18 18:02:00
  • Version : 2

Mexico-Cliff Diving

Acapulco cliff divers drive tourism through risky career

Dateline : Recent

Location : Mexico

Duration : 2'33

  • English


Acapulco, Mexico - Recent (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Alejandro Rivera, Acapulco cliff diver, walking
2. Rivera hanging T-shirt on hook in dressing room
3. Rivera doing warm-up
4. Divers standing on cliff, getting ready to dive
5. Diver diving into water
6. Boat floating on water with spectators
7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Alejandro Rivera, Acapulco cliff diver (starting with shot 6):
"It's an adrenaline-fueled activity. Most people won't feel adrenaline more than three or four times in a month, while we feel it five to seven times a day. It's a feeling that puts you on alert in the moment."
8. Various of divers diving from cliff into water
9. Visitors gathering at logo of "Acapulco"
10. Diver diving into water
11. Diver climbing cliff
12. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Jorge Ramirez, vice-president of Clavadistas Association (partially overlaid with shot 13):
"This activity involves a mortal risk. No-one's ever died, but injuries are common with things like detached retinas, ruptured eardrums, spinal cord injuries, lower back problems. We've seen broken arms, broken wrists and elbows. There's a lot of risk."
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
13. Stones in water
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
14. Rivera praying to god
15. Sculpture of diver
16. Aerial shot of cliff, water
17. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Alejandro Rivera, Acapulco cliff diver (partially overlaid with shots 18-20):
"I won't stop cliff diving, because it's a sport, a tradition and an art-form. And it's something that lets me earn money for doing something I love, like any other professional sportsman."
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
18. Diver diving into water from cliff
19. Various of Rivera praying to god
20. Rivera posing for photo with visitor
++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUNDBITE++
21. Rivera jumping on stone wall
22. Rivera waving to visitors
23. Boats floating in river
24. Visitors
25. Aerial shot of divers diving from cliff into water


At Mexico's beach resort of Acapulco, a group of professional cliff divers are eagerly putting their lives at risk on a daily basis, performing shows for the public and attracting tons of tourists in the process.

The Acapulco cliff divers have risked their lives daily for decades. Alejandro Rivera, now 28-year-old, is one of the divers at the tourist attraction. He dropped out of school at the age of eleven and never considered learning a trade. In his family, becoming a cliff diver is the only occupation.

Five times a day, come rain or shine, Rivera takes the 35-meter plunge from a sheer cliff into the Pacific Ocean.

"It's an adrenaline-fueled activity. Most people won't feel adrenaline more than three or four times in a month, while we feel it five to seven times a day. It's a feeling that puts you on alert in the moment," said Rivera.

The practice started 85 years ago, when local fishermen took higher leaps of faith. Today, it draws thousands of visitors a year according to the Clavadistas Association based in Acapulco.

Careers in the high-diving game take their toll on the body, which is a fact well-known to former diver Jorge Ramirez, now the vice-president of Clavadistas Association.

"This activity involves a mortal risk. No-one's ever died, but injuries are common with things like detached retinas, ruptured eardrums, spinal cord injuries, lower back problems. We've seen broken arms, broken wrists and elbows. There's a lot of risk," said Ramirez.

Rivera said it's a career that comes with risks, but ultimately the decision to pursue it is left up to the individual.

"When you get injured for the first time, that's when you decide whether to make this your career. It's your trial by fire, after which you'll either try again to get better, or get scared by the thought of another injury, and give it up forever," said Rivera.

Despite all this, Rivera can't see himself doing anything else.

"I won't stop cliff diving, because it's a sport, a tradition, and an art-form. And it's something that lets me earn money for doing something I love, like any other professional sportsman," said Rivera.

Rivera will continue to dive off the cliffs for as long as his body will allow it, and only then might he consider a more traditional line of work. He said it's to honor his hometown over everything else.

ID : 8116372

Published : 2019-07-18 17:55

Last Modified : 2019-07-18 18:02:00

Source : China Global Television Network (CGTN)

Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland

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