Behind the Scenes-The Making of a Selvatica Video!

"You Don't Have to be a Celebrity to Live the Adventure"

I have always wanted to know what it would be like to be on the set of a movie and for a weekend I got what   I wished for. Not only did I get to help with all the behind the scenes stuff, I also made an appearance! I didn't realize how much work it was going to be, but I'm sure glad to have had the experience! We accomplished the making of the video with a very demanding director named Jerry, some of the staff from the park and a visit by a very special celebrity! (I won't mention the name of the celebrity, but if you want to take a guess, you can post your idea in the comment section of the blog post.) 

Jerry, in the orange shirt, preparing the camera.

For those of us chosen to be a part of the project we needed to leave Cancun at 5 am! That's pretty early for us! We arrived at the park, enjoyed a nice breakfast provided by our kitchen staff and prepared ourselves for the day to come. For the first day of filming the staff was able to keep their cell phones and cameras because we were taping all of the scenes that our celebrity was not featured in, which is how I was able to capture these photos. But the following day when the celebrity was about to arrive we had to hand them all over to the boss. We were instructed that if we were caught taking photos, of the celebrity or anything else, well we would be in serious trouble!!! All of the filming was made in the palapa we call Zatara while our guests were making their tour in Zulu. 
         

A Snapshot from the video at the 2 min mark.

Just to clarify, Selvatica has two palapas,  Zulu and Zatara. A palapa is a thatched roof structure, kinda like a tribal hut. Zatara is the palapa that we currently use for daily operations. It has a tree growing through the middle and a tree house at the first zip line for those of you who have been to the park more than once or more than a year ago. The picture to the right was taken during the filming as I descended from the tree house on the automatic belay. This repel is part of the Off Road and Flight Challenge, the premium tour that Selvatica offers. That tour has 8 zip lines, 7 areal bridges, then the repel to return to the ground, whereas all the other tours do all 12 zip lines (and it's just as exciting). To see all the tours, age requirements and prices that Selvatica offers visit the official Selvatica site.

OK, back to the story. The staff that weekend were actors, assistants, props, make-up artists, costume providers and stage hands! This might seem exciting, we thought it would be too, but take a look at this photo to the left. There was a lot of holding those light reflectors and fighting the wind not to carry them away. If a cloud passed over we had to patiently wait until the light came back, adjust and hold in position through the action. I'm sure you must know that a scene shot can never be right on the first, second, or even third try...so needless to say it took 3 days of filming to make a 3 minute video!
On the morning of the second day I was standing at the ironing board preparing a shirt for our special guest celebrity, with my Ipod in my ears, when he walked right up to me with another staff member to be introduced. Because I had my earphones in, it took a second to catch my attention, I was not at all prepared! I couldn't believe there was a celebrity in our park! We were all a bit nervous, but it was a real joy to work with him. He was very kind and not at all high maintenance, like you would expect from a celebrity. In Zatara at the top of the stairs, before the swinging bridge, we prepared a make shift dressing room for him. I bet he had never had a dressing room like that before! 

I would have to say one of the best memories of those 3 days was painting the faces of the guides who were in the musical drum scenes and then trying to shoot it! To see the finished product was absolutely amazing! It was a lot of hard work but we couldn't be more thrilled about the final outcome! I really hope you enjoy the video!
If you would like to see the complete album of photos follow this link to our Facebook Page.

The Fight to Save Selvatica

Have you ever seen this photo??? This photo was sold as a souvenir at the park for a while as a black and white style postcard. If you have ever picked up a Selvatica brochure or have been to the "Meet the Staff" page on the Selvatica website, you would have seen this photo. You might be wondering, "Why is the staff posing with a big yellow fire truck instead of something more to do with zip lining?" Well it's because this was one of the most memorable photos ever taken at Selvatica. This photo represents the strength, courage and persistence of our Selvatica Family who bravely fought to save the park from a jungle fire!
One day during the very hot, very dry month of May 2009, one of the staff members mentioned to the park manger that they had gotten a whiff of something burning. Being in the jungle, fifteen kilometers from the main highway, you could imagine that this would be serious cause for alarm. So the park manager and a couple staff members quickly climbed to the tree house where the first zip line begins to get a better look, maybe see where the smell of smoke was coming from. It was apparent at first sight that there was something major happening within 5 kilometers and that action needed to be taken right away! 

