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6/27/13 The 2012 Ro Nazas Gran Regata XLIX | Canoe & Kayak Magazine

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By: CanoeKayak.com / Posted on June 26, 2013

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The Corrido of Tommy YonleyA crew of hyphenated Americans travels to Mexico's oldest canoe race

By Nelly Rosario

Ed. note: The 50th runni ng of Mexicos olde st canoe race, the Rio Nazas Regata, takes place this Friday through Sund ay. This story by Dominican-American writer Nelly

Rosario recounts an unlikely road trip to last years race, the first in living memory to include an American competitor.

DURANGO, MxicoFollow the locals. Own a Velox Attack. Break your paddle.

This is how an American wins the oldest and longest kayak race in Mexico, held every July. Tommy Yonley is the first U.S. racer to compete in the 49th Ro Nazas Gran Regata

Boasting more than 100 competitors and thousands of spectators, the three-day race in Durango state is 90 miles of hard paddling down the river that inspired the events

motto: Lagunero, conoce tu ro.

The locals know their river, or at least fear and revere it.

Without an outlet to sea, the flow of the Nazas is bipolar: raging floods one season, no river at all the next. Droughts caused the regata to be canceled twice in its history, and

during dry season the racers train on irrigation canals. Competitors from other regions tease locals for not having a real river to practice on, jokes Jorge Ramrez, a past

Junior Division winner. Even if they could practice on the Nazas year-round, veteran racer Carlos Garza says that the rivers character changes between training runs and therace itself.

Those whove seen this devil dry know where his bumps are.

The earliest locals called the river Tlahualilo, Nahuatl for the devil. Then came the Spaniards, who took particular interest in the nasas they saw being used for fishing and

renamed the river after those small baskets. The Nazas basin is itself a basket, a vein in the desert that has also earned it the title the Nile of Mexico. Hoarding of the river in the

past caused violent feuds among the areas cotton barons, sometimes resulting in the dynamiting of dams, until the government appointed a commission for equitable

distribution of the waters.

The office of Daro Medina, Municipal President of the City of Nazas, is decorated with nasa miniatures. Hell tell you in simple terms why the river remains an issue in local

politics today and why his constituents prefer to call it Padre Nazas: He feeds us.

Day T-1.Its pouring the night we arrive to the campsite in Rodeo. Briefed only by online recon of the Nazas, Tommy is eager for a glimpse of the surrounding river. Our Mexican

hosts welcome us by flashlight, breaking through the heavy rain and darkness with tent assignments, barbecued meat and valuable information.

Big rapids, they advise. And follow the locals, who know where thepresas , the dams, lie.

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Everyone knows this isnt Tommys first rodeo. Hes won countless races, including the 2012 Texas Water Safari, The Worlds Toughest Canoe Race. In a boat named Spirit,

Tommy raced down 260 miles of rivers and bay, a flat-water challenge more of ultra endurance than the river running. (Purse: $0)

Nazas, on the other hand, is faster flowing than the San Marcos River and full of tree limbs and big boilschallenges Tommy welcomes. Hes here to train for one of the world

largest kayak race in Australia, where he and his wife will be racing in less than a month. The Avon Descent is said to be full of huge dams with lots of rocks, but for a Texan who

wants more racing challenges without having to travel so far, the Nazas offers similar conditions closer to home. (Purse: $2,000.)

Tommys game plan: Keep riding 1st place, since he seems to know where he is going.

Just as quickly as the locals learn his name, the very likeable Tommy also comes to know 1st place as the events poster child, last years winner Martn Rangel, AKA El Mudo.

With The Mute for a nickname, Martn might just be able to thwart Tommys strategy by staying in the lead without divulging the rivers secrets. The given name Martn, however

weighs down his kayak with a historical precedence that makes this story a larger one than that of a paddling race: his namesake is the first known mestizo in the Americas,

born to Spanish conquistador Hernn Corts and the Nahua woman Malinche. Said to be lover, intermediary, interpreter, and advisor to Corts, Malinche is the countrys veryown Pocahantas, cast by history as a major protagonist in the Spanish conquest of Mexico.

