Mexico City, a sprawling metropolis of 22 million people, has officially lodged a bid for the world record for the largest artificial wave. The bid, submitted to the World Surf League, proposes a wave generated in a specially constructed wave pool at the city’s historic Xochimilco canals. The wave, if successful, would surpass the current record held by the Surf Snowdonia complex in Wales.
But the move has drawn sharp criticism from British surfing authorities. The British Surfing Association (BSA) called the bid a ‘culturally insensitive stunt’. ‘Surfing is a sacred tradition born from the Polynesian islands and perfected in the Pacific. To take a symbol of coastal identity and plonk it in a lagoon in a landlocked city is pure appropriation,’ said BSA chairwoman Helen Grainger.
The Mexican Surfing Federation (MSF) fired back. ‘We have a rich coastal culture of our own on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. This is about bringing the joy of surfing to the millions who cannot afford a trip to the beach. It is not appropriation, it is democratisation,’ said MSF president Carlos Mendez.
The row hits a nerve in Britain, where the Welsh wave pool is a symbol of national pride. Built in 2015 with £12 million of public funds, it created jobs in a former slate mining area. The Mexican bid, backed by a consortium of investors, would be smaller but cheaper to run, potentially undercutting the Welsh facility’s tourist appeal.
For the working class of Mexico City, the wave pool could be a lifeline. 'I work in a factory, 12-hour shifts. I never see the sea. This pool would be my freedom,' said Jorge Hernandez, a 34-year-old mechanic who surfs on the weekend.
But British surfers argue that the wave’s construction would exploit local labour. 'They will pay workers pennies to build it, then charge ordinary Mexicans a month’s wages for a session,' said Grainger.
The BSA has threatened to boycott any wave pool that uses foreign technology without paying royalties to the original developers. The row is set to continue as the record bid goes before international judges in April.
