Page 39 - Winter Breeze 2

After negotiations, which included the promise that the Cardon would return to the desert
was negotiated, the job continued. But all this caused an enormous delay to the plan of
trucking the crated cactus to Veracruz and by boat to Sevilla. The plan was almost scrapped
when in the mist of this conundrum a bit of luck happened, a Russian giant military transport
plane, an Antonov, had mechanical problems, also rumored that it ran out of gas, but for
whatever reason it landed in Hermosillo, Sonora. After reaching an economic agreement
with Mexico and the
pilots, which included
refueling the plane, the
Cardon was loaded on
the flatbed and trans-
ported to the open car-
go bay. Here is the fun-
ny part, though perhaps
not so funny for the
protagonist. The cactus
was hurriedly loaded
and secured, and in an
attempt to meet the air
traffic control clearance time to travel, the loading bay was closed and off it went, making a
pit stop in Miami, where noises were heard in the cargo bay, and upon inspection they found
Alfredo Silvestre, one of the ground keepers, he had been securing the roots, and had not
understood the Russian Captain’s instructions to disembark and had been locked in with his
beloved cactus. The governments of Mexico, USA and Spain made special arrangements
to allow Alfredo to continue to Sevilla, and since he had no papers and only the clothes
he was wearing, a special visa was issued, nothing to report on his shopping spree. The
cactus finally arrived at its destination March 23, 1992. It was transported to the site of the
Mexican Pavilion, where an enormous hole had been dug and the giant was hoisted into
place. When the Fair opened, the Mexican Cactus was
one of the biggest attractions of the event. Folks would
push their way into place to get their picture in front of
the 20-ton, 40 foot tall, 13 arm giant estimated to be be-
tween 1000 and 1500 years old, older than the cathe-
dral. Was this whole extravaganza worth it, reports say
yes, it gave the world a perspective of the beauty of the
Mexican desert of Baja California, not a well-known des-
tination in Europe at the time. But there is a sad part to
the story, the return of the Cardon. It was discerned that
the cost of shipping it back would be too expensive and
it would probably not survive the trip, so today it is still in
Sevilla, visited on occasion by folks walking in the area,
surprised to see this innovative giant standing majestic
in the middle of an urban setting. So, if you are in Sevilla,
stop by and say hello and let him know he is missed.

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