Environment

Florida’s underwater music festival seeks to raise environmental awareness

Miami, Sep 18 (EFE).- The 37th edition of the Underwater Music Festival was held on Saturday at the reefs of the Looe Key inside the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, situated in the far south of the United States.

Divers and snorkelers explored parts of the only living coral reef in the US, while listening to the beats of the underwater music festival, organized to promote the reef’s protection and eco-conscious diving.

Presented by the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce, the concert provided a “submerged soundtrack” for the divers discovering the Keys’ “diverse realm of tropical fish, coral formations and other marine life,” according to a statement by the organizers.

The music, played by the age-old local broadcaster US1 Radio, was played underwater through loudspeakers hung under boats over the reefs, but was also available for listening for drivers on the iconic US1 highway that begins in Key West, Florida.

The participants in the unique program could move their bodies in deep water to the tune of hits such as “Yellow Submarine” by the Beatles and tunes from The Little Mermaid and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Some of the divers had dressed up as mermaids for the event, while others imitated marine animals and pretended to play musical instruments in the sea to entertain the participants.

The marine sanctuary recently celebrated 30 years of protecting the waters around Florida Keys, including the reef that runs parallel to the island chain.

In order to meet the festival’s objective, the music was interspersed with messages by the divers about ways to judiciously enjoy the submarine vistas and minimizing environmental impacts that endanger reefs worldwide.

The Underwater Music Festival was founded in 1985 by Bill Becker, the musical director of US1 Radio, first in order to provide a source of entertainment in an area that hardly had any cultural activities, and later as a way to generate consciousness over preservation of the coral reefs. EFE

lka/ia

Related Articles

Back to top button