Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, May 3, 2026 — Ana Luisa Velázquez Cauich is one of the 500 volunteers at the Riviera Maya Open at Mayakoba, and one of the 15 assigned to each of the 18 holes that make up El Camaleón Golf Course.
Her role is to ask spectators to remain silent whenever a player is about to take a shot. But during every brief pause, she takes the opportunity to draw in a notebook. Her sketches result in figures she describes as “not very human,” leaning toward a silly style influenced by Asian culture.
Ana Luisa, whom her family calls Jai because she loves crab, was signed up by her sister at the request of their father. Volunteering runs in the family, and Ana Luisa is enjoying the experience. Her parents are also volunteers, as are her siblings Jorge and Sofía.
“I arrived and they explained what I had to do and the rules—like not touching the ball and not making noise. So we have to hold up the silence sign, and if someone talks too loudly or makes noise, ask them to be quiet, but politely,” she said.
She also gets the chance to watch Asian players up close, a culture she is particularly fond of. “It’s interesting. I really like seeing how they take their time to pick the club and send the ball far away and watch it ‘disappear.’ I really like the golfers, especially the Asian ones. I’ve kind of had this fascination with them—just seeing them excites me.”
Whenever she finds a moment, she picks up her pencil and continues sketching in her notebook, though she says she’s more used to working digitally.
“I started drawing when I was about six years old, just as a hobby. But around 10 or 11, I really started to fall in love with it, and by 12 I began to take it more seriously and work on improving,” she explained.
Ana Luisa, currently in middle school, is grateful for the opportunity to be part of Mexico’s most important women’s golf event while continuing to refine her artistic skills.