I feel some of El Mudos burden.

Travelling with Tommy is this Dominican-American writer, along with Mexican-American multimedia journalist Macarena Hernndez. Were daughters of Las Amricas, raised

in the USofA, whose fears of malinchismosway who we root for in the 2012 Conquest of Nazas.

Must we cheer on our fellow countryman, a Christian conservative and proud member of the Tea Party who argues with me against affirmative action and drinks a lot of milk?

Well root for the underdog instead, but even thats not too clear in this race.

Photo: Eric Ellman

Fourth of July falls on the eve of our trip. Macarena and I forego barbecues and fireworks to drive four hours from San Marcos to the border town of Laredo, Texas. We end up

celebrating Independence with salty hot dogs from Target.

The original travel plans to Mexico called for a group of Texas paddlers to meet in the border city of Laredo, then a 12-hour drive to Durango on bus, escorted by the Green

Angels, Mexi cos AAA. For too many re asons to n ame, those pl ans change . Were dow n to a motley crew of four Americans (two of u s hyphenated): Tommy, organizer Eric

Ellman, Macarena, and this very Nervous Nelly.

The State Departments carefully worded advisories warn that criminals have particularly targeted dark-colored SUVs. Well be travelling in Tommys black Honda SUV.

From the window of my hotel room at the Ro Grande Plaza, I watch the occasional fireworks above the Ro Grande. Mexicos city lights shine across the river, and I imagine a

war zone. My last trip there was eight months before 9/11, to the gringo/artist/tourist haven of Tepoztln. Corts is said to have razed the town after its leaders refused to meet

him. Today, its peaceful residents are engaged in civil resistance against Mexicos climate of insecurity, which Eric compares to the Revolution of 1910.

Downstairs in the lobby, though, Eric tries to ease my insecurities about the trip by invoking a New-York state of mind. Look, he says, I lived in the Lower East Side during the

70s. He goes on to credit Korean grocers with helping to save the neighborhoods in the city that were troubled. His theory is that, by leaving the lights on all night, the grocers

sparked more business to the area: one person turns on a light on little by little others do the same. In a sense, were trying to do that here, get something started, get a light on

the river here.

Somethings started, all right. Theres a brisk wind coming in from across the Ro Grande, which, after crossing the Laredo International Bridge tomorrow, Ill be calling by its

Mexican name, Ro Bravoor Fierce River.

The wind blows like this all year, says the man who works hotel reception, shortly after my talk with Eric. Gilbertos laid back and slow of movement, nothing like this wind

besides his regular commute between Mexico and Texas. Whats strange is that just a block a way not even a tree moves.
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He points out an 18th-century church that looms in the distance, right there in Scary Mexico. If anything, this is the best time to go. Its summer, more activity on the road, and a

new presidents just been elected.

Still, the winds of change are hard to read. Enrique Pea Nietos presidential win three days ago is being contested. Just yesterday, a car bomb killed two policemen. Rival

gunmen left 10 dead near Mexico City. Assailants opened fire on a wake near the U.S. border. At Pea Nietos first post-election news conference tomorrow, hell vow to adjus

the strategy so that Mexicans really feel an improvement in security and a reduction in crimes rates, especially homicide, kidnapping and extortion.

Ay, whatever.

Thats Macarenas take. No boogeymen are going to scare her from making this trip. Born and raised on the Texas-Mexico border, she insists that the narrative of Mexico has

always been that it is a scary place.

Mexicos my second home, she says. For me, this trip is not so much about kayaking as it is about reaffirming my right to be in Mexico and refuting the fear that has consumedso many of my own family members, including those who were born there and who refuse to cross because of all the border violence. As a reporter who covered the border,

Macarena knows that this fear is largely the product of media hype. Of course the narco story is what most interests the media. I mean, for a while I felt like I was being assigned

to write that singular narrative, and thats one of the reasons why I eventually left newspapers.