"The Bomber"

After a bit of a very stressful wait, the big yellow fire truck was the first to respond to the call for help. It didn't take too long to realize that more help was going to be needed. The state of Quintana Roo had dispatched an airplane to take a survey of the area and to hopefully offer the team the information needed to devise a plan. Because there were other fires burning in the Yucatan Peninsula, resources were going to be limited. What would the next step be? Selvatica quickly became the command center due to the fact that it was the only place that deep into the jungle that has radio and/or cell service, thanks to satellite communications. Despite much effort from the ground, the fire was winning. Then, through the smoke filled sky, appeared a water bombing helicopter coming in for the rescue! 

As the fire began inching closer and closer to the park, the team knew that they would need a great plan and some serious muscle. So here is how it went down...One of the owners of the park commissioned a D9 bulldozer and the team got to work clearing a path. They decided that by clearing a path-like area through the jungle it would remove the fuel source that the fire needed to continue burning. This is a typical method used to prevent fires from advancing in a particular direction. By clearing that area of the jungle it also provided access  for the fire truck. Then they began to strategically set small control fires in accordance to the direction of the wind hoping that the two fires would meet and it would "sandwich" the fire out. 

After almost a week of fighting the fire, smoke and heat, the team was finally feeling like they had the upper hand. With the fire less than 3 kilometers from the park the winds began to change direction. Could this have been the miracle they needed? The fire began to burn toward the control fires and eventually it ran out of fuel. The plan had worked and the fire was dying down. It looked like the park and everyone was going to be OK. In total the fire consumed approximately 6 square kilometers of jungle! That was definitely a close call!

Our First Plantlet

Selvatica has recently started a public campaign to make a difference in not only the jungle, but the world. Every guest that visits the park has the opportunity to plant a seed and name it. We feel that when  you visit Selvatica that you take a part of us with you. This is a chance to leave a small part of your soul with us as well as bear witness to your legacy to the jungle. Once the seedlings reach a healthy stage for transplant, they will be relocated to an area close to our cenote Lukuma. This plantlet, pictured to the left is the first of the seeds to sprout. It is a very exciting event for all of us and gives us all hope for a better future.
You are invited to join the Selvatica Green Ideas page on Facebook! If you have a small or big idea, please feel free to share it with us! 
To see more photos from the fire you can visit our Facebook page Selvatica-The Adventure Kingdom.
Please show your support with the Facebook Like button!!! Thank you!

Beyond the Jungle

There is more to Selvatica than just fun in the Jungle! I would like to take this opportunity to share with you the Selvatica Foundation and how Selvatica staff members and their families give their time and energy to the community. As a reader please keep in mind that in many other countries, such as the United States and Canada, organizations receive funding and assistance from their respective government agency. Here in Mexico this is not the case, that is why it is so important what the Selvatica Foundation does. A big thanks to the staff and people who make these things possible.   
Guido Benassini, CEO of Selvatica shared this:
"At Selvatica, we believe that opportunities should be equal to all; our business model is based on maximizing the best qualities each and every one of our citizens (staff) have within, thus creating a team of individuals striving for excellence both personally and collectively; we believe in giving back to society by helping create opportunities.

 Unfortunately opportunities are not always equal; there are those that by simple chance were not as lucky as we were, not living in a dignified home, without the privilege of education, healthy meals, or a bright future; and none of this was by choice but by chance;

 Think about this for a moment, what if Steve Jobs would have been born in Tanzania into an impoverished family? Would he have been able to accomplish as much as he did? Perhaps, perhaps not, however what is certain is that he would have had the same potential within.

We believe each individual has the power to become the best version of themselves; in pursuit of making a difference, a percentage of all Selvatica revenues (tickets, and all products sold), goes into our foundation which is devoted to giving opportunities to those wanting to change their circumstances, and looking for an opportunity."

If you would like to see the Facebook page and give it a "Like" follow this link: Selvatica Foundation Note: This page is mostly in Spanish, however; if you would like to leave a comment or get involved, English is ok! Also feel free to contact me as well.

Before Renovations Began

Guido Benassini said, "We found an amazing woman named Sonia, who lives in the region of “Bonfil” a few blocks from Cancun’s glamorous hotel zone, yet a world apart, in this area of town, public schools are overpopulated, and where poverty seems like a certain future. Sonia has been offering her humble home as “school” for kids of all ages that want to learn and change their immediate future for over 5 years. She began with less than 7 kids, and now La Escuelita has over 90 “students” ages 3 to 17 that all go for a few hours to learn from her.

