Written by
José Villalvazo first came to Cozumel as a teenager, brought by his parents to an island that was then little more than a quiet Caribbean town. He left to study overseas, as most young people on the island did in those years. And then, unlike most of them, he came back. In the four decades since, he has lived the island from every possible angle — as a student, an employee, an employer, an entrepreneur, a father, and a neighbor. He directed a cultural theme and experience park that introduced Mexico's history and traditions to thousands of visitors. He presided over a federation of businessmen during some of the island's most defining years. He has built businesses, weathered hurricanes, logged countless dives, and watched Cozumel transform from a quiet Caribbean secret into one of the most visited destinations in the world. He has seen what the island gives, what it costs, and what it asks of the people who choose to call it home. He writes not as an outside observer, but as someone who has earned, over forty years, the right to speak plainly about a place he genuinely loves.
