Remember when Mazatlán had frequent sand sculpture contests? I do; I absolutely LOVED them!

Enter a young man from Zihuatanejo, Daniel Fermín, who currently studies visual arts in Morelia. He is in Mazatlán from now through Christmas, and is making his living via the tips we give him in exchange for enjoying his sand art.

Daniel was making a different sand sculpture every day, starting at 6 am and ending at sunset. On Wednesday he made a giant catrina; on Thursday a sand castle. He tells me he may keep the castle up for a while, even though castles are not his favorites. But he says he makes better tips with castles because the public seems to prefer them to other designs. Personally, the photo he had of an octopus he sculpted was my favorite. I asked him if he’d do that here, and he wouldn’t commit. Click on any photo to enlarge it or view a slideshow.

He asks that if you go to admire his work and take photos that you please leave him a little something to help keep him fed. I think that the major hotels in town should commission Daniel to personalize a sculpture for them and their guests, and do photo ops! Don’t you think, local empresarios??? The guy who rents umbrellas is helping him out, and a local family is graciously putting him up.

Daniel can be found on the beach below the Fisherman’s Monument. Be sure to check out him and his creations from time to time through the rest of the year.

Below are a few more pics that I couldn’t resist taking during our visit. I hope you enjoy them.