Gonzalo Arcila Memorial Ceremony

Over 200 people – family members and friends – gathered for a memorial ceremony to celebrate and honor the life of Gonzalo Arcila.  Gonzalo passed away on 23 October 2016, and the ceremony was held at The Akumal Dive Shop on Wednesday, October 26th at 3:00 pm.  Acting as hostess for this event was Jimkrid Chrino Urribari who recounted aspects of Gonzalo’s life and invited Gonzalo’s mother, Wilma, and his sister, Betty, to speak to this tremendous outpouring of friends, all dressed in white.  Padre Hubert, originally from Germany and a long-time friend of the family, offered his memory of Gonzalo along with prayers of comfort for the crowd.

The Akumal Dive Shop was laden with huge wreathes, and many bouquets were presented to the individuals who embarked on 15  boats, also flower-bedecked,  to make the short trip through the Cut to cast Gonzalo’s ashes into the Akumal waters he knew so well.  A drone was flying high to record the crowd and the tossing of bouquets into the water.  When the boats returned,  a video of highlights of Gonzalo’s life was shown.

Many Akumal businesses were closed out of respect for Gonzalo’s influence in the Akumal community, and employees of Akumal’s dive shops were represented in full force.  The fleet of 15 boats were local, as well as from Playa del Carmen and other dive shops in the area.

What follows is a personal account written by a dear friend of Gonzalo’s:

Gonzalo Ívan Arcila González left this earth to start exploring new territory on Sunday, October 23, 2016.   He was 62 years old, and had been part of the fabric of Akumal and the Riviera Maya for the past four decades.  Gonzalo had fought a quick and terminal battle with cancer,  his dearly loved partner and companion Ingrid Datica at his side.  Ingrid had been his ‘amor’ for two decades, and it is comforting to think of the love and support she  provided throughout his final days.   Many of his nearest and dearest feel he has only exited this biosphere…. to begin travels to his next adventure.  

Gonzalo’s beloved son, Ívan Arcila Carranza, who is currently studying at Boston University, arrived at his side last week.  María Elba Carranza, Ívan’s mother, and Ívan’s sister Bianca Carranza Orvananos, were at  Gonzalo’s side as well, and are all experiencing this sudden and great loss.  All of Gonzalo’s family, mother Wilma, father Jorge, siblings Wilma, Betty, Jorge, Mauricio, Guiomar…and his many friends and family members, will dearly miss their son, brother, father…friend. 

Gonzalo was one of the original divers and entrepreneurs of Akumal.   Having arrived in Akumal from his hometown of Mérida in 1980, he was a skilled dive master and instructor,  with a naturally charismatic personality that gave him the ability to easily share his knowledge and open the window to the diving wonders of the Meso-American Reef.   By 1982, Gonzalo had made the full move to Akumal to work with Dick Blanchard running the Akumal Dive Shop, which was one of the first PADI five-star operations.  As the partnership developed, Gonzalo was responsible for scouting and bringing many adventurous dive masters and instructors,  along with explorers, to Akumal.  During this time, the Akumal Dive Shop was quietly making great discoveries and providing great SCUBA training.   In these early years, Gonzalo honed his artistic and creative skills as an underwater photographer.  This talent, along with his ability to bring great diving experiences and a passion for the area and exploring, lead him to become the perfect promoter of Akumal.   He was sought after as a photographer, and his works and collaborations with many renowned film projects, books, and the well known Biosphere Two are just the tip of the list of his works.