Springbreak

Each year, the idyllic beaches of Cancun, Mexico, are taken over by a certain type of tourist: the spring breakers. A hallmark of the college experience to unwind after their semester exams. An experience that these young American students wouldn’t miss for the world. For four weeks these seaside resorts become an open air clubbing paradise. And in Cancun, anything goes. Unlimited booze, music, dancing, striptease contests, drug use, everything in excess. For the Mexican tourism industry, spring break is a money making machine. Hotel owners and holidaymakers clash in a market that brings in 40 million euros in a single month. As well as being a pilgrimage spot for spring breakers, Cancun is also a global hotspot for organised crime with narcotraffickers opening fire at the heart of tourist areas. In order to protect the partygoers, the Mexican authorities have put the sites under high security, deploying armed police on the ground. Our cameras follow four weeks of uninterrupted partying in the global centre of American spring break.