Bacab; by Salvador Quiroz Ennis, in Isla Mujeres
Updated: Jul 20, 2022
Just off the island of Isla Mujeres, as part of MUSA and inside the Manchones National Park, lies a statue by Salvador Quiroz Ennis. Designed to work with the environment and aid in the rehabilitation of the reef, Bacab now houses an enormous amount of marine life: from coral, sponges, and algae to lobsters, eel, and fish.
The Artist
Salvador Quiroz Ennis, a Mexican artist, is the founder of the office Concepto M. This business is dedicated to museological design, museography, and the construction of exhibitions and museums.
Trained as an industrial designer (in both Mexico and Milan), he has developed professionally in architecture, ecology, and kinetic installation with over 20 years of experience. This has given him the ability to successfully coordinate large-scale projects such as Bacab and 132 yo-yo soy
Salvador is part of the team of artists who formed MUSA. In 2011 Bacab was placed at the bottom of what is known locally as Manchones 1, inside the Manchones National Park. In an area that was devoid of life and held no appeal to underwater visitors, it is now a habitat for marine life.
The Statue
The statue is based upon the legend of Bacabob.
Born of the gods Itzamna (the creator god), and Ixchebelyax (the goddess who was humiliated, killed, and then revived), they play an important role. The Bacabob were four brothers who had been placed in the four cardinal points of the world to hold the sky up, for fear that it would fall. When the world flooded, they escaped.
While each ruled a cardinal point, they have also been associated with the four days preceding the end of the year, the four Chaacks (divinities of rain), or the four Pauahtuns (divinities of wind). Each Bacab possessed an amulet; a turtle shell, a spider web, and two different kinds of shells, and each had their own color.
Because they are the patrons of the last four days of the year, they have gained importance in the ceremonies of veneration. They were consulted about crops, climate, the health of bees (of which they are the main protectors), and were the founders of beekeeping (The Mayans knew even then the absolute importance of bees). They were invoked in healing rituals and because of this, the most famous collection of texts of Mayan healing, "The Ritual of Bacabob" was named in their honor.
It is for this final dedication of the Bacabob that Salvador made the sculpture to follow in the effort of healing and rehabilitation of the marine ecosystem of the Caribbean.
Entre los antiguos mayas, la tortuga es utilizada como metáfora de la tierra que flota en el mar. Con su movimiento de rotación y traslación, o contoneo, asemeja muy bien el girar de los planetas.
Expresándolo de otra manera, la tortuga es para los mayas la representación del tiempo
Según el Chilam Balam “Luego el cielo caerá, caerá sobre la Tierra, onde los cuatro dioses, los Bacabab están situados, los que evitaban la destrucción de nuestro mundo”
Among the ancient Maya, the turtle is used as a metaphor for the land floating in the sea. With its rotational and translational motion or swagger, it resembles very well the rotation of the planets.
Expressing it another way, the turtle is for the Mayans the representation of time
According to the Chilam Balam "Then the sky will fall, it will fall on Earth, where the four gods, the Bacabab are located, those who prevented the destruction of our world"
The latticework, made of marine concrete and blocks, allows fish protection from their natural predators and the ability to produce more normally. The material used allows for the growth of corals, sponges, and algae which are necessary for the feeding and growth of fish.
Sunk in 2011, Bacab was submerged in the second expansion of MUSA. It sits at a comfortable 9mt/30ft which makes it ideal for snorkelers and divers alike.
Depth
9 meters / 30 feet
Experience Level
Entry Level, Beginners, and all levels of certified divers
Average Visibility Underwater
20-30 mt / 66-99 feet
Average Water Temp
28 C°/ 82F°
Dive Time
45 min (Pareque National Rules)
To view the fish surveyed here with reef.org click HERE
colaboradores de Wikipedia. (2022, February 7). Bacab. Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacab
La visual de. . .. (2013). Podio. http://www.podiomx.com/2014/09/la-visual-de-mexico-en-venecia-2da-parte.html
M.U.S.A. Museo Subacuático de Arte. (2022, April 25). Underwater Sculpture by Jason deCaires Taylor. https://www.underwatersculpture.com/projects/musa-mexico/
The Underwater Museum, The submerged sculptures of Jason deCaires Taylor, Chronicle Books 2014