Yes, I get it, Macarena. During the Dominican wave of immigration to New York in the 1980s, the media caricatured us as Jheri-curled drug dealers. Especially since 9/11, Fea

of The Otherwhether fueled by real tragedy, hyperbole, anti-immigrant sentiment or a cocktail of all threehas infected the American psyche. How do I distinguish, then, this

collective fear from my very personal ones? What mother in her right mind ignores the concerns of loved ones and strangers alike and agrees to make the trip?

Like the Spanish missionaries who traveled with cross and sword, I have as much foolish faith in the unknown as I have the deepest fear of it. So it is that when Gilberto points

out the distant church steeple, my Catholic roots urge me to mentally do what I later see the Mexican paddlers do before each race: make the sign of the cross.

Long straggler. Probably not enjoying the scenery as he tries to catch up Photo: Eric Ellman

Eric travels with paddle and kayak on his mission. Hes Executive Director of Big River Foundation, which teaches communities to value the vital role rivers play in the web of

life through programs that foster respect and appreciation for river ecology and conservation. Another such light on the river are Erics efforts to unite paddlers from both

sides of the border on the Ro Grande.

His romantic mission and freewheeling persona easily invite comparisons to Don Quixote, a characterization Erics quick to dismiss. He often quotes the 1848 treaty whose

dreamy name is Peace, Friendship, Limits and Settlement between the United States of America and the Mexican Republic: the Ro Grande shall be free and common to the

vessels and citizens of both countries.

Both the law and Eric recognize that water can heal old wounds.

In 2008, he brought together the organizers of two time-honored river races on either side of the border in hopes of sparking a golden marriage. The Texas River Safari just
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celebrated its 50th anniversary this year Mexicos Ro Nazas Regata will celebrate theirs next year. Two storied canoe races, each with traditions stretching back over the

same half-century, neither aware of the other, writes Eric.

The same Ro Grande/Bravo that separates these paddlers can also reunite them. For the last three years Eric has organized the annual race now called the Laredos RioFest.

In 2008, the Nazas Escuela de Canotaje sent up their best ambassadors to put on a summer series of paddling demonstrations on both sides of the border. Twenty-one of their

members competed in the 33-mile race down the Ro Bravo. Among them were veterans Arturo El Ranchero Martnez, President of La Asociacin de Canotaje del Estado de

Durango Jos Ros, Technical Secretary and Trainer and regata organizer Alberto Villanueva, President of El Club de Canotaje. Alberto is also working closely with Eric to

establish La Asociacin Binacional de Canotaje, the Binational Canoeing Association. In Nazas, Alberto plays attentive and patient native host to our sometimes Ugly America

delegation.

A Sancho Panza mig ht tell Don Qui xote that this kayak crusades a tough sell on ei ther side of the bo rder: He who seeks danger p erishes i n it. There are ju st too many presas

to negotiate, too many logistics that occasionally make Eric have to portage the mission on his head.

For one, the three days of peace & paddling in Nazas, as a poster advertised to US paddlers, managed to attract only one competitor. The Mexican racers had been looking

forward to the confirmed participation of gold medalist Greg Barton, especially given the upcoming Summer Olympicsbut he withdrew.

Theres the obstacle of the border itself.

Only two Mexicans could attend last years RoFest awards ceremony in Laredo. Eric laments that the event showcases only the down-river marathon racing that Texans favor,

with no allowance for Olympic-style heats practiced by the Mexicans. In fact, the finish line was a quarter-mile downstream from where spectators from two nations might have

cheered as one.

Obstacles, if anything, can strengthen resolve. Tommy showed his soon after winning the Laredos RoFest competition. Because competitors could only meet on a small

wooden raft moored near the Mexican shore, he and former Yukon Challenge Champion Brad Pennington paddled over.

The way Eric tells it, On a partly submerged raft decked out with U.S. and Mexican flags they met their Mexican brothers and told them theyd see them before another year had

gone by.

