4th Annual

Mazatlan Sand

Sculpture Contest

Beto's Arte en Arena was a huge event this year. An estimated 8,000 people crowded the beach between the Fiesta Inn and the Caravelle Club hotels. 49 teams entered the contest in 5 categories, making castles, dragons, Buddhas, frogs, sunbathers and the Titanic. Five Master Sculptors from 4 countries worked Saturday and Sunday to create display sculptures. The sponsors sold beer, sodas and water, the vendors worked a rapid pace, and the crowd seemed to love it all.

The Community of Mazatlan came together to make this event happen. The Tec de Monterey provided volunteers for everything. They also sold the water and Toni Col, and then turned around and gave the money to Amigos de Los Animales. Codetur, the organization that produces Carnival, supplied the stage and Port-a-Potties. Toni Col supplied the sound system, Martrop supplied the stakes for the plots, and Pacifico supplied the tents.

This year we had Judges from some of Mazatlan's arts community, including Roberto Osuna, Director of Carnival, Rigaberto Lewis, the designer of the floats for Carnival, and Ricardo Urquijo, Director of the Angela Peralta Theatre. We also were blessed with this year's Carnival Queen as the Trophy Presenter.

National Media Coverage

The event even had national coverage with the TV show "Cada Mañana" covering the event, (it's like a Good Morning America show) on the TV Azteca network. Televisa also gave the contest national coverage. Special thanks should be given to the Newspapers Noreste, Sol del Pacifico, El Debate, Premier Hora, The Pacific Pearl and radio La Jefa for publicity before the event.

This Year

Mazatlán´s ever-popular Sand Sculpture Contest will take place this year on Saturday, February 7th & Sunday, February 8th on the wide beach between Hotel El Faro and the Pueblo Bonito at the north end of Av. Camarón Sábalo. On Sundays before the competition Bert Adams, the founding father of the Mazatlán sand castle competition, will be on hand at the beach to teach aspiring sculptures the techniques of forming sand into magical forms. As in years past, professional sand sculptures will be on the beach on Saturday weaving their magic with the two simple ingredients of sand and water. Sunday is open competition day from 10:00am – 3:00 pm. Individuals, families, kids & youth teams are invited to compete and can register at 9:00am on Sunday at the beach site. Prizes will be awarded at 4:00pm on Sunday in all categories. The Mazatlán Sand Sculpture Competition is the largest such contest in Latin America and draws a huge, appreciative crowd every year. It´s a time to slap on the sunblock and hat, take off your shoes and wander through the imaginative world of turtles, Egyptian Kings, mermaids, cavorting dolphins and a crowd of people enjoying themselves. We´ll see you there!