Decked out with marine and port flags on the occasion of International Maritime Day, the Progreso lighthouse was reopened to the public after 29 years in which guided tours and climbing to the top and the dome of the maritime signaling were suspended.
Since June 1, 1995, visits were suspended following the shipwreck of a fishing boat in the middle of the National Navy Day celebrations, an event that left around twenty dead.
The day before yesterday, at 5:30 in the afternoon on the upper floor of the House of Culture, headquarters of the old maritime customs of Progreso that adjoins the lighthouse, a commemorative event was held to honor the heritage value of the Progreso lighthouse. to celebrate the aforementioned day, whose motto is “Navigating the future, safety first.”
The activity was attended by the XIII Naval Zone of Yucalpetén and the Regional Port Captaincy, led by the frigate captain José Alberto Solano Claustro, who organized a cultural evening that he presided over, as well as Randyr Castillo Alférez, director of Fisheries of the City Council, retired rear admiral Genaro Huatla, president of the association of retired sailors, which was also attended by students from the Center for Technological Studies of the Sea (Cetmar) and the Technical Secondary School Yucalpetén Fishery.
Captain Solano Claustro explained that International Maritime Day is the date established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to recognize the importance of the maritime industry in global trade and the economy, which is commemorated each year on the last Thursday of September.
Its objective is to highlight issues related to the safety and protection of the marine environment and the well-being of workers in the maritime sector.
The frigate lieutenant, the graduate in atmospheric sciences, Marco Antonio Garza García Esparza, explained the importance of maritime signaling and explained that Mexico has a coastline on the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, a large territorial area considered to occupy the fourteenth place in the world. , which has a maritime surface of more than three million square meters.
For her part, the lieutenant of the ship and naval justice service, Dulce María Lárraga Juárez, gave a historical review of the lighthouse since its construction, which used materials from the region.
Its inauguration was on May 5, 1893, and the mechanism of light that illuminates the sea guides sailors and fishermen who navigate to the safe arrival at the port.
In addition, he gave extensive details of the building, considered the icon of the port and the most important in Yucatán. After the review, a group of 10 Cetmar students accompanied by teachers went to the lighthouse and took a tour inside.
Then, students from the Yucalpetén Fishing Technique came up.
The lighthouse is 114 feet high, has 120 spiral-shaped steps to reach the dome, as well as seven steps, and at the top is the light visible from 22 miles away.
The port captain reported that there are plans to invite more school groups to tour it.
TYT Newsroom
