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Hernando Today

16 Months of Mermaids

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By TONY HOLT

Hernando Today

Published: July 7, 2008

WEEKI WACHEE - Mermaids remind Andrew Brusso of a time when live entertainment was more authentic.

The famed New York photographer said the girls in fins are part what he considers "old Florida."

Pre-developed Florida?

"Pre-mouse," he replied.

Disney has come to define Florida, a state in which Brusso spent much of his younger years. He prefers a theme park where real people are performing before the fans' very eyes.

"Here at Weeki Wachee, it's live every time," he said. "The mouse is automated."

The 16 mermaids were posing and swimming before Brusso's own eyes when he photographed them from the park's famous underwater theater in October.
Brusso spoke about the experience Saturday in between signatures. He and the mermaids were signing the 16-page calendars filled with his photographs, which also can be viewed on his Web site along with portraits of everyone from Dolly Parton to Roger Clemens.

The mermaids joined Brusso underneath a tent outside the entrance of the attraction. The weather was 90 degrees, but the women braved the sweltering heat, donned their costumes and gleefully signed hundreds of calendars.
Anxious fans stood in line for hours throughout the morning and afternoon.

Randy and Glorianna Satterlee, of Orlando, brought their young daughter with them for the signing.

"I'm excited ... because I've always wanted to be one," said Ariana Satterlee, who was first drawn to mermaids when she was 2 years old, her parents said.

The mermaids had to swim wearing cumbersome costumes and had to do so with limited use of the underwater breathing hose. Some shots took longer than others, but the women remained submerged for an average of 20 minutes, said head mermaid Marcy Terry.

Nobody complained. The limited-edition calendars are being sold by the box load.

"It was the most fun I've ever had," said Brusso, whose works have graced the pages of Time and Newsweek. He has photographed famous actors, musicians, athletes and politicians.

He decided to photograph the mermaids following a visit last year when the attraction celebrated its 60th anniversary.

"It was during the middle of the Save Our Tails stuff," he said, referring to the legal wrangling between the park and its former landlord. "I thought it would be a good time to do a calendar."

He gave the women credit for their costumes. Each mermaid adopted her own theme.

One wore a jersey, tucked a football under her arm and mimicked a Heisman pose. Another donned reading glasses and clutched a pencil with her teeth. Another waved an American flag over her head and wore a costume decorated with stars and bars.

"We think this park is such a great institution," said Pamela Dapsis-Marin, who was visiting her family from Newton, Mass.

She was among those standing in line for autographs shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday.

"The calendar is absolutely stunning," she said. "It's very artistic."

Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or wholt@hernandotoday.com.

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