The story of Edugriel Story · installations and exhibitions: LSYTSDA Sala Alterarte
Position · 0:00 / 14:02 SubtitlesOff ES EN GL Transcript 0:00 My name is Edugriel Acevedo. 0:04 I'm 23, and I left 0:09 Venezuela when I was 14. 0:14 First we went to Ecuador. We spent four years there, then came here. 0:18 I arrived in Spain when I was about 0:23 19, I think. I'm not sure: 19 or 20. 0:29 We first arrived in Valencia, then settled 0:31 here in Ourense, where we have family. 0:35 And here we are. As for whether anything 0:39 from my past weighs on me, or what… 0:42 this country means to me, I don't think anything weighs 0:47 on me. Venezuela means a lot to me, of course. 0:53 But I was young when I left and barely got to know it. I miss… 0:58 my family more than the country itself. But we're all scattered around. 1:03 So nothing from there really 1:07 weighs on me. And Spain… 1:12 I feel quite comfortable, but I don't 1:16 think it means much more than being… 1:19 here. The people I have around me mean more. 1:23 In my particular case, the person 1:26 who first decided to emigrate was… 1:28 me, literally. From Venezuela to Ecuador. 1:31 I told my parents that the situation… 1:34 was unliveable, unbearable, the insecurity. A lot of things happened to us there. 1:40 I don't want to get into it, 1:43 but basically kidnappings, robberies… It was unbearable. 1:46 In Venezuela there's a tradition, the 1:49 fifteenth birthday party. It's very important. 1:52 It's like a first communion or a wedding. We were planning… 1:57 mine, and we had already decided 2:00 to move to another country, but… 2:03 later on. After a series of things happened to us, I told my parents that the… 2:08 present I wanted was to leave. However we could, wherever 2:11 we could, but to leave. That's how we got… 2:14 to Ecuador. It was closest, quickest, 2:16 and had the fewest entry requirements. 2:18 We said, "That's where we'll go." We also have Ecuadorian family… 2:23 And I was granted 2:26 citizenship too. So we arrived… 2:29 there. Later, things didn't go very well in Ecuador, so the decision was… 2:33 made by my parents to leave. They already had the idea of coming to Spain because… 2:38 we had family here. I think 2:40 it was something of a joint decision. 2:43 My sisters and I didn't want to go through that process again. 2:48 But we didn't oppose it either. We knew it was probably for the best, and… 2:54 it was. It was a joint decision. I think we always… 2:58 agreed to go wherever things would be better for us. 3:01 I've always taken my soft toys with me. I have one my grandmother gave me… 3:06 when I was one. It's the soft toy I sleep with. I'll be… 3:11 30 and still sleeping with it. 3:13 That toy couldn't be left behind, ever. I carried it in my hand. If we had… 3:18 to pay extra, we'd pay extra, but that toy was coming with me. 3:21 And another soft toy, given to me by someone who… 3:25 meant a lot to me. It was one of those giant octopuses that are… 3:30 reversible. It has a sad face. But a giant octopus, this… 3:34 big. My parents said, "You can't take that. They won't…" 3:40 "let you through with it." I said, "I don't know how, but the toy is coming." 3:45 What we did was hide its legs and make it look… 3:47 like a pillow, and take it through like that, hugging it. 3:52 They said, "If they stop you and say we have to pay for it, we'll…" 3:55 "pay. There's no other option." We didn't bring much else, really. 4:00 We couldn't bring photographs and things 4:03 like that because it was a very… 4:06 long journey. We took more things to Ecuador, but I think they stayed there. 4:11 Here we brought only the essentials: clothes, documents, and those… 4:16 little things. My mother also brought a couple of photographs. 4:26 Just the essentials, really. 4:28 Well, I think… 4:31 we all lose part of our identity when we migrate, because at the end… 4:36 of the day you have to integrate into 4:40 the culture. It's essential to be able to… 4:45 live alongside the people around you 4:47 culturally. Unfortunately, that means there are certain… 4:49 things you have to lose. In 4:54 my case they haven't really affected me. 4:58 It's true that here in Spain people are quite different… 5:02 from Latin America, but deep down we're not so different. I feel as… 5:07 integrated as I felt in Venezuela, at least as I remember it. In Venezuela… 5:12 there are so many people from other countries 5:16 that living with other cultures isn't strange to me. 5:20 In Ecuador we experienced some difficult situations on a cultural level… 5:25 In my case, my accent changed 5:28 completely, and my personality. But more than… 5:32 the cultural environment, I think it was 5:34 the transition at that age. I was… 5:37 in my teens. People change at that age. I changed and adopted… 5:42 what I saw around me. Then 5:45 here in Spain, as an adult… 5:49 zero per cent of my old accent was left. It's a… 5:54 combination of Venezuelan, Ecuadorian, 5:57 Spanish, and Galician as well. 6:00 I go to Madrid, Valencia, or Barcelona and they say, 6:03 "You're from Galicia." I say, "Yes, but I'm not…" 6:07 "Galician." There's a mixture 6:12 of everything. Here… 6:17 I feel quite integrated. I don't feel 6:21 pushed aside. It's quite a friendly environment. 6:26 Here in Galicia, many people emigrated to Venezuela, so… 6:31 everyone knows someone Venezuelan, or knows someone who does. 6:36 It feels very familiar. I don't feel as 6:39 foreign as I might in another country. 6:42 My immediate family is here… 6:44 with me: my parents and sisters. My grandmother used to be part of that circle, but… 6:49 she passed away. They're 6:52 the most important people… 6:56 to me, so I'm happy to have them here. As for the rest of my family… 7:01 We were always very close… There were… 7:07 other people too, lots of cousins and uncles and aunts. Even people… 7:10 who weren't related by blood but were family. 