2013 LA BARRITA SURF OPEN GOES TO REY, YUCO AND SUAZO

Translation: Heido Sundstrom

THE TRADITION CONTINUES...

Playa La Barrita, located in the municipality of Petatlan in the state of Guerrero, celebrated the fifteenth edition of this surfing event held during the Lord of Petatlan celebration, the Patron Saint of this Costa Grande town.

PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION

The event kicked off Saturday and was opened by the Mayor of Petatlan, Licenciado Jorge Ramirez, as well as Esteban Carranza (trustee), Erik Castro (organizer) and the Guerrero State Surfing Association, who recognized the importance of supporting this sport (and even more so since it’s a sport that promotes the wonderful beaches that are available in the state of Guerrero, with warm water and extraordinary sunsets).

About fifty athletes gathered from Acapulco, Zihuatanejo and Playa Azul (Michoacan) to compete their hardest for the prize purse that was to be divided among the top three spots in three categories that included: Shortboard Open, Juvenile and Bodyboard Open. The event also featured a bikini contest and a volleyball tournament.

The surf was better on Saturday and dropped slightly on Sunday. But that was no reason to not enjoy the feats of these extreme athletes during tough semifinals that featured Oscar “Pawi” Chino of Acapulco and Mario Farias from Michoacan (who were later eliminated in a close and competitive group).

The Open final entertained us with aerials, tubes and floaters, with Jose Manuel “Yuco” Trujillo beating seasoned Michoacan surfer, Raul Medina, Bonfil local, Roberto Olguin (who caught a tube in each one of his heats), and Serafin Chino, who just couldn’t get the dynamite lit and ended up taking fourth.

Juan Manuel “Cuico” Suazo of Zihuatanejo didn’t have it easy in the final and had to face World Cup winner, Ulises “Votrek” Rodriguez, plus Revolcadero local, Manuel Palma (who is now bodyboarding quite well) and Boris Dueñas, who is “back on the podium”, so to speak. It was a grand final that gave us tubes, rolls and reverse aerials.

In the Juniors Category, young surfing sensation, Luis Rey Hernandez, took home the victory, followed by Pablo Guerrero of Zihuatanejo. The other competitors included: Fernando “Gabacho” Olea of Revolcadero and Vicente “Chentelo” Vega, who also competed in the Open category but stayed in fourth place, perhaps due to physical factors.

BODYBOARD CATEGORY
1.- JUAN MANUEL SUAZO  (ZIHUA)
2.- MANUEL PALMA           (ACA)
3.- ULISES RODRIGUEZ       (ACA)
4.- BORIS DUEÑAS       (ACA)

JUNIORS SHORTBOARD CATEGORY
1.- LUIS REY HERNANDEZ  (ACA)
2.- PABLO GUERRERO        (ZIHUA)
3.- FERNANDO OLEA   (ACA)
4.- VICENTE VEGA    (ACA)

SHORTBOARD OPEN CATEGORY
1.- JOSE MANUEL TRUJILLO  (ACA)
2.- RAUL MEDINA           (MICH)
3.- ROBERTO OLGUIN  (ACA)
4.- SERAFIN CHINO      (ACA)