The Guadalajara Reporter

Healing the Santiago: Rafting down Mexico’s filthiest river

Three river-running experts from the United States plan to take on a task more difficult – and disgusting – than Hercules’ cleaning of the Augean stables. They plan to raft down the Santiago River from its source at Lake Chapala all the way to the estuary near San Blas where it pours into the Pacific Ocean, a distance of 562 kilometers.

During what they expect to be a three-week journey, they will take video footage for a documentary that will compete in several of the world’s environmental film festivals, in a bold bid to accomplish what no one else has managed to do: the “healing” as they call it, of what was once one of Mexico’s most beautiful rivers.

The man behind the project is Sam Morrison who has run more than 3000 river miles on 70 different rivers and streams. He says: “We’d like to get people interested and involved in this problem. We hope the film will get them fired up – and maybe a little bit angry – so they will put pressure on local politicians to enforce the laws that already exist.”

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