Progreso, Yucatan, (November 02, 2021).- The sea cemetery located in Progreso 6 kilometers inland is, at the same time, a home for loved ones who left this world and for coral reefs and fish. After a long investigation, they created pearls and capsules designed for the adherence of marine species without affecting their ecosystem and that function as memorials.
Renato López, the representative of Capillas Señoriales, explains that the initiative of cemeteries of the sea is possible thanks to the alliance with Reef Ball México, which aims to preserve and restore the life of the reefs, contributing to marine life usually.
The action occurs with the submergence of structures with a porous surface that allows the coral larva to adhere and, in a year, the growth of the species is evident, likewise, the nesting of fish begins after six months.
“Corals in the world are extremely valuable because they allow a balance of the ecosystem, they have several benefits for humans, 25 percent of marine species live there, without them the beaches erode, they also help to consume carbon dioxide”.
He details that a square meter of coral reef manages to absorb the same amount of CO2 as a square meter of Amazon rainforest, without them the greenhouse effect in the world would have a more serious situation.
“Currently with climate change corals are suffering bleaching, which is nothing more than extinction”, this, due to high temperatures, since one or two degrees can make a huge difference for your system, he says.
Corals, he says, are one of the most intelligent and complex structures in the world: on the outside, they are animals, on the inside, there are plants that create photosynthesis, feed on carbon dioxide, and in addition, they grow in minerals.
With all this context, from Capillas Senoriales, through Javier Dájer, representative of Reef Ball, they got together and last year they started with the concept Cementerios del Mar, through a test during an event called ‘El Mundo Por la Vida’.
At that time, all the people who lost a relative during 2020 could register their loved one, more than 700 people were registered and their names – placed on plates – sent them to the sea with the structures to begin to be part of the ecosystem with the reef creation.
From there, he was able to realize the pain that people were experiencing for not having said goodbye to their relatives due to the pandemic, the lack of closure with a funeral or face-to-face tribute caused completely different griefs, for which many people expressed “now I do feel that I could give him the farewell he always wanted ”, even though there was only the name and it was a symbolic act.
With the panorama, they decided to develop a technology to create a pearl with the cremated remains of the loved one, they call it a “memorial pearl”, which they now send inside the reef structure.
Upon receiving requests from people who did not cremate their relatives, they also chose to create memorial pearls with the priceless objects of loved ones; exemplifying that they have performed with a baseball bat, a championship medal, and green vegetable paint.
“With this, every time you go to the sea as a family you have that connection”, now you have no capacity or space restrictions, no matter where you are, just by going to the sea you can experience that closeness with your family member, he expresses.
He adds that the sea has direct health benefits, “being in the sea is for the brain like being in a state of meditation”, salt is a natural exfoliator, it helps with the respiratory tract. “They are no longer just physical scientific benefits, but also emotional ones.”
He emphasizes that to carry out all this there was a deep investigation behind because the Reef Ball Foundation and the University of California have studies with which they know how to avoid the negative impact and developed a special concrete for the sea, where the pH does not affect the nature of water.
In addition, the structures have waves at the base, so that with the natural movement of the water they do not move, but are settled at the bottom; today they have placed 200 reefs, with different personalized pearls.
But doing this requires more than a year of procedures to obtain permits and certify the positive environmental impact, now, in addition to being in Progreso, in the next few days, they will be obtaining what is necessary to implement the cemetery of the sea also in Campeche, Cancun, and Baja Southern California.
Environmental impact studies lasting between three and four months by Javier Dájer and certified biologists: Jonathan Valdez and Gerardo Avilés, “cemeteries of the sea is to contribute positively to the ecosystem” and permits from the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) were necessary to make this possible.
The experience of this cemetery goes beyond the sea because they also pay tribute to the loved one with videos for relatives where they see the construction of their relative’s new home, memories of their life (videography), a cremation pendant so that always be together.
“A process of transformation, like a metamorphosis […] Each pearl in the world is unique, no two pearls are alike and we do the same.”
During this month and until the end of December, you can visit a physical reef in City Center to learn more about this concept, from 11 am to 5 pm.
Source: La Jornada Maya
TYT Newsroom
