Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron is a Mayan-American storyteller, surfer, and adventurer committed to pursuing a deeper connection with his Indigenous roots, the natural world, and helping San Diego local youth foster their own relationships with the outdoors through his nonprofit, Un Mar de Colores.
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron is a Mayan-American storyteller, surfer, and adventurer committed to pursuing a deeper connection with his Indigenous roots, the natural world, and helping San Diego local youth foster their own relationships with the outdoors through his nonprofit, Un Mar de Colores.
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Shelby Stanger:
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron is a Mayan-American storyteller, surfer, and adventurer. A few years ago, he wrote and produced a short film called Cycle of Ancestry.
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
I'm here to share my story as a Mayan that was born in the suburbs of Los Angeles. Nature became my greatest teacher, leaving me clues in the elements. The wind, mountains, and water all pointed me to embark on a modern-day pilgrimage, a 1500-mile journey to preserve my family's history while shaping my own identity.
Shelby Stanger:
The movie follows Mario on a month-long bike ride to the Yucatan Peninsula where his family is from. The experience brought up complex topics for Mario, like his relationship with his identity, his heritage, and nature. Since finishing the film in 2021, Mario has continued pursuing a deeper connection with his Indigenous roots and the natural world. To help others foster their own relationships with the outdoors, Mario also founded a nonprofit that takes kids surfing in San Diego. I'm Shelby Stanger, and this is Wild Ideas Worth Living, an REI Co-op Studios production brought to you by Capital One.
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron, welcome to Wild Ideas Worth Living, in person.
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
Thanks so much for having me on. I'm really excited to be here.
Shelby Stanger:
Mario is a surfer. So before we get into the weeds about surfing, let's back up. You are Yucatan Mayan, but you didn't grow up in Mexico, you grew up in the United States, correct?
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
Exactly. So my parents immigrated from the Yucatan to LA, and so I grew up outside of Los Angeles, so I'm first generation Mexican-American, but my family's Mayan Indigenous. They speak Maya, Spanish and then English third.
Shelby Stanger:
How has that shaped your life growing up in Southern California?
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
It was super interesting to grow up in Southern California being both. I guess, balancing quite a bit of cultural identities, one being Mexican, the other being Yucatec Maya, and then the third being American. And I think the way that I really balanced it was in having love and appreciation for my family. My family raised me with a lot of love and a lot of encouragement. I grew up in a household of three other families, so in the suburbs of Thousand Oaks, that was different. When a friend would come over to my family's house, there was my aunt and my uncle, and then my aunt and my uncle, and then my cousins. And we all lived together until I was 12.
So yeah, so it was just different, because when I'd go over to a buddy's house, it was just them and their brother and their mom and their dad. So there was a little bit more room for them to be, like they had their own room and stuff, things like that I would notice, but I just kind of wouldn't really spend too much time thinking about, and it never really stopped my friends from coming over, which felt really good. It's not like no one ever wanted to hang out at my house. They actually, on contrast, loved coming over to my house.
Shelby Stanger:
Yeah, your house is like a party at all times.
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
Shelby Stanger:
That's awesome.
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
Exactly.
Shelby Stanger:
I think about that a lot, in a lot of cultures around the globe, a lot of people live together. And it's more fun and they help take care of each other and it's less lonely.
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
No, it's so special, that intergenerational exchange that exists within a multi-generational family household that you just don't really get anywhere else. But when the grandparents are taking care of the kids, when the kids are helping to take care of the younger kids, I wouldn't change it for the world. It was really just unique and special and something that it could be looked at as hard, but luckily my family really made it work.
Shelby Stanger:
So how did you get into adventure, especially cycling? And then, of course, I'm going to ask you about surfing, but Thousand Oaks isn't necessarily known as a surfing Mecca, is it?
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
It's really not. It's in The Valley. It's called Conejo Valley, and we had a really awesome hiking trail system. So we were hugged by the Santa Monica Mountains, and then also we had Wildwood Regional Park, which is six miles of just canyon trails. And I remember that it was kind of my escape amongst the suburbs of how to be with myself. So I really started exploring and going off trail there too to make more trails, which I probably shouldn't have done. But yeah, it was my first taste of adventuring.
Shelby Stanger:
Then at 17, you went into the Navy. Tell me about that decision.
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
Yeah, I spent five years in the Navy. I left Thousand Oaks. My parents had to sign a permission waiver for me to join. And yeah, I was off to boot camp by the time I was 17.
Shelby Stanger:
Why did you decide to join the Navy at 17?
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
I really wanted medical training. At the time, I had a pretty linear path of my life. I was like medical training for EMT, firefighting, go to college, learn to be a teacher, retire from firefighting, because it's a heavy job on the body, and teach. And it was just this picture perfect life path. It's been really cool to see it weave in and out of that narrative. And I've found myself teaching, I've found myself firefighting, but it hasn't necessarily been in this linear path that I imagined myself in. It's been better.
