Amanda Negrín is a versatile girl. In the mornings, she serves the best sandwich in the Canary Islands at Cafetería Los Majuelos, and in the afternoons, she dives fifty meters deep. Under the sea, she feels fulfilled and at peace. Each contraction while practicing apnea helps her reconnect with herself.
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Amanda Negrín feels fulfilled and at peace underwater. Specifically, at fifty metres deep. The young woman from Tenerife practices apnea, a sport that often pushes her to her limits. “It is a discipline that has its ups and downs, down there you are alone with your fears and your empowerment,” she confesses. Although she believes that the key to practicing it is to know oneself, in her case, her quick ability to adapt and the “infinite love” she feels for nature played a significant role.
Each diaphragmatic contraction makes her feel alive. Hypopressives, a combination of breathing exercises with abdominal contraction maneuvers, serve as a reminder that she is exploring her limits. A phenomenon that occurs as a signal that the body is adjusting to maximize efficiency in the use of available oxygen. Understanding and working on this natural body response has allowed her to achieve a longer and more controlled dive. It has also helped her participate in her first international competition, here at home, in Tenerife. “I did not win because at that level there are very good athletes, but it was quite a challenge for me and I also managed to meet my personal goal of reaching 47 meters,” she explains.
Amanda’s face may be familiar to many. Not only because she has over 18,000 followers on Instagram, where she collaborates with brands and shares very creative underwater images, but also because she works at Cafetería Los Majuelos, known for the best sandwich in Canarias. Her family founded the business 35 years ago. Now, alongside her father, the young woman attends to the flood of people who every morning order an Aldeano sandwich for breakfast and, in passing, try some of their famous smoothies. The recognition at the I National Sandwich Championship came shortly after the death of her mother, a very delicate moment for Amanda. “It is an award with great sentimental value. We dedicate it to her because she devoted 34 years of her life to the cafeteria, and she is one of the fundamental pillars of the establishment.”
Amanda Negrín submerged in Menorca. / WOJ.DOP
Ideally, when practicing apnea, she trains in the morning, but often finds it impossible to combine it with her other passion: catering. The past few months have been tough for the young woman, as she has had to deal with the death of her mother, “the longest apnea of her life”. The sea, she states, is her means of disconnecting from the world and her way of connecting with herself. The Canarian reveals that diving to such depths has not only helped her face grief with greater serenity but also allows her to get closer to what she truly considers the essence of life: nature. “The water heals my soul, even though it pushes my body to the limit, it makes me feel tremendous mental and bodily peace,” emphasizes the content creator.
It took her just four months to reach the forty-meter goal. Amanda Negrín started practicing apnea in the year of the pandemic – a time when she did not say no to anything – because she had read that it was closely related to yoga, a discipline she already practised. The article caught her attention, and just then, she had the opportunity to do a baptism with a friend. “I entered very nervous, thinking it would not be an activity for me, but it turned out that I was very good at it,” she recounts.
“Apnea has helped me connect with nature and face grief with greater serenity”
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Her trainer, Tadeo Nieves, agrees. He began training as an instructor at the same time she started in apnea, and from there, they became inseparable. After three years as her official coach, he acknowledges that “she picks things up very quickly and conveys a lot of peace.”
The Tenerife native’s secret to holding her breath for four minutes and twenty seconds is to train relaxation and flexibility extensively. Furthermore, she complements her training in the sea and pool with yoga. Initially, her family would worry a lot, and she reveals that when she goes down to too much depth, she does not tell them until she succeeds. “My mother did not like it, but then she understood what it meant to me and had no choice,” she points out. The truth is, when Amanda submerges, she feels absolute control over her body that no other activity provides her.
Amanda Negrín, in Radazul, one of her favourite places to train. / María Pisaca
Apnea is not a mainstream discipline in Canarias. However, Amanda Negrín comments that Tenerife is a “wonderful” space for its practice. In particular, Radazul, considered one of the top five destinations in the world because it has great depth very close to the coast. “It has the perfect conditions, the water is not too cold, and the currents are good. It is one of the best options in winter,” argues the athlete. She is fascinated by her land and, although she enjoys visiting caves and other underwater spots in the Islands, she admits that Baja California in Mexico is the location that has surprised her the most in terms of fauna. There, she was able to practice apnea alongside bull sharks, a school of mobulas, and humpback whales.
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Other places crossed off Amanda’s list include Indonesia and Maldives. The young woman documents her travels and a significant part of her dives to share them on social media. Always hand in hand with the photographer @woj.dop, she posts images and videos so breathtaking that they leave her community of followers breathless. Photos inside caves, descending on a rope, or posing as if dancing underwater. Undoubtedly, her profile never lacks that creative touch, but also the naturalness and simplicity that characterise the Tenerife native, who often shares aspects of her personal life such as her grieving process or the preparation behind each dive.
