Deborah Andollo : The Diva of Depth
Posted By Nicolas Danan on 16 November 2003
I was manning the DeeperBlue.net booth at the DEMA exhibition in Miami when Cliff, our News & Media Editor, caught my attention and waved me over to meet with Deborah Andollo. "The godmother of freediving!" he declared.
Hers is, indeed, one of the first names to appear along with Pelizzari's and Pipin's on the AIDA website's world record history in both constant weight and No-Limits. In 1996 she she excelled in constant (61m) and no-limits (110m) , and did 100m in variable weight last year in Italy. Deborah has inspired many of us not only by her records but also with her personality.
Deborah, characteristically, was smiling. We all smiled: it was contagious. Martin Stepanek, also at our booth, joined in the conversation. He admitted being a big fan of hers in his younger years. Deborah doesn't speak much English, but we found a common language in French (she has been married to Frenchman Eric Testi for 10 years) and so I had the good fortune to enjoy a one-on-one interview. I was happy to meet such a friendly person amidst the total madness of DEMA and engaged in conversation on my two favorite subjects: freediving and the preservation of the environment.
I had heard through Cliff that Deborah was working on opening an Apnea Academy in Cuba. When I heard the term "Apnea Academy", my first reaction was to ask her if she was involved at all with Umberto Pelizzari. "Not at all" she answered; "in fact, the real name is Blue Yemaya Diving Academy !". We didn't have much time, as Deborah was running to a meeting, so I dived right into the subject. What is the Blue Yemaya Diving Academy about, who's behind it, and most of all: where is it located?
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