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By Marta Garraus
Posted: 12/16/2009
One of Isabela, Puerto Rico’s newest favorite sons counts on faith in himself and the support of friends and family to attack some of the Caribbean’s finest surf.
Eduardo “Peluca” Santiago said to me one day, ¨Surfing is expression¨. I couldn’t help but agree, and from that day I started watching surfers in the water with a different eye in an effort to know them better, and to be able to read them. José Tavarez is a young talent from Isabela, Puerto Rico who is easy to read. When I see him in the water he sometimes reminds me of a bull. He is unstoppable, fierce, fearless, and fast. José is a surfing machine.
José always was a sports kid. He played baseball and basketball, as well as enjoying running, skateboarding, and cycling, and was always active and ready to go on adventures with his friends. José’s deep and dark eyes can sometimes make him look like a very serious and quiet person, but if you get behind his stoic gaze what you’ll find is one of the most honest, generous, and fun loving kids that you’re likely to find in the local Puerto Rican surf community.
José started surfing at the age of 12 when he found a classic old Endbender surfboard which he took it to Nestor at Pelícano for repairs. To pay for the resuscitation of that first board he sold his horse. While that decision was a gamble, he never regretted it because in his mind he was already in the water. His father, José Tavarez Sr., already a well-established Isabela local, taught him the basics on the Endbender. But it didn’t take long for José to break the Endbender in half, and without the money to buy a new board his only choice was to ride prone on a bodyboard. For his thirteen birthday José bought himself a new surfboard and got back in the water standing up at Jobos. Preferring the solitude and commune with nature of surfing, he quit playing baseball to dedicate all his time to the surf.
During those first couple of years in the surf Juan Carlos Gerena helped José out a lot, and they became fast friends while sharing waves in the warm blue waters of Isabela. At the first contest in which he ever competed, a Volcom event at Surfer’s Beach, José took the third place in his division, surprising not only everyone in attendance but also himself. He still didn’t really know how to turn that well, but the confidence that the result propagated in José helped him push his surfing further.
As he continued to develop his skills and style, José found positioning and timing as the most difficult and challenging thing for him to master. As for many surfers, getting tubed is often a catalyst for greater strides in proficiency and consistency, and for José nothing could have been more true. He got first barrel was at Middles on a pristine day. When he pulled in and the wave bent around him he opened his arms wide, feeling the power of the ocean envelope him. It was an experience he would never forget, and that day a surfer was truly born.
As human beings we sometimes have moments that scar us for life. These moments can make us stronger, but at the same time they also make us aware of the fragility of our human condition when immersed in a big, powerful, and unpredictable ocean. José Tavarez’s soul is like the ocean: powerful and unpredictable. Maybe that’s the reason why he rides the waves with this invisible but latent power, like a wave, unstoppable and fierce. But José has had some of those moments. During his first day at Jobos on an “off-the-rock” day José took of on a big set wave and wiped out, crashing onto the rock. Until that moment he’d kind of treated the ocean as a playground, but the injuries he sustained from his encounter with the Jobos rock caused him to acknowledge the omnipotence of the ocean. On another occasion he almost drowned at Middles when three large set waves drilled him hard on the inside. He needed help to get out of the water, but even that episode couldn’t stop him. He continued surfing that day in Aguadilla, at Wishing Well.
“Sometimes your friends give you the power that you need to go on with your goals,” said José about those experiences.
Another harsh lesson for Tavarez came in Aguadilla Bay. “I was surfing at Rompeolas with a couple friends. The waves there come in behind the rocks, so it can be a little sketchy. I was really surfed out and waiting for the last wave to go in. I was paddling for a wave and yelling to someone, “Voy, voy!” but by the time I said that I’d been thrown up on the rocks and my board was destroyed. I smashed my knee on the rocks and several people had to help me out of the water. I went to the hospital, and eventually had to have surgery on my knee and endure a painful rehabilitation. I was out of the water for three months and depressed about not being able to surf in the middle of the winter. When I was able to walk, but still unable to surf my buddy, Peluca, came to Isabela and took me to his house in San Juan. We started training together and he gave me the faith and will power I needed to start surfing again. Thanks to him I got back in the water. It was a hard time for me, but with the help of my friends I was able to persevere.
