Given the important tourism potential of Río Lagartos and its surroundings, especially in the field of Ecological Tourism, the second edition of the Annual Octopus Festival was held with great success in this port.
Governor Mauricio Vila Dosal inaugurated this event that aims to position Río Lagartos as a gastronomic tourism destination where a wide variety of dishes based on this mollusk are offered.
The Octopus Festival 2019 (Festival del Pulpo 2019) included tastings, workshops, excursions, as well as recreational and cultural activities.
The governor arrived at Río Lagartos on Friday October 18, around 9 pm. He mingled with the crowd at the “Malecón“, tasting different snacks made of octopus with good appetite. He spent the night there to continue on Saturday 19 with a public ceremony in which he delivered housing titles to local senior citizens, and also to inaugurate a newly constructed road section in the region.
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Photo: TYT
Under the slogan “Taste, Nature and Tradition”, the Octopus Festival is part of the strategy with which tourism is being promoted in this municipality that has one of the most important Biosphere Reserves in our country, which boasts incomparable natural beauties. Río Lagartos could become a destination with the ability to attract national and international tourism at great scale.
“We see an important tourist potential for the port of Río Lagartos that we must continue to promote. Travelers visiting this port realize that they have access to all kind of services, roads, hotels, restaurants and bars, but most importantly they get to know the hospitality of the Yucatecan prople, ”said Vila Dosal.
Accompanied by major Eric Alcocer Estrada and Perla Tabasco González, president of Tourist Services of Río Lagartos, the governor stated that the remodeling of 1.5 kilometers of the Malecon will be carried out, with an investment of 7 million pesos, in order to improve the urban image.
“Mérida will host next year the biggest tourist event in the whole country, the” Tianguis Turistico 2020 “, which has the greatest projection at international level, and of course that one of the attractions that we are going to promote is going to be Río Lagartos, that is why we are here today, to support the Octopus Festival, that is why we are going to invest in the remodeling of the boardwalk and this is only the beginning; if we continue working hand in hand, we can do much more, ”added the governor.
Vila Dosal declared that at the beginning of this year, he personally delivered in this port boat engines, satellite location equipment and vessels through a special program to promote local fisheries and aquaculture productivity, with an investment of 40 million pesos.
Prior to the inauguration of the festival, Vila Dosal reiterated the willingness of the State Government to work together with the municipalities in the construction and remodeling of streets and roads, so he said that his administration offers machinery and labor, while the mayors contribute with the resources and materials.
The opening ceremony was attended not only by the governor, but also by Carlos Ávila Pedraza, Undersecretary of Sustainable Tourism Development of the Ministry of Tourism Development (Sefotur); Rafael Combaluzier Medina, Secretary of Fisheries and Sustainable Aquaculture of the state and local representative, Mirthea Arjona Martín.
Creativity in culinary arts
The octopus festival brought the best out of Río Lagartos, with the participation of 12 restaurants that gave their best to prepare delicious and innovative octopus-based dishes.
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Pizza de Pulpo
Mexican and Yucatecan classics featuring octopus!
Some of the creations featured typical Mexican and Yucatecan dishes, but with an “Octopus Twist”…
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PULPO PIBIL
Octopus innovation
Some of the local restaurants came up with different, creative and innovative octopus-based dishes.Previous / Next Image (4 of 6)
PULPO & CHAMPINGNON
A celebration
The octopus festival aroused great interest in many national and foreign tourists who gathered in Rio Lagartos to taste the exquisite octopus-based food, enjoy the fantastic weather and three days and nights of party and excitement in this picturesque fishing village that is evolving into an important tourist center in the northeastern area of the state of Yucatán.
Artisans and merchants from various points of the state had a presence in this festival, where they offered all kinds of items, many of which bore the image of the octopus represented in different ways, with the creativity that characterizes the people of our beloved state.Previous / Next Image (4 of 6)
During the festival artistic presentations took place as well, the folkloric ballet of Río Lagartos, Panabá, Sucilá and Las Coloradas, the jaranera orchestra, singers Marisol Centeno and María San Felipe, saxophonist Orlando Núñez, cellist Gottlieb Fischer and tropical music Grupo San Francisco.
This second edition of the festival exceeded all expectations and made it evident that the area of Río Lagartos, San Felipe and Las Coloradas has the potential to become an important tourist destination, the location is well known as the home of the emblematic Pink Flamingo, the Moreletti Crocodile and a wide diversity of birds that can be observed during the tours or simply by the boardwalk.
Rio Lagartos is not just a fishing coastal town anymore, today they have a good quality hotel infrastructure, several restaurants specializing in seafood and typical Yucatecan food, and the port is set to become a major sustainable ecologic world class tourist destination that will attract a certain kind of tourists that are interested in this type of traveling.
Photos and article by Alejandro Azcárate for The Yucatan Times