Tommys banana-yellow kayak draws eyes in Mexico. A window wiper at a gas stop exclaims, Ive never seen these in person, only on TV! A woman at a taco stand in Rodeo

is optimistic that in three days shell be reading headlines about the gringos victory. And shortly after our arrival to the campsite, Mexican competitor Otto del Toro whistles at

the sight of the Velox Attack.

The fiberglass K1, custom-made by Kayak Centre, was shipped from South Africa to Texas in time for the race. The Mexican competitors race in Olympic stilettos, some handed

down through generations and weighing at least 19 pounds more than the Velox.

In fact, this race is essentially a microcosm of the Olympics, which London will host in a few weeks. While the ideals of the Games are admirable, the victories are predictable:

nations with the larger shovels mine the gold.

Im here to win, says an unapologetic Tommy.

The electrical engineer for Halliburton and sports-science geek is further armed with gadgets like wrist meter, drink tube, and foot-operated bilge pump.

His opponents tie plastic baggies of water and Gatorade to their life jacketsI cant help but think of deflated breasts. El Mudos never seen a kayak pump.

In the eyes of Chief Judge Geraldo Morales, though, all is fair in love and war: Its an education for usNext year, all these kayaks will have water pumps. (As it happens, one

of the veteran paddlers owns a water-pump company.)


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Marketing student Carlos Gustavo agrees that the bars being raised at Nazas. As the son of a sponsor, hes seen the same crop of winners and competitors each year. Beyond

the bells and whistles, he says its Tommys paddling skills that impress everyone. Hes really prepared. Though wed like the regata champion to be a lagunero , now theres a

foreigner forcing us to improve.

So what can they teach El Gringo?

In Carloss hazel-green eyes and wide smile lurks The Cheshire Cat. Well, Mexican culturethat you have to expect the unexpected and make do with what you have.

Day 1: Five locals help Tommy duct-tape his ruptured spray skirt.

Day 2: Tommys $450 paddle smashes on a leonine rapid called Boca del Len multiple racers offer replacement.

Day 3:Tommy borrows a skirt and a Braca IV Marathon paddle.

I ride wake, lots of wake, he writes in his logs. These guys do not like to draft much, but they dont mind me drafting.

Cesar Rios Quistian, son one of one of the events founders, has also competed every year since

childhood. Here he has liquid pouches for hydration. Photo: Eric Ellman

Jorge Ramrez paddles for the both of us down the Nazas. We ride Erics two-seater kayak, and I feel like Ms. Daisy as Jorge huffs answers to my questions. Hes good-

humored, the one to tell me about the teasing laguneros get about their non-river. After winning the Junior Division three years back, Jorge became a father and had to stop

training in order to work fulltime.

Now Im too fat, he says.

Yeah, were both out of shape. For Jorge, this cameo in the race marks the start of his plan to get back in the game. For me, its a rare workout and an opportunity to learn the

basics of paddling. Soon I put down the notepad, pick up the paddle, and nickname Jorge El Profe.

Overworked professors are demanding. Whenever the lazy student complains shes tired, El Profe lies that we have two more hours to the finish line. My job at the front is to

steer, he keeps saying, not just dip paddle into water.

Stay with me, he scolds, youre breaking rhythm.

Inhale on the right stroke, exhale on the leftits yoga. On every left stroke I smell alcohol.

Are you hung over? I ask.


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El Profe laughs, tells me to just steer the kayak toward the light in the water and away from the shadows, which are full of tricky currents.

Tommy and his wife Sandy paddle in much better rhythm. Together theyve raced and won in the Texas Water Safari, a feat that served as metaphor for their marriage and

helped to solidify it. As the Spirit Paddle Sports team USA, the Yonleys will win first place in the Avon Descents Double Plastic Mixed category weeks later.

Another tandem worth noti ng is competitor Anca Mateescu and her husban d Javier Flores, both i n attendance at Nazas. The Olympic-trained p ower cou ple met in Anca s nativ

Rumania and is now two children strong. She and Javier live a half-days drive away in Mexico City, where they run an outfitting business as well as a paddling school. Their

van is packed with family, along with student paddlers Paulina Sosa, 27, and Joanna Aries, 13. Theres also the gear Anca and Javier sell at the makeshift kiosk they set up in

stops along the regata. Anca comes in 7th in the Principiantesdivision. About the challenges of this race, including her loss of a paddle, Anca says, Were trained to paddle on

flatter waters.

