Tamal Kundu
Co-written and directed by Julio Quintana (‘The Vessel’), ‘Blue Miracle’ is a sports drama film about competitive fishing. The story is set in the Mexican resort city of Cabo San Lucas and follows Omar (Jimmy Gonzales), who runs the Casa Hogar boys’ home with his wife Becca (Fernanda Urrejola). Having grown up on the streets himself, Omar has made it his life’s mission to save as many youths as possible from that fate.
Still reeling from the effects of a hurricane, Omar discovers that the bank will take possession of the home if he fails to pay the money he owes them. Circumstances lead him and some of the boys to enter the world’s biggest fishing competition, Bisbee’s Black & Blue Tournament. If they win it, they can secure the future of the home. ‘Blue Miracle’ is an extraordinary tale of faith, courage, and victory against overwhelming odds. If you want to know whether it is based on real-life events, we got you covered.
Is Blue Miracle Based on a True Story?
Yes, ‘Blue Miracle’ is based on a true story. According to Quintana, the story is so remarkable that if it weren’t true, writing a movie about it would be impossible. The film offers a mostly faithful depiction of what the residents of Casa Hogar and their caretakers, married couple Omar Venegas and Rebeca Rangel, experienced in the aftermath of Hurricane Odile, which hit Cabo San Lucas on September 15, 2014, resulting in considerable damage.
According to reports, 92% of the population in the Baja California peninsula, where Cabo San Lucas is located, lost electricity because of the storm. Furthermore, over a hundred people were admitted to hospitals with various degrees of injuries. The storm happened about five weeks before the tournament. The devastation that Hurricane Odile caused made organizing that year’s competition a truly arduous task.
However, a combined effort of the locals and the Dallas-based Bisbee’s Fish & Wildlife Conservation Fund ensured that the event would be a massive success. Amazingly, none of the Casa Hogar boys that took part in Bisbee’s had fished before. The unique circumstances surrounding that year’s tournament allowed them the opportunity to participate in it. Bisbee’s entry fee is generally quite significant, but in 2014, Cabo San Lucas residents got the chance to take part because of the Bisbee Cabo Charter Hook-up, an initiative organized by Bisbee’s Fish & Wildlife Conservation Fund’s Cabo Relief Fund.
It was revealed that an anonymous donor would sponsor the teams that would work with local anglers and captains. The initiative not only offered an unprecedented opportunity to the locals but also helped rejuvenate the local economy. Omar and his boys also gained entry into the competition through the initiative. There were 126 other teams, but Casa Hogar ended up winning after they caught a 385-pound blue marlin in October 2014.
The money they won, $258,325, wasn’t distributed among the individual winners. Instead, it was revealed that the entire pot would be used on Casa Hogar. Like it is shown in the film, Omar was the one who served as the angler on the day the fish was caught. At the end of the film, the note states that Casa Hogar has since established a girl’s program. Clearly, ‘Blue Miracle’ is a wonderful adaptation of an incredible real-life story.
Read More: Blue Miracle Ending Explained
