"The catastrophe is not only natural but social. When the natural phenomenon impacts, there begins to be a social catastrophe that has to do with structural inequalities," says Oliver Terrones, an artist from Acapulco, speaking about the impact on the coast of Guerrero, Mexico, where recovery efforts after the catastrophe are opening the door to new paradigms of well-being.
In 2023, the Port of Acapulco was severely affected by Hurricane Otis, the most powerful hurricane in terms of strength and speed of intensification, ever recorded to hit the Mexican Pacific coast. The devastation was not only natural, after the hurricane, businesses were looted and acts of violence took place, as Oliver shares.
In the face of the disaster, the Heritage Emergency Fund established by UNESCO and its donor countries, was implemented to contribute to the comprehensive recovery and psychosocial resilience processes of the population in the port city of Acapulco and in the town of Coyuca de Benítez. This initiative was possible in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture of the Mexican Government, the Ministry of Culture of Guerrero and the Municipality of Acapulco.
In the middle of the reconstruction process and less than a year after the arrival of Otis, Acapulco was hit again by nature in 2024 with Hurricane John, which brought in just four days, 85% of the annual rainfall typically recorded in the state, according to data from Acapulco’s Civil Protection.
Despite the new disaster, the Fund continued to support more than 30 artists and cultural managers to implement community and cultural workshops, accumulating more than 213 sessions of multiple disciplines that benefited hundreds of children, adolescents and adults, as well as other cultural managers.
Thus, UNESCO continued promoting culture as a key element in strengthening peaceful coexistence, mutual understanding, support networks, and collaboration among those affected by these natural disasters.
Acapulco beyond sun and sand
Acapulco is recognized in Mexico and around the world as one of the favorite sun and beach destinations, having welcomed personalities such as Rita Hayworth, Brigitte Bardot, Marilyn Monroe, María Félix, Luis Miguel and Diego Rivera, who produced his last works in Acapulco, particularly in the “Casa de los Vientos”, where it is possible to admire his last murals.
Thanks to its natural surroundings, the port has been the setting for the filming of movies such as Tarzan and the Mermaids with Johnny Weissmüller, Fun in Acapulco with Elvis Presley and The Lady from Shanghai by Orson Welles, and even reality shows in the present day.
What is known today as Acapulco was home to societies such as the one that settled in the archaeological zone known as “5 de Mayo-La Sábana.” This area contains archaeological monuments with graphic-archaeological manifestations that are not usually known, despite being only 30 minutes from the Bay of Acapulco, one of the main tourist and traditional areas.
During the viceroyalty, the port was the most important in the Pacific, being the gateway to the Acapulco-Manila Galleon. This trade route served for two centuries to connect New Spain with the Philippines. Thanks to this historic route, Acapulco became the epicentre of cultural and economic exchanges between Afro-descendant groups, Asians, Europeans and native peoples of Mesoamerica for more than two hundred years; a cultural melting pot that was rarely experienced in what was then New Spain.
Guerrero is the state with the highest percentage of people who self-identify as Afro-descendants (8.6%), and Acapulco is the municipality with the largest concentration, with over 75,400 people, according to the 2020 INEGI Census. Their history is closely linked to the Fort of San Diego, now also the Historical Museum of Acapulco.
The Fort is an emblematic witness of that history and was also reactivated thanks to the UNESCO Fund, covering both its museography recovery and a refurbishment to allow for the safeguarding of patrimonial ensembles, including elements of underwater cultural heritage that now have a completely renovated area. In addition, a new museographic area on Afro-Mexicanity was created.
The new hall seeks to strengthen the recognition of the history, memory and heritage of the so-called third root of Mexico and responds to the interest in strengthening social, tourism and economic opportunities through the recognition of the cultural diversity of Acapulco, which preserves an indelible link with its African ancestry through, for example, La Guinea, one of its first neighborhoods.
In addition, the Fort of San Diego and the Zócalo of Acapulco are one of five sites registered by Mexico as part of the Network, coordinated worldwide by UNESCO, of Places of History and Memory linked to Enslavement and the Slave Trade.
Acapulco and the region have taken advantage of its natural environment to benefit from tourism, but it also has multiple references that go beyond the sun and the beach thanks to its cultural diversity.
Culture for a resilient Acapulco
After the arrival of the mighty Otis, infrastructure and services were not the only ones that were paralyzed. Virtually all sites dedicated to culture were closed. The urgent needs that had to be addressed to guarantee the survival of the people and the coverage of their basic necessities concentrated the reconstruction work in the city and surrounding areas, such as Coyuca de Benítez.
For UNESCO, culture is essential to strengthen comprehensive reconstruction and recovery processes, as it contributes to building resilient communities, reinforcing social cohesion and creating bridges between groups and individuals to strengthen peace, in addition to promoting a sustainable and equitable economy.
