Acapulco cliff divers

It was a sweltering hot day when Dinh and I rolled into dusty Acapulco. After over 8 hours of driving, we were exhausted and desperate for a place to rest our bones. After little to no time searching for a hotel, we settled on a dump of a hotel in the middle of town. It had seen its hay day , to say the least. Termite worms squirmed on the bed sheets, gnawing at wood chips that they had bitten off the headboard. I've seen worse, but not by far. 
The decrepit hotel was owned by a helpful, straight-forward man named Pablo. We expressed our intent while in Acapulco: sleep and hit the road early in the morning. He strongly suggested we go see the famous cliff divers that night. They were performing at 7:30, 8:30, 9:30 and 10:30 pm. We were easily persuaded, but struggled to gain the ambition to leave the comfort of our air-con room. 
I grabbed my camera and Dinh and hoofed it up a seemingly never-ending hill, following Pablo's directions, "1 block, derecha, then derecho all the way up the hill." I started to smell the onions from the tacos I ate the night before weeping with the sweat from my armpits. It was the end of summer in Acapulco, but it felt like we were walking through Death Valley in July.
I'm here to tell you the truth about Acapulco: it's a has-been resort town. It's days are over. I could plainly imagine what it looked like at its height. Today, it's mildly depressing to be there and felt a tad bit dangerous. 

Human feces aroma wafted through the air as we traversed over sidewalks that appeared to be very beautifully decorated in a past era. 

We easily located the cliff from which the courageous divers jump from daily . 

At the admission gate, we met a fella named Angel. He engaged in a conversation with us and answered all the questions we had about the divers. I could immediately pick up on his high level of intelligence. It was a pleasure to speak with him. His English was impeccable, with a British accent.
He was a diver himself and had been diving off these cliffs for 21 years. 

After learning he was a diver, I had so many more questions to ask him. 
"Do you get nervous EVERY TIME you jump?", was the first question that blurted out of my mouth. 
"Every time", he quickly responded. 
"I'm so focused at that moment, I can't afford to make a mistake.", he added.
I felt so lucky to be having such an intimate conversation with one of the actual divers. We were getting the inside intel. It was an amazing opportunity. He informed us that he was supervising the divers tonight and would not be diving. 
We conversed for about 30 minutes, talking about things such as Hawaii, traveling and surfing.
It was almost time for the show to begin, so we bid adieu to Angel and headed down to get a good spot to watch the divers. 
Up until this point, we hadn't seen any tourists in Acapulco. Suddenly there were at least 30 foreigners before our eyes. The tourists had come out of the woodwork, congregating at the platform, eager to catch a glimpse of the famous divers. 
Soon enough, 6 young divers came strutting down the stairs to the viewing platform.
The torches they held lit up the darkening sky . 
The setting sun created a spectacular cotton candy glow.

The muchachos were short with lean bodies, equipped with 6-packs and speedos. 
They shocked the crowd by unexpectedly leaping off the rocks into the angry waters below. After swimming across a narrow channel, they began to make the ascent to the top of the jagged cliff. Personifying Spider Man, they methodically gripped the rocks while climbing to the top. 

2 alters were located on the top of the cliff, lighted up with images of the Virgin Mary . 
One by one, the divers took turns saying a prayer at the alter before hurdling themselves off the 125 foot cliff. 
I was nervous for them.

Everyone cranked their necks to the top of the cliff where the divers stood. 
Each diver would whistle and wave his hands, indicating he would be the next person plunging to the waters below. 
Examining the movement of the tide below, they patiently waited for the precise moment to dive. Everyone watched intently .The water below is only 6-16 feet deep, depending on the tide. Their body language exuded a tinge of fear, but hesitation could be a fatal mistake for them. 
Looking very professional, they performed Olympic style dives: The swan dive, back flips, multiple front flips. 
My camera captured them in mid air, forever freezing their structured bodies against the colorful evening sky . 

I tried to make sense of the reason behind their craziness. What made them want to become a diver? Was it for fame? To be part of a tradition? Family tradition? Men have been diving off this cliff since 1934. I'm sure there are huge bragging rights of an Acapulco cliff diver. 
I was thoroughly impressed by their courage. I remember the feeling I had when jumping off a measly 8 foot waterfall cliff in Hawaii. It took me at least 10 minutes to gather enough guts to jump. They jumped 15 times higher than I did. WOW.
Also, I couldn't get over how young some of these bold divers were. They were just kids, for God's sake!
I questioned the salary of the gusty juveniles. The admission fee was a petty $3.50, which couldn't amount to much when divided by 6. 
At the end of the show, you have the opportunity to take a picture with the divers for 20 pesos, which is about $1.50. 
I wanted my pic with them, of course. 
Right before the camera snapped, the boys exclaimed "Tequila!" in unison, making me chuckle.