New life at Cancun Underwater Museum

Currently drawing about 750,000 visitors a year, MUSA is already one of the region's most popular attractions. Currently drawing about 750,000 visitors a year, MUSA is already one of the region's most popular attractions. Photo: Cancun CVB Photo: Cancun CVB Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close New life at Cancun Underwater Museum 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

For most U.S. travelers, Cancun and the Riviera Maya are purely winter destinations. Makes sense — who doesn't think about warm beaches when temps drop and winds howl, even in the relatively mild Bay Area? But this summer brings a new reason to brave an occasional wilting spell in the Caribbean's summer heat: The population of the Cancun Underwater Museum, also known by its Spanish acronym MUSA, is about to expand.

Cancun's, and perhaps Mexico's, most unusual attractions will install its third phase on July 16 with installation of 63 new sculptures, which are designed to become home to coral and other marine creatures.

Currently drawing about 750,000 visitors a year, MUSA is already one of the region's most popular attractions. It was created in 2010 when 200 life-sized sculptures, made of specially formulated, marine-grade cement, were laid at the bottom of a national marine park in the waters between Cancun and Isla Mujeres. They are transported by trucks and barges with lifting arms, sunk, and then meticulously placed on the sea floor.

The first sculpture collection, "The Silent Evolution," was sunk in two phases and includes life-size human figures such as Rosario," the sculptor's Spanish teacher when he first came to Mexico, and Lily Chacon, who portrays the image of the "Pregnant Woman.” All the sculptures change over time as marine life populates them: A girl acquires a fur composed of algae; a starfish implants itself on a nun's face. A full-size VW Beetle was designed especially to be a lobster homestead. In addition to providing new habitat for sea life, the sculptures draw divers and snorkelers from coral reefs that have suffered from tourism.

Sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor, an Englishman now based in Mexico, is also the museum's director. He created the world's first underwater sculpture park off the coast of Grenada in 2006. In addition to his monumental aesthetic and logistical feat, the artist said in a interview when "The Silent Evolution" opened that he tries to portray a positive and sustainable vision of human interaction with nature.

"I believe we have to address some of the crucial problems occurring in our oceans at this moment in time and by using human forms I can connect with a wider audience,” he added.

At MUSA, the sculptures sit on the sea floor in just 28 feet of water, so they are visible to snorkelers as well as divers. A shallower portion is set off just for snorkelers.

The newest phase of the museum includes the museum's first kinetic sculpture, "Phoenix," the figure of a woman with movable wings of living purple gorgonian fan coral that appear to beat with the wave cycles. "The Listener," a human form assembled entirely from casts of human ears molded during a workshop of local Cancun 8- to 12-year-olds, is equipped with an underwater listening device that projects the sounds of the reef.

The artist's philosophy is telegraphed harshly in "The Last Supper," a dining table carved from a rock outcropping. Half-eaten fish suppers lie on both plates, and the centerpiece consists of apples and hand grenades, illustrating the peril oceans face because of over-fishing.

"Urban Reef," a collection of architectural structures designed to provide ideal conditions for specific species of reef dwellers, will be assembled underwater to create a suburban complex or street scene. Their rooms will provide ideal conditions for juvenile fish, crustaceans, and sea urchins, who will have their own algae "farm."

The simplest way to visit the museum is through local snorkeling and diving tours. Two of the best known outfitter is Aquaworld. If you can't get there for awhile and want to keep tabs on how the sculptures are changing — they will certainly not look like these pictures — bookmark this page.