Shelby Stanger:
The Navy gave Mario the skills he needed to plan and execute bigger adventures. He learned to pack light and live with limited gear. During his time in the military, Mario became interested in bikepacking. He liked the idea of cycling long distances, camping out nature, and seeing more as he covered more ground. In 2018, Mario decided to set off on his own wild adventure with his best friend, Ryder England. They planned to bike 1500 miles to visit Mario's family in the Yucatan Peninsula. The trip was documented in the short film, the Cycle of Ancestry.
I thought we'd talk about cycling because I started my research about you by watching this incredible REI film, Cycle of Ancestry, where you had this really wild idea to cycle 1500 miles through the Yucatan Peninsula to connect your ancestral roots. First of all, when did you do this?
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
Yeah, I think the year was 2018, and I was sitting in between transferring from community college over to state college, and I had that gap when you're waiting for admission. So I really wanted to take some time for myself and really explore the age-old question of who am I? Like find my identity. And I was able to merge essentially the practice of something physical like cycling into the self-exploration of the inquisitive nature that we all have within us. So I decided that I wanted to cycle from Mexico City all the way down to the Yucatan Peninsula, where my family is from, and I really wanted to set the intention to connect with my Mexican Indigenous roots along the way.
So at the time, I looked to my left where my best friend was standing, and I told him, I'm like, "Hey, I'm going to set off on this 1500 mile bike ride. I'm going to do it and really just connect." And he was immediately in love with it and he wanted to come along and he wanted to film. He's like, "This is incredible." He's like, "Do you mind if I tag along and film it?" And I said, "Of course," right? He's my adventure buddy, Ryder. So I was like, "Yeah, come on down." And he brought the camera, and that's really what kind of sparked the film, because I wasn't really intending to film it at all. It was going to be for me. And then my friend really kind of broadened my eyes to like, "Hey, but what if we just captured this footage and see what comes from it later?"
Shelby Stanger:
I love how these what ifs turn into these ultimate adventures. So that in 2018 you do this thing that's not just an adventure, but it's to go back to your roots. Why?
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
I would say that was the big shift with the route that we did through Mexico was that there was a big intention behind it. It was to explore my cultural identity and help shape that. Growing up between Mexico and the United States, I kind of balanced the best of both worlds. I had a lot of pride in both, but I was trying to figure out who Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron really is and how I can mesh both of those things together. And the bike ride was really this, I call it a pilgrimage, right? Because there was an intention behind it to dive deeper.
Shelby Stanger:
How long did it take?
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
36 days.
Shelby Stanger:
Whoa. Do you have any stories that you can share?
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
Yeah, there's tons. We were just on these 60 pound tumbleweed bikes that were kitted out, had all these packs, and I'm also sweaty and all kinds of things. And we definitely were turning heads, but it was out of curiosity. It was really cool to see people look at us and be like, "So what is this all about? What are y'all doing?" I think when things were going wrong, the hospitality of the Mexican people was incredible. We'd be broken down on the side of a road. The weirdest things would break, a pedal would break, not the chain, which we were ready for, the pedal. And you can't really find a spare pedal in the middle of nowhere.
So people would see us, the locals, broken down, they'd come, they'd be curious, they'd ask us what we were doing. We'd tell them we're cycling all the way to Yucatan. They'd think it's crazy, and then they'd get really invested in helping us. They'd get really fixated on helping us. So some would even drive to go get the part and come back. And they just adjusted their whole day for that, making sure that they didn't just leave us stranded on the road. Because once they talked to us, they wanted to make sure we were good. So that was really incredible. And that happened time after time.
Shelby Stanger:
Does Ryder speak Spanish?
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
No.
Shelby Stanger:
So you were the translator?
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
Yeah, yeah. But he refers to that period in time, which was really special, as love being a universal language. So he was able to communicate with a lot of people and my family, despite not knowing the language, just through smiles and finger pointing.
Shelby Stanger:
What about from this big adventure, 36 days, and then you got to connect with your family eventually, what was that like? And what did you learn from the trip?
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
It was really special. The trip was incredibly special because as I was cycling, and with each revolution of the wheel, I was sort of learning more about myself through my best friend and through my family, and then through what I was experiencing. And I really credit that bike ride for formulating a really strong sense of identity and confidence that I have within myself now. Not only are you proud of your body when you're doing something like that for being able to be so good at cycling 50 miles a day plus, but at the same time, learning more about my Mexican roots was really incredible. After making that film, I entered this state of abundance where I felt like my cup was full. I had answered that question of, "Who am I?" And my head space was really clear and my heart space was really full in order to be able to give out. And then I started kind of looking in ways that I could connect more people to nature.
