In a Youtube video, a young man named Hector Martinez sits cross-legged in the middle of a white net hammock, naked except for a natty blue-black scarf tied around his neck.
We the viewers are affords a view of the young man from his carefully maintained black coiffe to the dusting of similarly tinted hair around his belly button. Corporeal territory further south is hidden from our prurient gaze as Martinez, founder of nudist organization Naturaliza y Nudismo Guadalajara (NNG), breezily communicates its manifesto in his low tenor voice.
“It’s a project that arose from the need to find spaces that promote respect for the body, for one’s own and those of others – spaces in which clothing is unnecessary,” states Martinez earnestly.
Martinez and his cohorts – whose number has climbed from 20 to 150 since NNG’s founding in 2016 - will be taking to the outdoors this Saturday and Sunday to convey this message to the masses during Guadalajara’s first ever nudist festival, El Festival Primavera Nudista. The mission statement the event will rally around, authored by Martinez, is “to promote bodily acceptance and nudity without sexual connotation.”
The festival’s location will be revealed to those who first register with the festival and participate in an orientation, during which the Martinez and company’s world view will be shared along with a “healthy coexistence” manual - which also functions as a “passport” to be showed upon arrival to the festival grounds.
Martinez explains this rather rigorous application process thusly: “We want to avoid people coming who aren’t in harmony with our philosophy. We’re aware that our society is still a bit conservative, so we don’t know how public opinion will be towards us and we want to ensure the safety of our participants.”
Other than traipsing around in the buff, festival offerings will include a DJ, yoga classes, body painting workshops, games, and various group activities. Go to the NNG Facebook page or nnguadalajara.weebly.com for more information.