The Acali expedition (or Acali experiment[1]) was a 1973 social experiment that aimed to investigate interpersonal relationships in conditions of limited space and social isolation.[2][3][4] The experiment was conceived by Mexican anthropologist Santiago Genovés, who had previously been a crew member of Thor Heyerdahl's Ra expedition. The participants showed a restraint towards aggression, which frustrated Genovés and led him to start to try to create conflict, and at one point he took command of the float. Despite these attempts, the group remained peaceful.[5]

The raft had a complement of eleven people: five men and six women. It left Las Palmas, Spain, on 12 May 1973 and took 101 days to drift across the Atlantic Ocean and reach Cozumel, Mexico, with a single stopover in Barbados. Frequently dubbed the "Sex Raft" by the media,[3] it was the subject of a 2018 documentary film The Raft, by Marcus Lindeen.

The raft

The name of the raft, Acali, comes from the Nahuatl language and means "the house on the water".[6][7]

The raft was built specifically for the experiment. It had a steel hull and dimensions of 12 by 7 metres. The cabin measured 4 x 4 metres in area. It was designed by José Antonio Mandri and Colin Mudie, and it was built in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.[8]

Participants

NameAgeGenderNationalityOccupation
Santiago Genovés Tarazaga49maleMexicanAnthropologist, devised the experiment
José María Montero Pérez34maleUruguayanAnthropologist, former student of Genovés
Servane Zanotti32femaleFrenchScuba diver, responsible for conducting a study on pollution
Charles Anthony37maleGreek CypriotRadio operator
Rachida Mazani23femaleAlgerianResponsible for conducting a study on pollution
Mary Gidley36femaleAmericanSome knowledge of navigation
Fé Evangelina Seymour23femaleAmericanRadio operator
Maria Björnstam30femaleSwedishCaptain of the expedition
Edna Jonas32femaleCzechoslovak resident in IsraelDoctor
Bernardo Bongo29maleAngolanPriest
Eisuke Yamaki29maleJapaneseCameraman

See also

References

  1. ↑ Storyville: The Raft, BBC4, 2 Jun 2019
  2. ↑ The Acali Experiment: Five Men And Six Women On A Raft Across The Atlantic For 101 Days, by Santiago Genoves
  3. 1 2 Jeffries, Stuart (14 Jan 2019). "Mutiny on the Sex Raft: how a 70s science project descended into violent chaos". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  4. ↑ Mangan, Lucy (2 June 2019). "Storyville: The Raft review – almost too deliciously ludicrous to be true". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  5. ↑ https://www.svtplay.se/video/23019602/flotten?info=visa
  6. ↑ Balsa Acali: 100 días de convivencia en el mar hemeroteca.sevilla.abc.es, accessed 7 November 2019
  7. ↑ "New Transdisciplinary Visualities As an Alternative to Redistribute the Power of Thought", by Maris Bustamante, Social Justice 2006, 33(2), 165-170
  8. ↑ Experimento Acali: Viaje a las entrañas de la violencia armandorubenpuente.com, accessed 7 November 2019
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