Shelby Stanger:
In the Cycle of Ancestry, we see Ryder and Mario as they bike through sand and alongside tropical plants, hang hammocks to sleep in and meet new people along the way. When they finally make it to the Yucatan, the film shows Mario's family cooking, making music and farming. It was especially magical for Mario to have his best friend Ryder there with him. Mario had hoped that the trip would be an opportunity for self-discovery. He saw the many different threads of his identity and how they weave together to make him the person he is. Ryder represented his life in California, his family brought him in touch with his Indigenous roots, and they all united out in nature, where Mario often feels most present and at ease.
When we come back, Mario talks about how he's applied these lessons from his culture and cycling to a new sport, surfing. He also talks about the non-profit he created to help other low-income youth get out in the water.
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron is a Mayan-American who connects with his Indigenous heritage by getting out in nature. In 2018, he went on a 1500-mile bike ride to visit his family in the Yucatan, and he took his friend Ryder with him. Mario and Ryder have been friends ever since they were young, and the two love going after wild ideas together. Because they have such a special history and bond, they're always pushing each other to take the next step and try new things. In fact, about five years ago, Ryder taught Mario how to surf. Over time, surfing has become an essential part of Mario's life. It helps him connect with nature and his cultural roots, and it's brought him a ton of joy.
Everybody has a different relationship with surfing and the ocean. What's yours?
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
I view surfing as a cultural practice. When I step out there, it's definitely essentially stepping out to connect with source, connect with a higher power, connect with just this ocean that gives so much and teaches us so much.
Shelby Stanger:
You have said this really cool thing that read I've in an article. You said, "The mountains and oceans have lesson for us if we're willing to listen." And I really like that.
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
So my grandpa, Abuelo Juan, when we were down in Mexico for Cycle of Ancestry, it was during a time where he was conducting his prayer to the four cardinal winds, and he does that at a specific location where there's essentially a guardian there, and he does it approximately every six months. So we were lucked out that we were just there when it coincided that it was going to happen. So we got to see, and it's what you see in the film, him preparing saccha, it's this drink with corn and honey, and it's essentially the offering for the four cardinal winds. So he mixes that up, he lights some candles, and then he walks to each corner of the property and he distributes it to represent an offering to each four winds.
So for me to witness that ritual really stands out, because my grandpa was so tuned into the winds that I feel like his ancestral knowledge is always there. So whenever I hear the winds coming through the trees or the mountains, I feel his presence. And I think that a lot of us have that. A lot of us can tap into these messages that are being conveyed through nature, whether it be the sound of water crashing on the shore or whether it be the wind rustling through the trees. I think that when we slow down and take the time to listen to that, that there is something there for you.
Shelby Stanger:
That is so cool. Okay. And you were going to say sort of an experience where, and you don't have to share this, because it's pretty personal, but do you have an experience where you've connected pretty profoundly with a situation like this?
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
Yeah, I would say most recently I was out in the desert near Pioneertown, and I was looking up at the stars and kind of just envisioning the next... I'm 30, I just turned 30, so I was kind of trying to envision the next five years, "Where do I want to go from here after all this?" And it's a little bit of a sad story, but by the time I got back inside after stargazing, the stars are beautiful out in Joshua Tree, you can see all of them, I had seen that I had missed quite a bit of calls from my mom, and I came to find out that my grandpa, Abuelo Juan, had passed away, and that was the last of my grandpas that had meant so much to me. And so it was heartbreaking, but at the time, I'm so glad that I was out there staring at the stars at the time of his transition because I'd like to think that I watched him fly right over me into heaven and that I wasn't on my phone or working when I got the news, I was connected with nature as he's always been.
Shelby Stanger:
That's beautiful. I'm kind of teary-eyed. That's a really, really beautiful story. And it's really weird when someone you love passes and you know right then that they're passing. Still so incredible that you've known your grandparents until almost 30.
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
Yeah, really lucky.
Shelby Stanger:
That is really special.
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
No, yeah, he gave us 99 years on this earth, so I'm really thankful for that.
Shelby Stanger:
Do you have any advice for people who want to listen to lessons, messages from nature better?
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
Yeah. Yeah. I would say that for people stepping into the outdoor space that really want to connect on a deeper level that, first of all, the longer you can immerse yourself in nature, the better. Because the first, it's like meditation. The first 10 seconds of meditation, you're still thinking about the last email you just sent or what you have to do after you're done meditating. But the longer you meditate for, you start to dwindle away those outside thoughts. So the same thing with nature is that the longer you can immerse yourself in nature, the easier it is to tap into those messages and to feel more at home there, honestly. So turn a 15-minute hike into an hour-long hike on the weekends or something like that, and then switch it up, turn an hour-long hike into an overnight backpacking night. And I think the most important part is go a little bit remote. If you can remove some of the luxury from your surroundings, I think that's when you kind of leave space for discomfort and curiosity, which is where magic in the nature shines.