 The Selvatica Foundation, decided to help give the students some dignity, in December 2010, a group of volunteers with our families started working on Sonia’s home, adding a much needed bathroom, plus a roof, paintjob, stools, benches and electricity.

 Results were amazing, students, couldn’t believe the change, and to this day, it is them, who take care of their premises, they feel proud of their school, and we managed to give them dignity!! Occupancy on the school rose from 60 to 90 students.

 Soon after the school’s revamp, we started to monitor some poor performance on behalf of some children, and after some investigation we noticed that they had not eaten anything for over 20 hours or more sometimes, and needless to say this caused lack of attention; it was then that we decided that we would supply all students a balanced breakfast, based on milk, cereal, fruit and bread to all students on a daily basis.

 We also found some truly shocking stories, for instance, we noticed that a beautiful pair of twins never came together, only one per day, we eventually found out that they had only one pair of shoes for both, and that they shared them, so they could both benefit from schooling, however only one could use the shoes per day!!! Needless to say both twins have shoes now…however, sadly, stories like these are not uncommon, since there is a great need both affectively and economic.

 Small changes can mean BIG differences."

After photos of the front of the house.

A group from the House of Hope visit Selvatica

Casa Esperanza, which translates to House of Hope, is a facility that provides a place for children who have either been abandoned or are victims of violence. The Selvatica Foundation accepts and delivers donations such as food, clothing and education materials. Selvatica also invites these children to the park for a fun day of fellowship with their “big brothers and sisters” as well as taking them on a tour that otherwise they wouldn’t get to experience. They are an amazing bunch of kids and we only wish them the best future possible.

Group Photo Before the Race

Another great event that I was able to take part in was the Akumal Breast Cancer Run that took place in October of 2010. Local businesses donated prizes for the top three men and women finishing the race. Most importantly we were able to raise a significant amount of money for a specific woman in the community fighting breast cancer. This was the best activity that I could have been involved with since my aunt is a breast cancer survivor. 

Here in Cancun there is a mission called Huellas de Pan, which translates to Traces of Bread. This organization helps to provide food to people that do not have the sufficient means to provide for themselves. As stated on their website HuellasdePan.org, their "focus is giving to vulnerable groups such as members of broken homes, victims of domestic violence, people with disabilities children at risk and the elderly". One owner of Selvatica, who also owns a restaurant called Tinto, donates food twice a week to support this organization. 

In September of 2010 a group of volunteers and Selvatica staff gathered together with a group of children battling cancer to liberate baby turtles to the ocean. What an amazing experience!  

Volunteers Hard at Work

In the United States and Canada it's common that senior citizens can receive assistance from the government. Here in Mexico it is very difficult to provide care for the elderly and the disabled due to the fact that programs like social security do not exist. There is a very kind lady by the name of Mercedes that every Monday invites a group of senior citizens into her home. For more than five years now she has been able to offer them help them with medications, food and recreation. Some members of the Selvatica family gave their time to restore the home to ensure a nice space for these wonderful people. But it doesn't stop there. Staff members will on occasion make visits to the home to partake in games, food, and entertain the folks that gather at Mercedes' house. 

Whether you are an animal lover or not, it is easy to understand the importance of sterilization of cats and dogs. For the month of October in 2010 staff members volunteered their time to assist in the care of these animals. 

While the animals were comfortably sleeping, the team of care givers and volunteers took the opportunity to offer basic grooming.

Trees are one of the most precious things to us as Citizens of the Jungle! In the fall of 2010 we joined forces and planted some baby trees in Kabah Park. Recently Selvatica has begun the Seed of Life campaign. This campaign has had a tremendous effect on our guests. When you visit Selvatica a seed of a tree is planted in your name thus helping us make a difference as well as bear witness of your legacy to the jungle.
I encourage you to check out the Facebook pages and become part of our ever increasing jungle family!


Also check out the post The Fight to Save Selvatica, the story that "sparks" the idea for this campaign.

Selvatica - Welcome to the Jungle!

Selvatica Official Site


Selvatica - Welcome to the Jungle! (Link to Post)
Really nice blog post written by a former Selvatica guest! A very interesting read as well as some super cool photos!
Thanks Kelly! I love the photo of me and this one of Jungle Boy with you guys!!

