SERES Spotlight: Alex Figueroa
Finding a Voice
Alex Alberto Perez Figueroa, 22, says that before participating in SERES, he was always fairly quiet: He didn’t speak much in public, and, in part because of the all-too real fear of gang violence present throughout El Salvador, he didn’t travel far from his community of Celina Ramos even to the central town of Suchitoto, a few kilometers away.Now, though, he is able to express himself in public, speaking up and singing out about the environmental and social issues that are important to him, says Alex as he sits in the center garden of Centro Arte para la Paz in Suchitoto, where the SERES El Salvador office is located. Alex’s passion is music. Since he was little, says Alex, he always has been interested in learning to play instruments and sing. Thanks to the leadership processes and sustainability education of SERES, coupled with a course in music activism which Alex took through Global Platform El Salvador, he is now working on combining his passion for music with his goal and action plan as a SERES ambassador to increase environmental awareness and consciousness about climate change in his community and among young people in general. This video of Alex performing a song he wrote recently about the necessity of caring for the environment is a testament to the inner and outward voice he has developed. Watch below!
Discovering SERES
Alex first participated in SERES in 2009, when some friends invited him to participate in a three-day youth congress near Suchitoto (at the time under the title "Youth Leaders for the Pachamama," now known as our Actívate program).“I knew almost nothing”about the environment and sustainability, says Alex, before participating in that first SERES program. But after he became involved in SERES, he was hooked. He wasn’t able to attend the first youth summit that happened after he participated in the youth congress, but the following year he was able to attend and says that it was “impressive” to be there in Guatemala with other youth leaders hoping to create more sustainable communities throughout the region.
From there, he completed the five-day Catalyzers program to become a local ambassador of SERES. He says that this program in particular impacted him profoundly. “It changed my life even more,” says Alex, adding that “some friends afterward noticed the difference, and how I had changed.” Right now, he’s working on his action plan with the rest of the members of the SERES network in Celina Ramos. They want to focus more on reforestation projects, and continue the cleaning campaigns. In addition to his work with SERES in raising environmental awareness in his community and beyond with educational workshops and his music, Alex is currently studying the arts (music, painting, dance, etc.), teaches guitar, and is president of a youth group in his community. Read the translated version of the lyrics of Alex's song "Expresión Natural," or "Natural Expression" below:
I’m coming here to express what few people expressNature is a source of wealth Many harm it and that bothers me They destroy flora and fauna for convenienceSo get conscious of what’s happeningMany things today are changingNatural resources are disappearingPeople are exploiting the earthAnd it’s something that will mark the differenceBetween a living world and one that becomes sadnessIgnorant people don’t see the consequencesProtect the earth or it will be the end of your existence. I want to hear nature singingAnd for it to become natural expressionI want to hear the birds singing And for it to become natural expression. Value what you have and don’t damage itThe ozone layer is destroyed every yearWith contamination it grows in sizeThey say it’s all good but it’s just a lieWe leave this sad realityWhere they make us unconscious, unaware of such trickeryAnd because of money they hide the truthIndustries contaminate our planet And alter what is natural Just like the mining companiesThat are poisoning our mother earthAnd are the reason why she is sick today. I want to hear nature singingAnd for it to become a natural expressionI want to hear the birds singingAnd for it to become a natural expression.
Original version in Spanish
Vengó a expresar lo que pocos expresanla naturaleza es una fuente de riquezamuchos le hacen daño y eso me molestadestruyen fauna y flora por convenienciatoma conciencia de lo que esta pasando muchas cosas de hoy estan cambiandorecursos naturales se estan acabandopersonas que a la tierra la estan explotandoy es algo que marcara la diferenciaque un mundo vivo se convierta en tristezapersonas ignorantes que no ven las consecuenciasprotege a la tierra o será el fin de tu existencia.Quiero escuchar a la naturaleza cantary que se convierta en expresión naturalQuiero escuchar a las aves cantary que se convierta en expresion naturalAprecia lo que tienes y no le hagas dañoque la capa de ozono se destruye cada añocon la contaminacion aumenta su tamañodicen que esta bien pero solo es un engañosalgamos de esta triste realidaddonde nos duermen con tanta mentiray por el dinero esconden la verdadindustrias contaminan nuestro planetay alteran todo lo naturalasi como tambien las empresas minerasque envenenan a nuestra madre tierray es por eso hoy ella esta emferma.Quiero escuchar a la naturaleza cantary que se convierta en expresión naturalQuiero escuchar a las aves cantary que se convierta en expresion natural
