A beautiful thing happened in Akumal and Playa del Carmen in the Riviera Maya this past Sunday when locals and visitors alike came together to show their support for Haitian earthquake relief. As little as a week before it all started as an idea, to put together a benefit event, complete with food, drink and live music, and donate the proceeds to Doctors Without Borders Emergency Relief Fund which ensures that medical teams can react to the Haiti emergency, and humanitarian crises all over the world. With a little luck and a lot of effort it all came together on time, complete with a raffle, t-shirts and a "mercado", market.
Wicky's in Playa del Carmen, and CEA in Akumal were the hosts for the events. Their staffs were wonderful helping with the last minute details. In Playa people ate on the beach listening to J.J. and The Nasty Bastards Band, Chris Bolister, Brent Parkin, Mike Grabow, Barefoot Skinny and Gary with his Gringos Perdidos! It was a windy day but people did not let the breeze interfere with their Sunday fun. In Akumal Caribbean Soul Band, Men in Blues of Puerto Morelos and Bandikoro of Tulum played and everyone danced with the moon overhead.
The bands started a little late in Akumal but once everything got going everyone had a good time. There was plenty of good friends, good food and drink all around. Some of the businesses who donated food & drink were: Pepsi, Turtle Bay Cafe, Lol Ha and La Buena Vida. CEA donated use of the stage and some volunteers to assist. The Akumal Council (aka. Consejo de Akumal) provided security. In Akumal there was a Mayan ceremony performed by Charlie and Maria of Tulum in honor of our Caribbean brothers and sisters. With lit candles, holding hands, the ceremony touched the souls of many of the participants, some in tears, as we all thought of the people in Haiti. An experience so special to be part of.
The show was MC'ed by Gerardo Dominguez and interim DJ music between bands was spun by Bobby Sapia—aka. DJ Spin Bobby. Scott Brown snapped all the photos seen on this page and put together an excellent video on the Haitian earthquake to remind us all why we were there. The artful Youtube videos below that almost put you in the scene were shot by John Mark Davis. Many thanks go to the volunteers who donated their time to sell tee-shirts, tickets for the raffle, food and drinks, served food, or made sure things happened ontime. Those individuals include: Dani, Marieke, Milka, Alma, Jen, Marcy (with her fractured leg!), Charlene, Kay, Jamie, Michael, Gary, Scott, Mike (who gave massages), and others whose names I do not know. Many, many thanks to you all. Without them the show would not have been possible.
