Last July 18th, more than 100 people who love the sea gathered at the screening of the documentary 'The Yin & Yang of Gerry Lopez' for the first time in Latin America. The meeting was held in Miraflores, Lima thanks to the alliance between HAZla Por Tu Ola and Patagonia, with the support of Klimax Surfboards, Almirante craft brewery and SED Hard Seltzer.
The event was attended as special guests by the great Chilean big wave surfer Ramón Navarro and Carolina Butrich, general coordinator of HAZla Por Tu Ola. In addition, there was live music by Mariano Palacios, lead singer of Laguna Pai, food, Almirante beers and SED Hard Seltzer drinks.
The film tells the story of Gerry López, a great Hawaiian surfer who became a world surfing legend by consecrating himself as “Mr. Pipeline” at just 24 years old for being able to surf the famous Pipeline wave on the North Shore of Oahu. But the film goes beyond his journey as an outstanding athlete.
The documentary focuses on the relationship and balance of Gerry Lopez's two great passions, which have marked his professional and personal life: surfing and yoga. With interviews with the protagonist, his family, coaches, friends and relatives, the film portrays the great determination and discipline of the surfer to achieve everything he has been proposing in his life.
'The Yin & Yang of Gerry Lopez', recently released in June, 2022 in the US and UK, was produced by Patagonia Films and directed by Stacy Peralta, a great exponent of skateboarding and documentary filmmaker who was awarded Best Director at the Film Festival at Sundance 2001 for his documentary 'Dogtown and Z-Boys'.
More than 100 people gathered for love of the sea
The event started with live music by Mariano Palacios, Laguna Pai vocalist, who livened up the night for more than half an hour singing well-known local reggae songs such as 'Freedom', 'The Waves' and 'My board'.
Then, Carolina Butrich, coordinator of HAZla Por Tu Ola, thanked for the collective efforts to achieve the premiere of "The Yin & Yang of Gerry Lopez" in Lima and also explained her personal identification with the protagonist of the documentary, Gerry Lopez.
“My personal story has always had two parts, this yin and yang. On one hand, I have this connection with the sea, I am a windsurfer and have represented Peru for so many years, but I also studied environmental engineering and I have this passion for protecting natural places that give us so much happiness. For me, HAZla Por Tu Ola is like that yin and yang, because I can combine these two aspects that I am so passionate about,” said Butrich.
Later, Ramón Navarro, a great world leader in big wave surfing and the greatest exponent of Chilean surfing, moved the audience by telling how he fell in love with big wave surfing and how he understood, from the beginning, the great challenge that involved in getting into this sport.
Thus, for many years, Navarro has not only admired Gerry López, the protagonist of the documentary, but he has also become a great source of inspiration both for his technique and for his determination and calm at sea.
Navarro also congratulated the surfers'scommunity in Peru and the HAZla Por Tu Ola initiative for creating the Waves Law, the only regulation in the world that protects waves from threats. Currently, the Chilean surfer leads a citizen campaign to protect a beach in Pichilemu called #ForeverLobos and hopes that more surfers in different parts of the world will organize and take action to protect the waves and the sea.
The event had a great reception, which is an example of the union of the surfing community. This feeling of collectivity among surfers in Peru is reflected in the achievements of Hazla Por Tu Ola: a citizen campaign which legally protects the waves of Peru. Thanks to the support of athletes and citizens who love the sea, this initiative has managed to raise more than US$200,000 to finance technical files under the 100% charity scheme.
Let's save the waves of Negritos
So far in 2022, HAZla Por Tu Ola has managed to protect 43 waves with the constant support of the community of surfers, other athletes linked to the sea, citizens committed to nature and more than 50 companies that have not hesitated to spread information, donate and get directly involved in campaigns to protect waves in Peru.
"We want wave protection to be something global, to be replicated in other countries and thus ensure that our children and our children's children can continue to enjoy the waves and the sea," says Butrich enthusiastically.
Currently, we are campaigning for the protection of the Negritos waves. This is a collective effort with the La Brea-Negritos Surf Association (ASLBN) and O'Neill, who are supporting us to achieve the goal of raising funds to pay for the technical studies of barimetry, necessary to present to the Navy and, thus, to be able to register it in RENARO for its protection.
You can join the campaign through direct donations from US$30, depositing in our account 193-2093463-0-89 of the Credit Bank of Peru (BCP) in the name of the Peruvian Society of Environmental Law (SPDA). Likewise, you can contribute to the protection of the Negritos waves by buying the campaign T-shit for US$35
