Cancún Underwater Museum

Lore & Background

In early 2008, Jaime González Cano began planning an underwater museum that would be formed by nature into a coral reef. As Director of the National Park Costa Occidental Isla Mujeres, Punta Cancún y Punta Nizuc, he observed that natural coral reefs, especially Manchones Reef, were being damaged by tourists, anchors, and divers. In early 2005, he suggested to Roberto Díaz Abraham, then President of the Cancún Nautical Association, the idea of diverting snorkelers and divers to an area with concrete reefs. By January 2008, Díaz Abraham left the project, believing it would take too long for artificial coral gardens to become an attraction, but González Cano persisted. He presented the idea of deploying underwater concrete sculptures as artificial habitats to the advisory Nautical-Tourism Subcommittee, which agreed. González Cano then found Jason deCaires Taylor, who had pioneered underwater sculptures for artificial reefs in Grenada. With federal funds, community participation, and funds from the Nautical Association Trust, MUSA hired Taylor to produce the first 4 sculptures. The National Park staff, led by González Cano and with collaboration from Díaz Abraham, produced an Environmental Impact Assessment that from October 2009 provided the legal basis for deploying 1,412 artificial habitats in 10 sites over 50 years. The first four sculptures were deployed in November 2009, and most of Taylor's The Silent Evolution was installed by the end of 2010. The museum officially opened on November 27, 2010. By the end of 2013, 500 concrete sculptures had been placed: 477 in the Manchones gallery and 23 in the Nizuc gallery. Additionally, 26 replicas and one original are at a visitor center at Plaza Kukulcán mall. More than 100,000 of the 500,000 visitors to the Government Protected Area visited MUSA in 2013.

Reader's Guide

The Cancún Underwater Museum is notable as a conservation strategy that redirects visitors away from natural coral reefs, reducing direct human impact while damaged reefs receive restoration. The sculptures serve as artificial habitats made of pH-neutral marine concrete, which allows coral, seaweed, and algae to grow better than on old shipwrecks. The statues have holes that enable marine wildlife to colonize and feed. After only a short time underwater, the statues began to be transformed by nature, and in time all will be covered and their figures barely visible. The museum also benefits the community by attracting tourists. One local guide expressed concern that the statues themselves might be damaged, but the museum is planned to grow and repair itself. The project has involved multiple artists, including Karen Salinas Martinez, Rodrigo Quiñones Reyes, Jessica Miles, and Nelson Gamboa. A new installation by Cuban sculptor Elier Amado Gil, Blessings, is to be placed in a new gallery called Chitales. Visitors can see the exhibits via snorkeling, scuba diving, or glass-bottom boat.

Did You Know?

• The first four sculptures were deployed underwater in November 2009.
• Jason deCaires Taylor's The Silent Evolution consists of more than 400 human figures and took 18 months and 120 hours of underwater work to install.
• By the end of 2013, more than 100,000 visitors out of 500,000 to the Government Protected Area visited MUSA.

The Vision to Protect Living Reefs

Jaime González Cano, serving as director of the National Park Costa Occidental Isla Mujeres, Punta Cancún y Punta Nizuc, watched with growing alarm as Manchones Reef—Cancún's largest coral formation—suffered repeated damage from tourist traffic, dropped anchors, and careless divers. As early as 2005, he pitched the idea to Roberto Díaz Abraham, then head of the Cancún Nautical Association, of diverting snorkelers and divers toward a zone of concrete reefs seeded with coral. Díaz Abraham ultimately abandoned the concept, convinced that artificial coral gardens would take far too long to mature into a genuine draw. Undeterred, González Cano carried the project forward alone, presenting a revised strategy to the Nautical-Tourism Advisory Subcommittee: deploy underwater concrete sculptures as artificial habitats to pull visitor attention away from the battered natural reefs. The subcommittee, with Díaz still playing a key role as association president, endorsed the plan. Federal funding, community participation, and contributions from the Nautical Association Trust were assembled to make the ambitious underwater gallery a reality.

Taylor's Silent Evolution and the Human Story

After researching experienced underwater sculptors, González Cano connected with Jason deCaires Taylor, a former Caribbean diving instructor who had already pioneered the use of submerged art for reef creation in Grenada's Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park. Taylor's signature installation, The Silent Evolution, comprises more than 400 human figures interacting with their marine surroundings—some embracing the environment, others turning away in indifference. Every figure was modeled on members of the local fishing community where Taylor lived, each given a distinct personality, hairstyle, and wardrobe. Among the most memorable are a young girl gazing upward with a faint smile, six businessmen burying their heads in sand, and a weary man seated at a desk with his dog curled beside him, both disengaged from the world around them. The project demanded eighteen months of labor, 120 hours of underwater work, and 120 tons of concrete, sand, and gravel, along with 3,800 meters of fibrous reinforcement. The first four sculptures went underwater in November 2009, and the bulk of the collection was installed by the end of 2010.

Engineering the Submerged Gallery

Getting hundreds of massive concrete sculptures safely onto the ocean floor required considerable ingenuity. Taylor commissioned a specialized lifting apparatus so that no statue would be damaged during transit. A forty-ton crane was mounted on a commercial ferry to lower the pieces into the water, while the heaviest works had to be raised using lift bags. Every sculpture was fabricated above water using pH-neutral marine concrete, a formulation developed in collaboration with marine park officials and the Cancún Nautical Association. Before deployment, each piece was thoroughly cleaned to ensure no residual chemicals could leach into the water, harm marine life, or damage the surrounding reef. The legal framework was equally important: an Environmental Impact Assessment, produced by park staff under González Cano's direction with Díaz's collaboration, was completed by October 2009. It established the legal basis for placing 1,412 artificial habitats across ten designated sites within the National Park over a fifty-year period. To date, two galleries have been developed—Manchones with 477 sculptures and Punta Nizuc with 23—while a third, Chitales, awaits a new installation by Cuban sculptor Elier Amado Gil.

A Conservation Landmark Takes Shape

By the close of 2013, five years after MUSA's founding, 500 concrete sculptures had been anchored to the ocean floor between three and six meters deep. The Manchones gallery holds 477 of them, while the Nizuc gallery displays 23. An additional 26 replicas and one original piece are housed at a visitor center inside Plaza Kukulcán, a shopping mall in Cancún's Hotel Zone, giving landbound visitors a tangible connection to the submerged art. The museum's official opening on November 27, 2010, was timed just before the Cancún climate summit, lending the event a symbolic resonance. MUSA operates as a non-profit devoted to conservation, and its impact was measurable: in 2013, more than 100,000 of the 500,000 people who visited the Government Protected Area chose to explore MUSA. Visitors can experience the sculptures through scuba diving, snorkeling, or glass-bottom boat tours. The project also drew contributions from a range of international and local artists, including Mexican sculptors Karen Salinas Martinez and Rodrigo Quiñones Reyes, English artist Jessica Miles, and Colombian artist Nelson Gamboa, alongside a dedicated team of local workers.