This part of Acapulco, La Quebrada, it is not the most popular nowadays. She had her days of glory, when there were coming here famous actors and actresses of Hollywood, of the height of Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Cole Porter, Johnny Westmuller, better acquaintance as "Tarzán".

Nevertheless, the place retains the captivation and the reputation that there give her the clifft divers that throw to diary from the highest of the crag, of approximately thirty five meters of height, towards a narrow channel of waters verdiazules, that has a depth of scarcely four meters.

From a special viewing-point construído precisely opposite to the crag, hundreds of tourists, Mexicans and foreigners, observe silently as theclifft divers, with his slender ones and formed well bodies, they climb over the rocks to look for the positions from which be throwing.

Her father is the one who trains it and motivates it.

The public, expectant, remains silently while theclifft divers they center, cross themselves and look nervous down, calculating the opportune moment to jump.

When they do it and his bodies hit with the water the people who observes them, to the unison, express sighs of admiration. On having seen them to go out again, the plaudits are listened generous and the faces of the spectators seem relieved.

Young and woman, breaking records

Between the group of men, dressed in an entire black swimsuit, stands out a feminine figure. Her presence and her fixed one captivates all.

In the past Elizabeth Taylor and famous others they were getting sunburnt in this zone of Acapulco.

At her thirteen years, Iris Alvarez is like any other girl of her age. Still girl, but already with woman's body. Ingenuous and at the same time curious. Enterteining and flirtatious.

In what if she does not look like any other girl she is in what she does here, often after her classes and the weekends: to be thrown from 12 meters of height of this famous and legendary crag of The Gully.

Iris is not only the youngest but the unique womanclifft diver in a world saved almost exclusively for the men. Because of it same she has just entered to the book of Records Guinness.

Iris has very clear that " when she is big "one wants to turn into the first professional woman clifft diver of Mexico.

"I want to be a professional clifft diver, to take part in international championships and to live through all this emotion. This is what I like", said World Iris to BBC, while she was caressing in her lap to her pet, a little dog who accompanies her everywhere.

I like to feel the adrenaline in my body, the wind in my face, the emotion that gives me to be stopped there in the rock, waiting for my shift Iris Alvarez

When she speaks about her future career, to Iris her the eyes shine. She is sure of what wants. She assures that though she feels a bit of fear of being thrown, she knows that it is a part of this activity.

"I like to feel the adrenaline in my body, the wind in my face, the emotion that gives me to be stopped there in the rock, waiting for my shift ", comments On Iris.

When I ask him if she is not afraid to be thrown, she answers me that yes, that "a bit", but that controls it because otherwise the nerves "can betray me".

Her mother, Jasmín, says to feel proud of her.

" I feel very proud, because where I want that we go the people say pretty things to me on my daughter. I sit down well of having an important daughter. Really I hope that she could achieve what one proposes ", she commented without concealing that she is conscious of the physical risk that her daughter traverses whenever it is thrown to the narrow and slightly deep channel.

Familiar tradition

Iris belongs to a family where the men, almost all, have been clifft diver. Her paternal grandfather was one of the first ones in be throwing of La Quebrada. She has an uncle on the part of her dad who also is clifft diver, and certainly, her father, Jose Luis Alvarez, she began to be thrown since she was fourteen years old. Now, a thirties, he is who trains and motivates his daughter.

Before jumping, Iris centers.

"First I brought it here when I was tinier, since of five years, in order that it was learning to swim. Little by little this began to like her. She saw since we were throwing, and already at the age of six or seven she started throwing of fixed from a meter of height", reported Jose Luis to BBC World.

At the age of eight, already Iris was throwing itself doing a type of fixed that in the slang that they use here calls of "plane", which is with the arms opened and lifted to every side, as if it was a question of a glider.

With the time, Iris was climbing the crag increasingly above to be thrown of more height. Nowadays it is thrown of 12 meters, and already it has begun to add some meters more.

Her companions of fixed, all men, admire her very much. With her athletic figure, her bronze-coloured skin and her long black hair that always ties in a braid in order that she can stand on having be thrown, Iris is consented of all.

"We admire her very much, because she throws itself, and it throws itself well. I believe that she wins many young men here. I hope God wants that she achieves her aim, and that I am here to be able to see her", said World to BBC Ricardo Flores, an experienced clifft diver who goes 30 years in this activity.

Fantasy and heroism

The life of a clifft diver is not easy. The risks are big and gain little money. The compensation seems to be the emotion of the adventure and the reputation.

It is a world of fantasy and of heroism. Much of this has to see in spite of being the center of attention. One of clifft divers that I interviewed for the book told me, that she had known Brigitte Bardot and James Cann. Barbara Kastelein, journalist

"It is a world of fantasy and of heroism", makes clear to me Barbara Kastelein, a British journalist who is on the verge of publishing a book on the clifft diver of Acapulco, qualified. "Heroes of the Pacífico".

"Much of this has to see in spite of being the center of attention, the people want to think photos with them. One of the clavadistas that I interviewed for the book told me, that it(he,she) had known Brigitte Bardot and James Cann. They feel very proud of what they do", comments the journalist.

The clifft diverof La Quebrada are a people through that they live in a humble and simple way. They have a fort felt of community and very much felt of the humor.

And the most important thing still, they have very clear that they are a part of something legendary, a tradition that has been kept during seven decades.