Shelby Stanger:
Since 2020, Mario has been focused on sharing the magic of nature with others, particularly through surfing. He started the surf therapy non-profit called Un Mar de Colores. The organization focuses on making surfing more accessible for kids from low income and historically marginalized families. How did Un Mar de Colores get started?
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
Back in 2020, yeah, it was me and my partner at the time, Kat Reynolds, who was a water cinematographer and water photographer. We were dating at the time, and I was talking to her about how I had noticed that over in my side of the neighborhood that there was a lot of Guatemalan kids and I'd see them playing in the front yard, but I'd never see them at the beach. And I began to notice the disconnect and I was like, "Well, this kid looks like me and I don't want him to grow up and have to wait until he's an adult until he potentially has the opportunity to have a best friend who's immersed in surf who invites him out." So I was like, "I want to do that before that happens."
So I was talking to Kat and she loved the idea and she at the time had been fed up with a little bit of the lack of diversity within the surf culture. So she was completely all on board. And we decided to start what was one single day event, which has now turned into a whole two-year scholarship program where the kids are getting surf ecotherapy, but then they're also getting environmental education that's culturally proficient. So yeah, we're really proud of where it's come.
Shelby Stanger:
That's awesome. Okay, so what does that look like? How old are these kids and what's surf ecotherapy?
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
So the kids are between six to 12 years old and they're little babies.
Shelby Stanger:
I love that.
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
They're so cute. They're so cute. Which is a critical age to focus on. I think there's a lot of curiosity still in that age. The six to 12 year olds, essentially when you're in that grant space, get overlooked. A lot of grant funding is focused on teenage area and high school area, but six to 12 year olds don't get a lot of love. And for me personally, I feel like it's still formative years. So I wanted to focus on that age range. And essentially, the majority of our group come from low-income families here in North County, San Diego, or historically marginalized communities.
Shelby Stanger:
What does it cost to take a kid through a scholarship and teach them to surf?
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
So once the students enter our scholarship program, it's essentially all free for the student and the family. What it costs us is approximately 3,500 per summer, and they're with us for two summers. So yeah, that's just the summer surf portions. That's including the surfboard that we give them, the wetsuit that we give them, the, what is it, 16 hours of free surf instruction that here in San Diego can get pretty pricey if a family's having to incur that, we're trying to offset that cost for them. So by the end of the two-year program, they all receive a wetsuit and a surfboard.
Shelby Stanger:
Amazing.
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
Because we don't want them to rely on us to surf. If they want to keep surfing, "Here's the equipment."
Shelby Stanger:
I love that. Okay. And what about in terms of their confidence and just everything else?
Mario Ordoñez-Caldéron:
It's really special to see the transformation from day one in our program to day 16. You really see these kids just completely switch. When they first arrive on the beach, they're all in their little pods with their parents, kind of really nervous, not really sure what they're getting into, not really sure if they like the beach. It's probably a lot of their first time surfing. And they're not really talking to each other. But by the time we're done with our surf camps, they're all talking to each other. They're catching party waves together. They're best friends. They're splashing on the beach. They're tiring out my volunteers. They don't want to get out of the water. And we're all like 30 and above, we're like, "We can't keep pushing these kids into waves." We're having a tag team in and out when the kids are just frothing, they keep getting more waves.
Shelby Stanger:
When kids leave Mario's program, they have a greater sense of confidence and appreciation for nature. Mario's favorite part is that they start identifying themselves as surfers. Some of the students have even gone on to teach their cousins and siblings to surf too. If you want to learn more about Un Mar de Colores, check out un.mar.de.colores on Instagram. To get in touch with Mario, you can also check him out on Instagram @Marrioo, that's M-A-R-R-I-O-O. We use clips from Mario's film, the Cycle of Ancestry throughout this episode. It's really beautiful and I'd highly recommend watching it. You can find that link in our show notes.
If you liked this episode, you will also enjoy our episode with photographer and adventurer Erin Azouz. She spent almost two years biking from Mexico to Patagonia. We'll also put a link to that in our show notes. Wild Ideas Worth Living is part of the REI Podcast Network. It's hosted by me, Shelby Stanger, produced by Annie Fassler, Sylvia Thomas and Sam Pierce Nitzberg of Puddle Creative. Our senior producers are Jenny Barber and Hannah Boyd. Our executive producers are Paolo Motila and Joe Crosby. As always, we love it when you follow the show, take time to rate it and write a review wherever you listen. And remember, some of the best adventures happen when you follow your wildest ideas.