Padre Nazas gives as much as he takes away.

Day 2, La Presa. The regata sees its first-ever fatality when the son of a competitor drowns in the reservoir. One moment, the caravan of family and friends picnics at the dam in

sunny La Presa the next, we sit grief-stricken under metallic skies. The clouds threaten rain, but none comes, just an impossible stillness in the air. The rest of the campers are

at a loss for words as El Mudo, among others, helps transport the boys body. I sit at a picnic bench, gripped by thoughts of the 13-year-old boy, with whom Id joked less than

two hours ago, of his parents, of my own 13-year-old, with whom Id spoken over the phone less than two hours ago. I think also of the 30-year-old Texas paddler who

succumbed to hyponatremia just a month ago, also the first death in the history of the Texas Water Safari.

Separated by language and a river they thought a barrier, writes Eric in 2011, these two groups, with a shared fixation that makes them brothers, grew up like twins separated

at birth.

Maybe Erics dream is not so Quixotic, after all. Its as if the rivers on either side insist on reminding us of what the pre-Hispanic peoples knew about the dynamism of duality,

that bordersbetween life and death, between countriesare as mutable as water itself. Filtered through Mexicos traditional Day of the Dead, to die or to race in these rivers

can be otherwise seen as expressions of rebirth and unlikely beginnings.

By end of day, the organizers decide that the regata must go on. By the fire and under moonshine, some of the campers mourn with song. We nurse a spirit called sotol, the

state drink of Durango, distilled by a complex process from the heart of the Desert Spoon, an ancient and resilient native plant.

Day 3. Macarenas video footage captures the finish line at the 2012 Ro Nazas Gran Regata. The top racersTommy, El Mudo, and Jess El Cuate Villelaare docked at the

rivers edge. Too exhausted to move, the three remain in their kayaks in an almost Christian tableau: El Gringo is flanked by The Mute and The Twin.

They grasp each others kayaks for balance.

The locals had been cheering Tommy on all alongthey cheer for everyoneand are now asking to pose with the winner.

Macarena congratulates Tommy, then ribs El Cuate with, Hey, I hope you havent been avoiding me because you assumed I was rooting for El GringoI just met him a day

before you did

Prior to last year, El Cuate had been champion for five years straight and competed in the Pan American games. He gives Macarena the smile of a good sport when she asks

him what he thinks of the race.

We gave this gringo a good run for his money, no? I challenge him to come back next yearThis time, Ill train for real.

No mention of death during the closing ceremony. Winners are presented with a plaque designed by laguneroartist and paddling auxiliary Francisco FernndezAKA

Pancho AKA Paco AKA Quico AKA Remero Plus. Tommy wins the purse of $2,000 US, $100 of which he donates to the event organizers toward funeral expenses. The

prize comes with a certificate that translates his loot into Centenarios, the solid-gold coins minted in 1921 to commemorate a century of Mexicos independence from an empire


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Photo: The Nazas flows through some of Mexico's most awesome desert scenery. Eric Ellman

Check back tomorrow for Macarena Hernndezs video of the Ro Nazas Gran Regata.

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0 comments

What's this?

Rack and Roll

I saw a video on how to use a

ratchet strap the other week on

Youtube for something that I was

Texas WaterSafari

Greatarticle and pics, Ashley!

Great race this year, and Jonhonestly

deserved the Brad Ellis Spirit Award.

CHIAPAS: Land of Rebels

This was exciting to

see - thanks for documentingthe run.

the ridiculously LOUD "we are

Cross-Country by Water

Wow - I'm 72 and took up

kayaking at age 70. It's a wonderful

outlet....I would love to do what she

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Last year, the Ikkatsu Project

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documentary, "Ikkatsu: The

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