Camilo Cortés was born in the Colombian Amazon and is one of the few South American natives who has left the jungle where he grew up to dedicate his life to traveling around the planet on foot. And he does it with two clear objectives: to combat racism and promote the protection of the environment. A few weeks ago, he landed in Lanzarote, visited La Graciosa and is now preparing to travel the Canary Islands to spread his message of respect for others.
"I left the Amazon jungle 11 years ago, but it wasn't until relatively recently that I thought about sending a message of preservation of the planet and against racism. And I started walking. I have walked through several places in Europe and I thought about continuing through the Canary Islands. Now I have finished touring Lanzarote and my next stop is Gran Canaria," says Cortés.
After traveling through eight countries, the 34-year-old traveler considered that his voice would reach more people through social networks and decided to open a Youtube channel. "Three years ago I started uploading personal videos of my travels and selling handicrafts. I recorded myself in the streets, beaches and different places I passed through. And I got the 8,000 followers one by one, talking to them and explaining my project. But a month ago I opened my Facebook page and now I am getting to reach more people," says the Colombian.
"I have survived thanks to the people, it's incredible. You arrive without having where to sleep or what to eat and they have helped me. I have met good, beautiful and incredible people. But I also have to say that along my walks I have encountered a lot of racism. I have a Colombian accent and they judge me many times. They talk to me about drugs, cocaine, Pablo Escobar or machismo. But very few people know, for example, that Colombia has part of the Amazon," Cortés acknowledges.
In addition to the positive aspects that Cortés wants to make known about his country, the traveler wants to show the world the environmental crisis in which it is immersed. "I want to show what I saw and what affected me as a person and my people of the Amazon, such as illegal mining, mercury emissions, gold exploitation and deforestation," he explains.
"I want to help because I was helped"
After going through a "hard" childhood, another of Cortés' objectives is to contribute to his region prospering economically so that young people do not have to emigrate to the big cities of Colombia in search of a better future. "I never had a father. My mother had a very hard time and my grandmother never had money, but they took care of my brother and me in the best way. They were very complicated moments, but I found good people who helped me. And I want to help because I was helped," explains the young Colombian.
"The problem that exists when you grow up in a town like ours is that 80% of us live in very great poverty. In addition, now they educate us that we all have to go to university and possess material things. That's why, when we finish high school, we all dream of leaving the town. And that's when the suffering comes because unless you get a scholarship for being a good student or a good athlete, it is very difficult to live and study in the city with hardly any resources. I want to teach young people that we were happy in the jungle," Cortés concludes.