Therefore, the Heritage Emergency Fund was implemented to finance cultural and community workshops to reactivate the cultural life of Acapulco and Coyuca de Benítez. These workshops were facilitated by artists from different disciplines and people dedicated to cultural management. An initiative that has shown the power of culture as a common public good to detonate development and accelerate positive transformations, by strengthening its agents and making tools available to the people.
Karhel García, a poet who participated in the UNESCO program in Mexico with a workshop on fanzines, explained that Acapulco faces problems that originate from nature, such as hurricanes or floods, but also many other social problems, which are linked to inequalities and violence that, in large part, are intrinsically related to the need for greater access to culture.
This has resulted in the creation of generations where there is not much empathy and sensitivity to these problems, and part of these efforts, collaborate to continue promoting respect and empathy.
Data from indicate that Guerrero has 30 cultural centers, which means less infrastructure than states with similar populations, such as Baja California or Tamaulipas, and entities with smaller populations, such as Coahuila or Hidalgo. However, independent, collective and community spaces and groups revitalize the artistic and cultural life of Guerrero and Acapulco, and they can be strengthened to promote changes that transcend beyond the creative sector.
To live better in Acapulco we must feel more together, more rooted in who we are, who we once were, and have much more empathy for others. We must think in a more empathetic, friendly, and favorable way to have a more pleasant relationship.
Karhel's workshop sought to encourage the poetic skills of young high school students who, according to their testimony, learned to express their feelings through writing and developed their empathy.
I think that the ‘acapulqueño’ sometimes tends to be a little selfish, to be very hard and not put himself in the other's shoes. Sometimes we do actions and do not think about the impact they can have, not only in our family, but in our environment and in our city.
Global-Local: Mosul and Acapulco
Throughout its history, 91鶹Ʒ had significant achievements in safeguarding culture in the aftermath of catastrophe. One of the most emblematic cases is the support for the reconstruction of Mosul, a city of great importance in Iraq that stood out for its multicultural atmosphere and beautiful streets, which was destroyed.
In 2018, UNESCO launched the initiative Revive the Spirit of Mosul, a reconstruction campaign based on three pillars: heritage, cultural life and education, which in addition to rebuilding historical monuments, opened a creative space and a film laboratory, in addition to relaunching literature and music festivals, as well as open-air screenings and the rehabilitation of schools.
Seven years after the implementation of the initiative, Mosul has regained its spirit. Specifically, a cultural renaissance has taken place in the city with the creation of spaces for cultural and creative activities, intended to serve the community. An achievement for each of UNESCO's Member States.
The cultural reactivation of the Iraqi city is now being followed by UNESCO for Acapulco because, although the catastrophes they face are different, the reconstruction processes based on culture as an axis for strengthening the social fabric, is a trigger for transformations that can be verified to be replicated in other latitudes that need it and reposition an integral paradigm for the resilience of populations in the face of global challenges.
Ari García González, who participated as an instructor in the workshop “Tramas comunitarios”, affirmed that culture is a central ingredient of the recovery for the Guerrero coast in Mexico, as it produces accompaniment and helps to strengthen people's identity.
Art sensitizes us, and if this sensitization did not exist, I could not imagine recovery as something integral.
The writer explained that the participants in his workshop took as a starting point the reading of the Rights of Boys and Girls, which were intervened through experimental writing techniques and collective writing, to forge a shared sense for the exercise of human and cultural rights.
Luis Ricardo Palma de Jesús, another workshop beneficiary, commented that he offered basic tools to adolescents for the creation of literary texts, taking as raw material his experience during Hurricane Otis, and agreed that art allows support networks and ties that are more necessary today than ever.
Culture, in general, strengthens human ties. There is a great need to continue strengthening these ties in the communities of Acapulco and throughout the state.
Oliver Terrones, in charge of the Creation of Science Fiction workshop, focused his participants on the creation of characters and possible futures from and after the catastrophe. He assured that the disaster has reaffirmed the need to prioritize the rescue of Acapulco's cultural heritage, including its diversity of cultural manifestations, and the support to its creators, managers and bearers.
It is not just a matter of considering what to recover from a devastated Acapulco, but also why.
The commitment to strengthen the well-being and resilience of the coastal zone of Guerrero is an affirmative action for all of Mexico and the region, since the ocean is the life support for at least 3 billion people in the world, according to State of the Ocean Report 2024, published by UNESCO. However, there are still activities and productive industries that can be promoted to increase the number and through sustainable models for both the environment and human communities.
Acapulco and the vast coastal area of Guerrero have opportunities far beyond mass beach tourism, due to its rich cultural diversity and both cultural and natural heritage, even in the field of science, as humanity is still far from discovering its full potential with only 10% of the ocean explored.
After the catastrophe, UNESCO accompanies Acapulco in its recovery and reactivation process so that it can become a new integral platform for reconstruction based on culture and placing people at the center so that no one is left behind.