¨To have good sponsors you have to have good connections, and do well in the contests,”says José. “Some champions are born while others are made. Those who are born are given everything, and those who have nothing strive to win and fight for what they want in life.”
Surf Caribe: What motivates you to have discipline, to surf, and to train every day?
José Tavarez: Growing up at Jobos, watching all the surfers, the tourists coming to surf, and my friends. When the waves come up I see them becoming super excited and happy about it, and it gets me amped to surf. Also, watching a lot of surf movies makes me want to surf. But, most of all it’s the challenge of surfing well that gets me going.
SC: Is there a limit in your surfing?
JT: I’m gonna try until I can’t try any more. I want to go as far as I can. I have tons of faith and will power.
Full Name: José Tavarez
Nickname: Lagar, Lagartijo
Date & Place of Birth: May 30, 1990 in Isabela, Puerto Rico
Hometown: Isabela, Puerto Rico
Height/weight: 5’7 140 lbs.
Stance: Regular
Sponsors: Fox, Impact Surf Boards, Malibu Surf Shop, Terralandscape, Galería Yemaya
Ranking: Ranking coming soon
Quiver: 13 Impact surfboards
Surf Crew: Hamburger (Juan Carlos Gerena), Cocolo, Hector Santamaría, Josie Graves, Dylan Graves, Roger Torres, Joe Suárez, Panadero (Norberto Peña), Eric Torres, Asriel, Joshua, Eduardo Santiago (Peluca)
School/College: Studying FP Electricity
Occupation: Surfing 100%
Company: Fox, Impact Surfboards, Malibu Surf Shop, Terralandscape
I started surfing in: 2002 at: Jobos Beach
Local surf spot: Jobos, Middles, Salsi
Favorite wave: Jobos, Middles, Gas Chamber
First board: Enbenderd, 6’0”
Hot Dog Stick - every day board: Impact 5’10”
Magic Stick - favorite board ever: Imapct 5’10” x 18” x 2”
Big Wave Gun: Impact 7’6”
Best Session: Gas Chamber and Manglito January 2009
Best Contest result: 1st Place at the Volcom Gooter Fish in North Carolina
Favorite Maneuver: Turns and airs
Secret Weapon: Air 360
Working on: Rodeo flip
Dream maneuver: Back flips
Favorite Surfer: Bruce Irons
Favorite Shaper: Charles Williams – Impact Surfboards
Top 5 Surfers: Kelly Slater, Bruce Irons, Jordy Smith, Andy Irons, Joel Parkinson
Top 5 Surf DVD’s: Campaign, Stranger Than Fiction, Five Five Redux, Change the Subject, Black in Town
Top 5 Music bands: Cosculluela,Lil’ Wayne, T. I., Cultura Profetica, Helloween (I like reggaeton because when I go dancing the girls “se pompean”)
Best Post-surf Munchies: Josie Graves’ tostones de pana
Favorite Food: White rice and beans with fried chicken y pollo frito
Tail Slide or Rail Carve: Both, it’s a difficult choice because it depends of the feeling of the moment and the wave.
Get Barreled or Get Air: Both, I love doing aerials, and I love barrels when the waves are good at Manglito, Gas Chamber, Middles, or the Rompeolas
Contest Machine or Soul Surfer: Contest machine because I enjoy every moment with my friends and a contest is like a family day for me. I love free surfing, but I always need to be around my friends to share the good moments, good waves, and to learn from them as they learn from me.
Paddle or Tow: Paddle
Log or Fish: Log
Epoxy or Polyester: Polyester
My favorite thing about surfing’ is: that I can free my mind in the water. I enjoy every wave, the feeling of freedom, the lifestyle, and the ocean.
In ten years I see myself: surfing all over the world with my friends and competing in all the contests, or studying.
If I’m not in the water, I’m probably: hanging out with the boys, skateboarding, playing basketball, and training.
You’d never guess I’m also pretty good at: drawing.
If I couldn’t Surf I’d definitely be: painting and working as an electrician.
Most of what I’ve accomplished in this sport I owe to: my sponsors, my mom, and my friends.
I have a recurrent dream about: people following me.
One thing I’d like people to know about me is: thatI like to have a good time, and I’m very optimistic.
Open Mic - Last Words: Thanks all of my sponsors, my friends, Marta, Surf Caribe for doing this and I’ll see you in the water!
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