Cover photo: @noa808napoleon

On January 26, 1992, legendary Argentine surfer Aguja di Pace got a tube at Sunset, right in front of the lens of another legendary surfer, photographer John Bilderback, who had his giant housing in the dangerous Sunset channel.

Thirty years later, Aguja returned to the Mecca, his 11th season at 51 years old and still commanding the bombs. While the world was watching Day 1 of the CT 2022 at Pipe, the talented Argentine regular footer was taking down waves at the original queen: Sunset.

“I came to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the double-page spread in Surfer, which was on January 26, 92. I came back 30 years later… It’s the 11th time I’ve come but I said “I have to come to celebrate the 30th anniversary.” So 30 years later, on January 29, I got some good ones too. Same day as Pipeline,” Aguja told DUKE.

“Sunset was epic, the day of the Pipe championship, it was epic, I hit a couple of tubes in the face of Jamie Mitchell. Hawaii is Hawaii, I took advantage of a cheap ticket and came, apart from that I was kind of sad at home, here I am having a better time,” said Aguja, referring to what caused the death of his brother, Carlitos di Pace in Pascuales, Mexico, on August 19.

Aguja di Pace made history at that Surfer, becoming one of the first Latinos in history to achieve a double-page spread in the world's leading surfing magazine, when everything was led by the United States and Australia.

You can read the story of what happened that season here.