▲ The land of the trombone and the drum was one of the few places in the world where the astronomical phenomenon was observed in its entirety.Photo José Carlo González
Mazatlán, Sin., One minute to totality!
, shouted a voice from the stage speaker. The announcement caused joy among the thousands of souls who gathered in the Sister Cities park of this tourist spot on the Pacific. Expectantly, everyone watched the sky with special glasses to contemplate the eclipse.
At 11:07 (local time) the Moon, the Earth and the Sun aligned, giving way to what some called cosmic dance
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At the moment of the zenith, protective glasses were no longer necessary in this city, one of the few places in the world where the eclipse was total, which allowed it to be seen directly for the four minutes that totality lasted. There came an ecstasy that was expressed in a cluster of reactions and emotions.
Look at what beauty, look at what beauty!
said a woman trembling and with a broken voice to her teenage son who clung to her hand as when he was a little boy who needed maternal protection. She tried to contain herself, but burst into tears without stopping to look at the sky.
The drums, percussions and trombone characteristic of banda music – recently reviled because of their boisterous tones by foreign tourists and a powerful state businessman who called for its extinction – were waiting expectantly for the end of the phenomenon to begin with the chords of this traditional genre of the region.
When total darkness emerged, the scream was deafening. A blackened Moon, crowned by a halo of such brilliant white that at times it looked almost raised, landed at the highest point in the sky and projected its shadow over Mazatlán.
First came the hubbub and, as the minutes passed, an expectant calm that was only broken by voices, roars or actions with which an attempt was made to describe the sensations. It was difficult to put that magical moment into words. It went from silence to bustle in seconds.
Don’t suck, guy, don’t suck!
said a veteran photographer – who did not lose attention to his lens for a moment – to his colleague, who also looked spellbound in the midst of the brief darkness that allowed the appearance of some stars and the planet Mercury.
People couldn’t believe it, especially the younger ones, who had never witnessed a phenomenon like this.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen a (total) solar eclipse. It was incredible! It was amazing! I started to feel like joy and I said to myself: ‘Wow!’ The person I came with started crying, because it was a very special moment,” said Eva, 27 years old and a chemical engineering student at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, who traveled from the country’s capital. Due to her youth, she calculated that she will see the following in 2052: Yes, I will arrive
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The ambient temperature dropped at the same time that total darkness appeared. A cold wind blew while the birds flew bewildered and in the same direction: towards land.
At the same time, on the horizon, over the Pacific Sea, the pink tones of the aura appeared that illuminated the intersection between the sea and the sky. The event impacted the tides, which rose slightly.
An extraordinary, unusual alignment that is usually repeated in the same territory many years apart. In Mexico it will not happen until 28 years from now: March 30, 2052.
Like carnival
From the stage, where the first stage of the partiality was enlivened with chamber music that has soundtracked iconic science fiction films set in the cosmos, such as The blue Danube, which accompanied a scene of 2001: A Space Odyssey, part of the soundtrack Star Wars, The scientist explained the process to the loudspeaker: just seconds before totality the diamond ring appeared. In the four minutes of the zenith, the appearance of the solar corona, the brilliant ring that crowned the Moon, could be witnessed. An eclipse is – it was detailed – the only time for scientists to study this part of our star, since on usual days the burning brightness of its surface prevents its analysis.
In Mazatlán there was a second carnival of the year, but yesterday it was dedicated to a phenomenon that encouraged the scientific curiosity of thousands around the world.
The party spread along the most emblematic points of the boardwalk, but also in spaces such as the rooftops of high buildings, where observation was carried out, such as that of the members of the Charles Messier Astronomical and Research Society.
Verónica Ramírez, amateur astronomer and member of this group, witnessed her second total solar eclipse. That July 11, 1991 – the last such event to be seen in Mexico – she was just a child. Almost 33 years later, the day finally arrived: It seemed far away, but the moment to get here was short
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He observed a big difference between 2024 and 1991: today technology was his ally and allowed not only to capture images and videos with mobile phones, powerful digital cameras and specialized observation instruments, there were also live broadcasts on social networks and Internet channels.
At the other end of the city, next to the Mazatlan lagoon, Natalie Gallón, a Colombian-American, had another experience. She preferred the tranquility of a less crowded area.
Practically alone he traveled in his own reflections: I can’t stop crying, I’m super emotional. The birds flew (towards land). Here it was like a sunset. Everything became super quiet; It was a beautiful silence
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He managed to capture on video the flock of birds flying and as he did so, a dragonfly landed on his cell phone and remained motionless there almost throughout the darkness.
When the light reappeared, the birds returned to the air, began to sing, to eat. Very cute, beautiful! What a thrill, wow! They are giving me chills (when narrating the experience). Science is exact, at the precise times they said everything would happen, it happened; everything moved in order. A beauty!
According to local authorities, Sinaloa received 750 thousand visitors for the eclipse. People from all over the country and beyond the borders gathered in Mazatlán.
After four minutes of totality, it could not be otherwise, the traditional band music was heard at high decibels from the speakers. The chords of The Sinaloan They began and at the same time the dance began, which gave way to the second part of the eclipse, the final part.