The opening sentence of the recent Grupo Madrugadores meeting on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, at El Mezquite restaurant, located inside the Vidanta Hotel in San José del Cabo, was: “The sea, the great unifier, is the only hope of man. Now, more than ever, that old phrase has a literal meaning: we are all in the same boat”, by Jacques Cousteau, the French oceanographer who christened the Sea of Cortez as the world’s aquarium during his explorations.
Nothing could be more eloquent than quoting the French oceanographer. The special guest of the day was Rafael Guillermo Alvarez Munguia, Director of the Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone (ZOFEMAT), who expressed his pleasure at one of the Madrugadores Group meetings. He described it as “an atmosphere of friends, where you can brainstorm and have a professional debate.” In the end, this is all for the benefit of Los Cabos.
“This morning, we discussed different issues, such as those concerning ZOFEMAT, Blue Flag beaches, Platinum beaches, and the surveillance towers and quadrants that we will set up to improve surveillance and cleanliness on the beaches. We also talked about concessions and the strategic plan to follow to overcome the portfolio issue and the lags that have been experienced in recent years,” he said.
ZOFEMAT is an agency of the Mexican federal government that in Los Cabos is responsible for the administration, regulation and conservation of coastal zones, beaches and public use areas within the maritime strip. It works in coordination with local and state authorities and environmental protection organisations to maintain the beaches and coastal areas of Los Cabos in good condition, promoting responsible development in this region of high tourist activity.
“At the end of the day, we had a pleasant conversation with people who knew and loved the destination. They are energies for me to continue to perform professionally and enforce the law and a strategic plan that covers the citizens and the more than 4.5 million tourists who come to Los Cabos by air and those who enter by land. At the end of the day, it is about having safe and clean beaches so that more tourists continue to come and so that the people of Los Cabos and the citizens as a whole, as we do not have a boardwalk or social area where we can be distracted, come to the beaches. All we ask is that they take care of them, for our children and those to come,” he said.
Rafael Guillermo Alvarez Munguia extended the invitation to the Blue Flag hoisting season 2024-2025 this Friday, November 15th, 2024, at 9.30 am at Playa Chileno, which is iconic for being the first to have achieved the Blue Flag certification, which guarantees the quality and conservation of the beach.
“I hope they keep inviting us to continue coming to these pleasant and constructive talks to continue generating strategic planning in favour of the beaches and Los Cabos,” concluded Rafael Guillermo Álvarez Munguia.
