The strangest phenomenon of every summer is also an industry of 500 million euros: the “Mermaiding”

The fever for ‘La Sernita’ that you lived in your childhood is nothing compared to the movement known as Mermaiding: a swimming style inspired by sirens and tritones and that is already trend, and it could almost be said that Lifestyle. Conventions, courses, exhibitions … There are people who live very happy without the lower extremities to replace them with a fish tail, even temporarily. And they have very convincing reasons.

To move the tail. He Mermaiding It consists of swimming using a siren or triton tail, usually manufactured in silicone or synthetic fibers (and that can cost $ 5,000 in the most sophisticated cases), simulating the undulating movements characteristic of these creatures. It can be done in swimming pools or open waters, and its practice combines Swimming, apnea and some synchronized. In the last decade, the Mermaiding It has become In official sports Since 2019 in countries such as China and the United States, but we talk about it every summer for its quirky visual characteristics, which obviously include a fish tail.

Mermaiding: A typology. There is Many variants and forms of practicing diminishing. Perhaps the most popular is the one oriented to the entertainment of profane in Sirenism. It provides the possibility of swimming experience with a siren or triton tail, and there are academies that are responsible for organizing Events to learn to do it. On the other side of the spectrum is the Mermaiding Deportivo: To officially practice it, specific courses are required with certifications such as SSI Mermaid either Padi Mermaidin which techniques such as the kick of dolphin, undulation and aquatic coordination are perfected.

In a middle ground between them there is a variant of Mermaiding For shows, aquatic and thematic parks, hotels, as well as participations in spots, video clips and varied performances. It’s a use of Mermaiding More artistic and not oriented to competition.

Mermaiding No: Sirenism. In Spain, mass conventions of sirens such as the Mermagic with that takes place every year in the United States, but for example, the Sirenas Mediterranean Academy It has been standing since 2014, giving courses and organizing private parties with sirens included. And there are organizations like Sirénida, a Professional Sirens and Triton Catalog Contractable for shows of all kinds. At the moment it is becoming, cursillo and of Cuqui Experiencein a more leisure option.

Professional sirens. The Netflix documentary of 2023 ‘Sirena people’ details what the day -to -day life of these Sirenism professionals is. Because yes, it is not a handful of eccentric with silicone tail: in the United States it is a business with abundant ramifications in the entertainment world, with interventions in aquariums, musicals underwater and a long etcetera. The documentary shows parts of the job of mermaid as little glamorous as castings to work as a siren in a show, and you can see that it is completely legalized and normalized. According to the program, the Sireno world already moves 500 million dollars in the United States.

Not so secret origins. From professional mermaid associations They certify that they have experienced an explosion of interest and an increase in applications in recent times, which link to the premiere of the Netflix documentary series. In it you can see those who were sirens in the park of Sirens Weeki Wachee, a theme park created by a royal sailor, Newton Perry, in 1947. In it there was a tiny scenario and a spring where the sirens made a show: the venerable precedents of the current sirens in aquariums and thematic shows.

Illustrious predecessors for a business that comes out again.

Header | Photo of Michael Hystead in Unspash

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