A Michigan art student on vacation in Mexico died on Easter while attempting to save a friend from a deadly riptide off the coast of Cancun.
Alejandro Gonzalez, 20, was dragged out to sea by a strong current while swimming with a group of friends around 7:30 p.m. Sunday, his heartbroken mother stated.
“We maintained hope and prayed for a miracle. While the outcome did not meet our expectations, God did answer our prayers,” Renee Gonzalez wrote on Facebook on Wednesday. “Alejandro’s body has been found, (We) are going to be able to bring our baby home.”
The Saginaw, Mich., native had gone to the Caribbean with three high school friends before the tragedy struck.
His mother revealed that the night he died, he posed for a photograph at the water’s edge.
“The picture was taken the evening he went into the water; the smile on his face shows how happy he was to be with his friends and spend time somewhere new. “It is nice to know he was so happy,” Renee Gonzalez added.
The photo shows a smiling artist giving a thumbs up to the camera while standing in tropical water.
Gonzalez was swimming when one of his friends was caught in a riptide; the artist rescued her but “was lost in the process,” according to a GoFundMe page set up for his family.
Officials recovered his body on Wednesday after a three-day search.
Gonzalez graduated from Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy in 2022 and previously worked as a barista at a local café.
He studied at the College of Creative Studies in Detroit.
“Alejandro is a talented artist and a wonderful friend. He brightens up a room and is always up for a new challenge,” said Heather Shephard, the fundraiser’s organizer.
“He is caring and devoted to his friends and family, and he is not afraid to try new things. He is intelligent, consistently achieves high grades, and excels in everything he does.
Gonzalez contributed his artistic talents to his community’s “Great Mural Project” in 2023, painting a cat-themed utility box mural in the City of Saginaw.
To honor the artist, a makeshift memorial was set up beneath the mural, as well as a donation drive for the local animal shelter in his name.
The crowdsourcing project, which was originally created to aid in the search, is now being used to raise funds for Gonzalez’s transportation back home to his family.
“While it looks like Matt and I will not be going to Mexico, we are going to need help with the expense to bring him home, and all of the expenses that come with a situation like this,” Renee Gonzalez informed me.