Miami, Sept. 18 (EFE) .- The 37th annual Underwater Music Festival was held on Saturday at the Looe Key Reefs inside the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, located in the far south of the United States .

Divers and snorkelers explored parts of the only living coral reef in the United States, while listening to the beats of the Underwater Music Festival, held to promote reef protection and eco-friendly diving .

Presented by the Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce, the concert provided an “underwater soundtrack” for divers discovering the Keys’ “diverse realm of tropical fish, coral formations and other marine life”, according to a statement from The Keys. organizers.

The music, broadcast by centuries-old local broadcaster US1 Radio, was broadcast underwater using speakers suspended under boats above the reefs, but was also available to be listened to by drivers on the iconic US1 freeway that begins in Key West, Florida.

Participants in this unique program were able to move their bodies in deep water to the sound of hits such as The Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine” and tunes from The Little Mermaid and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Some divers dressed up as mermaids for the event, while others imitated marine animals and pretended to play musical instruments in the sea to entertain attendees.

The Marine Sanctuary recently celebrated 30 years of protecting the waters around the Florida Keys, including the reef parallel to the chain of islands.

In order to achieve the festival’s goal, the music was interspersed with messages from the divers on ways to judiciously enjoy the underwater views and minimize the environmental impacts that endanger reefs around the world.

The Underwater Music Festival was founded in 1985 by Bill Becker, the musical director of US1 Radio, first to provide a source of entertainment in an area that had virtually no cultural activity, and later as a means of raising awareness. to the preservation of the coral reefs. EFE

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