A huipil and a surfboard: Patricia Ornelas dances on the waters of the Pacific

There are two very marked currents when it comes to surfing. One of them is what the sport calls modern surfing: shortboards between six and seven feet long that allow for violent movements on the waves, pirouettes, and a lot of speed. The other is classic surfing: these longboards are at least nine feet long, and you walk from tip to tip without losing your balance, making it look relaxed, easy and cool — speed and pirouettes do not matter here. That is what Patricia Ornelas does. Originally from El Tibor, a mountainous area in the Mexican state of Guerrero, this surfer has added a personal touch that represents her and the community where she grew up, which has just over 600 inhabitants. Ornelas sometimes surfs wearing a wine-colored huipil and a mauve skirt. The video of her surfing the waves in these clothes went viral in a matter of hours.

“I had already experienced this, but never to this extent,” she expressed through a story on her Instagram account. “Thank you for all the love and support.” Between September and October 2022, Patricia Ornelas also made noise on social media for a surfing session at La Saladita, located an hour from the beaches of Michoacán. That time, on the occasion of the Day of the Dead celebration, Ornelas put on skull makeup and wore a black bodysuit with painted bones.

Now the huipil, surfboard and waves are not part of any shoot, but rather a project led by Filipino artist Archie Geotina called The Pearls Project that seeks to bring attention to “surf muses from around the globe,” according to her website. “Pearls started in a daydream inspired by women and their relationship with mother nature as they dance and play with the ocean faces,” she writes. “The Philippines and Mexico have many cultural similarities due to Spain’s colonial rule. With that, Perlas expands to Mexico as we celebrate its people, history and culture.”

The Mexican ambassador for the project is the Guerrero native who grew up an hour from the beach, “in my father’s village. When I was a little girl I always dreamed of walking on the sea and dancing on it without sinking,” says Patricia Ornelas in a post. Her connection with the sea comes from her mother, who is originally from the town of La Saladita, five minutes from the beach. “She always took me and my brothers to visit our grandparents.” As the years went by, Ornelas moved away from the sea “but I always felt close to it and curious to learn to float,” as she called it before knowing that the correct term was surfing.

“I didn’t meet Leonel until I was 23; the person who taught me what I am today.” She is alluding to Leonel Pérez, a Mexican coach and surfer. “I then quit because I got pregnant and thought I would never be in salt water again.” However, Pérez sought her out when Ornelas’ daughter, Leah, turned one. He convinced her to come back and the rest, as they say, is history. “Thanks to the Perlas project for giving me the opportunity to tell my story and for the interest in showing my Mexican roots and culture,” she says. “Today I surf for myself, for my family and for all those women who dream of learning something new that they think is impossible.”

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