A Lasting Impression

Emily's Tattoo

My experience with Selvatica had begun with myself and my mother. She had previously gone, and had such an amazing experience she demanded we would visit when it was time for our vacation. Needless to say, I was equally as amazed and enthralled by this zip line through the Mexican jungle. I had the time of my life, and I got to know the tour guides fairly well from my multiple trips back down for my vacations. While we were down in Cancun, my mom and I had made a decision we wanted to get a matching tattoo together, to symbolize an extremely close bond we had together. And since our Mexico vacations had a huge part in bringing us so close, we decided to get a Mayan symbol. It was unique, special, and the only thing we had left to do was pick out the symbol we would get inked on our bodies for the rest of our lives. This came with a bit of difficulty; we couldn’t agree on a symbol that we both loved. Then one day I was walking around my house with the Selvatica shirt on, and upon looking at the symbol that is next to the name, my mom pointed it out. We both absolutely loved it, so I sent a message to my friends down at selvatica to ask the meaning of the symbol. We wanted to make sure it didn’t mean something weird. My friend, a tour guide there, had told me it meant “Citizen of the Jungle”. And we knew then that we were going to use that symbol as our tattoo. We made our appointment and got it done, and fell absolutely in love with our new ink. Then on our next trip down, we sought to surprise the boys by showing it to them. They were shocked by it, and explained to us that it did not mean Citizen of the Jungle; it wasn’t even a Mayan symbol. They explained that it was created as a logo for the company, like the Nike symbol, or the McDonald golden arches. We don’t care though, our tattoo means to us that we are citizens of the jungle, and it reminds us of how close we are. What surprised me even more, that a year later when we went down yet again, we visited Selvatica to say hi, but didn’t recognize any of the tour guides.  Half way through the tour, I received the opportunity to go upside down, an experience I was very accustomed to by that point. And while I was upside down the tour guide yelled “that tattoo!!! You’re that girl!!!”. I had no idea that my tattoo would become recognized by the tour guides who I did not know. This only makes me love Selvatica even more. My mother and I love our tattoo, and what it means to us. Selvatica did not only give us a completely amazing vacation, but a stronger bond between a mother and daughter. And every time I see my tattoo on my ankle it reminds me of that. 

-By Emily from Massachusetts

Thank you Emily for sharing this with us! You are our number 1 Fan! You are VIP for life!

Awards and Achievements

Selvatica is currently the #1 tour of 93 on Trip Advisor's things to do in Cancun, Mexico. For the years of 2008, 2009, and 2010 Selvatica has won the award for being the best "Tour" in Cancun on the "things to do" list. For 2009 and 2010 they have won the #1 "Tour" of "things to do" in all of Mexico. The most impressive, Selvatica is listed as Trip Advisor's Top 10 Adventures in THE WORLD!!! As of today there are over 2,ooo comments on TripAdvisor.com. 
Don't miss this video! Click this link!

 World Travel Award 2009

Guido Benassini, General Director, proudly accepted the World Travel Award in 2009 for Mexico and Central America's leading Adventure Park. To check it out the website you can follow this link; World Travel Awards 2009

In 2008 Selvatica was named "One of the Best Great Adventures of the World" by Travel and Leisure. To see a review and more travel tips you can visit the USA Today Travel site.


Selvatica has also won a Telly Award in 2010.


The IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) presented Guido Benassini in 2010 with two Brass Ring awards. The first for best television commercial and the other for best outdoor advertising. In 2011 a Brass Ring award for Marketing Excellence for best television commercial. To view on the web visit; http://www.iaapa.org

2011 Brass Ring Award
We are so proud of the accomplishments! It can't be denied that there is a kind of magic in existence in that part of the jungle. Whether is in the atmosphere, or the staff or both, once you have been there, it is always with YOU!  

Seed of Life Campaign

Ensuring future Citizens of the Jungle for generations to come. Selvatica is embracing the movement of social and environmental responsibility. We aren´t just zip lining here in Cancun, Mexico, we are loving our planet - together we can save it, one seed at a time. 

"When you visit Selvatica a seed of a tree is planted in your name with your name!!! It's a small thing but possible the grandest gesture you can do today.
Be a part & become one of us...When you visit Selvatica, you not only create an unforgettable memory, you also take a small part of our soul with you, thus becoming a Citizen of the Jungle, a part of our family!
As a tribal rite, we invite you to also leave us something, plant a seed and help us make a difference, this living growing tree, will forever bear witness of your legacy to the jungle!"


We all have ideas and want a better world. If you have a big or small one, we invite you to share it with us. Write us to: greenideas@selvatica.com.mx