Not long ago I referred to how important it is to maintain memory, how important it is to do good historiographical work not only to do the exercise of learning something but to know where we are and why we are here.

If there are any departments in which surfing has a huge debt, it is precisely this one, and I must say that this is especially true in Latin America. We live off incredible anecdotes that spread from barbecue to barbecue and meeting to meeting, but little is written, little is cared for and little is documented.

And the truth is that as time goes by, just like a fisherman's tale, the story is distorted, nuanced, interpreted in a thousand different ways and that does no one any good. Even though our thing, surfing, is something so small, those of us who like it care about preserving what happened with the pioneers, what really happened, that credit is given to whom it is due and a huge etcetera that is not worth continuing. The point is made.

This is why I celebrate and get excited when I see the trailer for the documentary El diario del gringo by Rodrigo Farías Moreno. Someone who has also been in charge of leaving the history of surfing in his country, Chile, well documented, adds another gem to humanity.

The reality is that he launches his project, takes the photo and certainly doesn't make any money... Knowing how things are here, maybe he even loses... What Rodrigo does is give us the truth, give us the well-documented story of an event that was previously an enigma, a mystery, precisely: A barbecue chat, a tale among friends and now it becomes the pure and hard truth, the history of surfing in our countries, something that for me is extremely important.

The suspicions and details of this documentary, which premieres on November 18, are brilliant: Rodrigo circulated a hand-drawn picture of a bearded gringo on social media to find him, to find him, since the stories were that a crazy gringo had surfed those waves in the seventies on the former Alacrán Island. And he found him! And he went looking for him and interviewed him.

And there is the story from the other side, from the veteran Chilean surfers who wanted to talk to him and there is the gringo who says that he discovered and surfed a wave like Pipeline alone.

The Arica context, to top it off; the old cultures that have been found there, specifically on the island itself and the importance that the sea had for that people, ends up being an impressive context, which transfers to the documentary a potential winner of prizes not only in surfing festivals but in any other.

But I reiterate the importance of people like Rodrigo and his care for our history; a history of a very small activity but one that is very rich and, of course, very important to us.

-The El Gringo documentary has a release date: https://dukesurf.com/el-documental-de-el-gringo-tiene-fecha-de-estreno/

-These are the lists for the elections of the Peruvian federation: https://dukesurf.com/these-are-the-lists-for-the-elections-of-the-peruvian-federation/

-There will be a South American Youth Championship in Punta Rocas in December: https://dukesurf.com/habra-sudamericano-juvenil-en-punta-rocas-en-diciembre/

-Sean Gunning's super floater: https://dukesurf.com/el-super-floater-de-sean-gunning/

-ALAS de Venao already has more than 75 registered users: https://dukesurf.com/alas-de-venao-ya-tiene-mas-de-75-inscriptos/

-This is how Argentina, Chile and Colombia travel to the ISA World Para Surfing Championship: https://dukesurf.com/asi-viajan-argentina-chile-y-colombia-al-mundial-isa-de-para-surfing/

-Kanoa went to the south of Spain to surf some perfect right-handers: https://dukesurf.com/kanoa-went-to-the-south-of-spain-to-surf-some-perfect-right-handers/

-Callinan and Morais say goodbye to Billabong after almost two decades together: https://dukesurf.com/callinan-and-morais-say-goodbye-to-billabong-after-almost-two-decades-together/

-Surfing Kelly's Pool in Abu Dhabi costs US$950 for 90 minutes: https://dukesurf.com/surfear-la-piscina-de-kelly-en-abu-dabi-cuesta-us-950-los-90-minutos/

-WSL Junior World Championships will be in the Philippines in January: https://dukesurf.com/wsl-junior-world-championships-will-be-in-the-philippines-in-january/

-One of the best videos of the year: Curren, Steph and Mason: https://dukesurf.com/one-of-the-best-videos-of-the-year-curren-steph-and-mason/

-Roman Diez is the new president of the Spanish federation: https://dukesurf.com/roman-diez-es-el-nuevo-presidente-de-la-federacion-espanola/

-Thiago Passeri breaking the Salvadoran waves: https://dukesurf.com/thiago-passeri-rompiendo-las-olas-salvadorenas/

-This is how Costa Rica travels to the Para Surfing World Cup: https://dukesurf.com/this-is-how-costa-rica-travels-to-the-para-surfing-world-cup/

-Brisa left her eternal board sponsor, Town and Country: https://dukesurf.com/brisa-hennessy-dejo-su-eterno-patrocinador-de-tablas-town-and-country/

-This is how the powerful Spanish team is formed for the Para Surf World Championship: https://dukesurf.com/asi-forma-el-poderoso-equipo-espanol-para-el-mundial-de-para-surf/

-Vibrating the preview of the ALAS of Guatemala with César and Cristian on a morning of good waves in El Paredón: https://dukesurf.com/vibrando-la-previa-del-alas-de-guatemala-con-cesar-y-cristian-en-manana-de-buenas-olas-en-el-paredon/

-Las Golondrinas opened its second hotel in the Dominican Republic: https://dukesurf.com/las-golondrinas-abrio-su-segundo-hotel-en-republica-dominicana/

-Winter is coming to Europe and these things are happening in Hossegor: https://dukesurf.com/winter-is-coming-to-europe-and-these-things-are-happening-in-hossegor/

-The numbers for the Para Surfing World Championship: https://dukesurf.com/los-numeros-del-mundial-de-para-surfing-que-esta-la-vuelta-de-la-esquina/

-There is already a date for the conclusion of the first Glassy Waves Triple Crown: https://dukesurf.com/there-is-already-a-date-for-the-conclusion-of-the-first-glassy-waves-triple-crown/

-There will be QS in Cerritos, Baja California Sur, Mexico: https://dukesurf.com/there-will-be-qs-in-cerritos-baja-california-mexico/

-Some clips from the final day of the ALAS de Puerto Rico: https://dukesurf.com/algunos-clips-del-dia-final-del-alas-de-puerto-rico/

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