7:13 They've been uncles and aunts all my life. 7:17 The most important people are here with me, but I also left many important people… 7:23 behind. That's life. What can we 7:27 do? It always hurts a little… 7:32 to leave family behind, but there it is. 7:34 Personally, I'm not too 7:37 affected by the issue of… 7:41 migration in Spain right now being quite… 7:45 problematic because it's become so widespread. Not just… 7:49 Venezuelans. There are many immigrants here and, unfortunately,… 7:54 migration brings certain negative things. Not everyone does… 7:59 well here. Sometimes people don't fully adapt, and without… 8:05 meaning to, they may cause harm. Or there are simply people who come… 8:09 here without good intentions, and unfortunately it affects 8:12 us all. They don't say there are… 8:15 good Venezuelans and bad Venezuelans. They 8:18 just say, "They're Venezuelan." So yes,… 8:21 it affects us. But after what 8:24 I experienced in Ecuador, where… 8:27 the xenophobia was very brutal, even 8:31 though we were Latin American… 8:34 I said, "It is what it is." It's true there are many… 8:39 negative things, but many positive ones too. People come… 8:43 and work, strive for their goals, and make 8:46 friends. They come to live together, to seek… 8:48 a new life, not to cause harm. If 8:51 you're one of those people, your circle… 8:55 which is what matters, is there 8:58 supporting you. Those comments really… 9:02 don't affect me negatively, as long as they 9:06 don't hurt anyone in my family. It's… 9:09 all right. As for feeling foreign, 9:12 I think we'll always feel that way. 9:15 There comes a point when you know it 9:18 isn't your place. There are things about you that… 9:21 people may not understand. But that's 9:24 all right. You can live with… 9:28 that. It doesn't hold me back. I'm not 9:31 going to say, "Because I eat arepas every…" 9:35 "weekend, I won't mention it in case they 9:38 judge me." No. I live with my family… 9:41 and close friends, who aren't all 9:45 Venezuelan. Most are Spanish. In the end… 9:48 we create a mix of cultures. They adopt 9:52 our food, and we do the same. And our… 9:55 pastimes too. Here people don't tend to 9:59 have parties at home for everything, every… 10:03 weekend. Now that we're together, we do. Every… 10:06 weekend we do things. You always feel foreign, but… 10:11 deep down you're integrated with your family. It 10:15 doesn't weigh on me. I don't live… 10:18 every day thinking this isn't my 10:21 place. My place is wherever… 10:24 I'm with my family. 10:25 I'd go back to visit. I like it a lot, 10:29 and I know it's a beautiful country. I have… 10:33 plans, far in the future, to buy a house by the beach and spend… 10:38 some time there whenever I wanted. 10:41 But I wouldn't move back there… 10:44 to live, even when I'm older. You get 10:47 to know other things, and I've always… 10:50 loved travelling and discovering new places. I'm not even sure… 10:53 I'll stay here. I've always wanted to travel everywhere. I don't know whether to stay… 10:58 in Spain, in Ourense, or 11:01 go somewhere else. After several… 11:04 moves, why not one more? I wouldn't mind. 11:07 But I wouldn't go back to live there. 11:10 I'd say it isn't an easy process. 11:15 It's quite complicated, regardless of the resources… 11:19 you have. Some find it easier because they have family waiting for them. 11:23 Others leave with nothing. In both cases it's just as difficult. 11:27 It's a very hard process, and I 11:30 think you have to be very sure… 11:33 about doing it. I've seen people succeed and others who haven't and have… 11:37 had to return, even worse off, because it's a very difficult change. 11:42 My advice would be to be prepared to risk everything and… 11:48 be open to many possibilities. Often people come with an… 11:51 idea: "We'll move and find work easily there because a…" 11:56 "friend told me so." That's not necessarily true. You may be lucky and… 11:59 find it, but you may not. Then the frustrations start… 12:04 and the disappointments. It's such 12:07 an emotionally complicated change that… 12:11 you fill your head with it and can't get out of that state. You can't… 12:16 move forward; you get stuck. In the end, leaving may have been even worse… 12:20 than staying where you wanted to leave. It's essential to keep a… 12:25 clear head and be open to every possibility. You're going to a… 12:28 new place, and even if you have a plan, it may not work out. 12:33 You need plans B, C, D, E, and however many it takes if you really want to… 12:37 be there. That would be my 12:40 advice. And another thing: it's quite lonely… 12:43 doing this. You tend to withdraw 12:47 and not want to share your disappointment… 12:51 or frustration. In the end that's very bad for you. You need… 12:56 a circle of people you can talk to, 12:59 open up to, or ask for support. 13:01 Not feel, "I made this decision, and if 13:04 it goes badly, that's just how it is…" 13:07 "and I'll sort it out myself." No: people 13:10 can help you. It's essential to accept help. 13:13 And be open to things not going 13:16 as you expect. That's what matters most. 13:20 I'd say it's been 13:23 a very exciting journey. 13:27 I went without expectations, and in the end 13:30 even ones I hadn't imagined were fulfilled. 13:32 It's been a beautiful journey, even the difficult parts. 13:37 In the end it's been more a journey of personal growth than anything else. 13:42 My experience has been 13:47 quite welcoming and difficult. 13:52 But that's what makes you stronger in the end. 