CU Nursing - Spring/Summer 2020 - 17

CLASS NOTES

choreography assessments and being able
to mouth words underwater, a criterion that
knocks many wannabe mermaids out, Santos
said.
"That's our job: staying under water and
talking under water," two requirements made
harder by the dense salt water necessary for
the array of ocean creatures that share the
aquarium's Under the Sea Exhibit with the
performing mermaids.
"Water gets in my face and my sinuses, but I've
gotten so used to it now, it's like second nature."

'MYSTIC MERMAIDS':
MAKING IT MAGICAL
Of course, they aren't really talking (don't tell
the kids). The mermaids mouth words from
recordings piped both underwater and in the
viewing areas. Their scripts teach viewers - in
an unusually magical way - about taking care
of the Earth and its oceans.
They also "dance," dive, blow kisses and look
mystical.
"One of my favorite tails to wear is a black tail
with sparkles," Santos said of the crown jewel
of her mermaid attire, a 40-pound, negatively
buoyant, silicone tail that looks strikingly
real. "It makes it easier to free dive," she said
of the tail's engineering.
Despite its "little-girl-dream" appeal, her
fellow mermaids are bright, fit, successful

women and include pilots, nurses and future doctors. "We
conditioned and trained for a month before we performed,"
she said. "At first, I'd come home just exhausted."
Now it's her exercise, her job and her rewarding release.

BEING A MERMAID: WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE?
"I love the exercise that comes with it, and I also love just the
fact that anyone can watch the show, a child or an adult, and
they all feel like it's so real - especially in this society, where
we lose a lot of that imagination and creativity because we
are so caught up with routine all the time."
Of course, the younger the viewer, the more magical it
becomes. "Kids love us. They are just in awe: Wow, a real
mermaid!" Two common comments from the little tykes at
her meet-and-greets after shows:
"Mommy, can we take the mermaid home?" and "You smell
fishy."
Many sea creatures circle the mermaids as they perform, including nurse sharks, stingrays and eels. "You also can't see in
salt water," Santos said. "I just see blobs. It was really scary at
first," she said, recalling the point during the interview process
when applicants first had to dive into the 16-foot-deep pool.
"I saw the dorsal fin of a shark pop up, and I was like, hmmm,
maybe I'm not in the right place."
But now? "I love it so much. I'm a mermaid. Like I said, how
cool is that?"

CU Nursing - Spring/Summer 2020

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