Surfing is one sport where the surfers are under constant risk each time they ride the waves. However, tragedy struck the surfing world when a beloved Ecuadorian surfer breathed his last while peacefully ashore. A shocking social media update recently broke the news of the untimely demise of Ecuador?s Olympic candidate, Israel Barona.

The loving and tight-knit surfing community recently lost one of its most prestigious members. Ecuadorian film director and global traveler Raul Cabrera posted about the demise of his close friend on his social media handle. The post carried a video paying tribute to the iconic surfer who astonishingly passed away at the young age of 34.

The deafening silence after the passing of a surfing icon

Israel Barona was preparing for the upcoming Paris Olympics and was in El Salvador for a surfing competition. According to the National Civil Police of El Salvador, Israel Barona?“suffered seizures while he was in a hotel in El Zonte, La Libertad.”?Raul Cabrera took to Instagram to upload a heartfelt reel for his beloved friend and surfing icon. Reminiscing about his childhood with Israel Barona, Cabrera wrote,??Israel I met you when you were barely 3 or 4 years old. You and your brothers played at your parents Vito and Genoveva?s home, it was a magical place.??

Letting his heart out in the next words, Cabrera bid farewell to his departed friend. The movie director wrote,??You leave a huge hole in the hearts of Ecuadorian surfers, and on behalf of the tribe may God have you in his glory. I never told you but you were one of my favorite surfers.??Unfortunately, Cabrera?s words in his Instagram post also carried a regretful confession he could never make to his beloved friend.

Cabrera?s untold confession for Israel Barona

The caption Cabrera wrote on his post almost summed up the entire journey lived by the movie director alongside Israel Barona. However, the most striking part of his caption was the mention of a regretful confession he carried within his heart.?

Cabrera wrote,??When you grew up you became an exemplary athlete: Good son, good father, good brother, and excellent friend. I wish I could say these words to you in person, but humans tend to miss people once they are no longer on this plane.??The mourning movie director uploaded the reel he made as a tribute to his friend with a special song by a legendary band.

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Cabrera embedded the song ?My Hero? by Foo Fighters along with the reel to say goodbye to Israel Barona. The lyrics??There goes my hero. Watch him as he goes. There goes my hero. He’s ordinary. Don’t the best of them bleed it out? While the rest of them peter out? Truth or consequence, say it aloud. Use that evidence, race it around??perfectly expressed the pain Cabrera felt for the Ecuadorian surfer. As Barona weeps for the late surfer and his friend, so does the surfing community and the entire world.

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