Smash that Wave 1st Annual Luis Aldaco Surf Classic Ensenada

By Guadalupe Beatriz Aldaco
Translation Heido Sundstrom

“Where was I when,
with the same care that moves an effigy,
you polished your board with wax,
making it more in tune with the waves
you carved?

Why was your passion not mine?”
-GBA

Wait...wait until you hear the buzzer: 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

The atmosphere surrounding the legendary beach 3M’s in Ensenada, Baja California could be seen from the highway. Threatened numerous times to be closed to surfers, this majestic gift of the Pacific Ocean has survived, and recently played host to the 1st Annual Luis Aldaco Surf Classic, held on November 17th, 2012 in memory of the surf veteran and Puerto-native that promoted the “gym of the waves” for decades.

Expectations were exceeded both in the number of competitors as well as the amount of spectators. Contest organizers expected approximately fifty participants but about a hundred came out to register, hailing from Ensenada, Rosarito, Tijuana and even a few from the United States; there were even some surfers that were left out of the contest for failing to register on time. The event had to be extended an extra day to accommodate everyone and saw activity all of Sunday, November 18th. Waves ranged from 2 – 4 ft. on Saturday and increased on Sunday, with light winds. Although the waves weren’t very big, they were the ideal size for an event that saw a large number of kids participating.

From all sides, you could hear people saying that they’d never seen a contest like this in Ensenada before. “The best event 3M’s has seen in a long time. I haven’t participated in a contest like this since the ’98 Nationals in San Miguel, which was followed by a National contest right here,” said one surfer, “it was a very competitive contest, with a good level of surfing and an outstanding team of judges.”

Luis Aldaco’s surf buddies, led by Eduardo Echegaray and Luis’ family, organized the contest. Fernanda Aldaco, the surfer’s youngest daughter and one of the principal organizers, recalls how her Father instilled his love for the ocean and for surfing in both her and her sisters...“3M’s was his favorite beach”. Since they were young, the girls sat on the shore so that their bodies came into contact with the ocean, delighting in the final part of this peaceful horizontal waterfall that is the breaking waves.

Sponsors of the event included:

San Miguel Surf Designs
Premiaciones Víctor
Kamisetas Shimo's
Glass-teck
Impresos Galván
Haru, Juan Corral & Chebeto Promotions
Surfblank México
Asociación Surf BC
Brewmaster Shop   

There’s the wave! Competitors, shattering the wave!

The waves, undulating formations as natural as they are mysterious, remain the place of contact between surfers and nature, a way of escaping the land and connecting with the universe. Man comes from the sea and the surfer returns to his source through his board, adhering to the power of a liquid magnet.