PHYLANTHROPY - Gabriela Camus - founder of Foundación Huitziyolotl, A.C.
Gabriela Camus: writer, healer, and philanthropist — the woman who decided that the luxury of Los Cabos had an obligation to turn and look at its most vulnerable neighbors.
by Mayté Rodríguez Cedillo and Fernando Favela · Philanthropy · BajaTraveler.com
Gaby, it took you eight years to write “Notes from the Purple Notebook.” That is not the timeline of someone who writes quickly — it is the timeline of someone who needed to live what they were going to write before they could write it. What happened in those eight years that could not have happened in one?
I needed to go back into my life and reflect everything I had gone through. I had been married for twenty years, went through a divorce and then remarried. It took me eight years because I needed to go through a learning process – my current husband has been a big influence in my life as well as the teachers I’ve had along the way. Today I feel very happy, very secure and I needed to feel this way in order to reflect and write the book.
The color purple speaks of transmutation — turning darkness into light. You work with Reiki, you study energy, you know the shadow. There is a moment in every person’s life when something dark must be transmuted or it will destroy you. What was yours?
In my particular case, there were so many things that I wanted to do. My life had a lot of adrenaline and I had to stop and look at my life – stay in my center – breathe. Realize what I had and stay on the right side of the light – that has been my challenge and my dark side.
You live in Los Cabos — one of the most materially intense environments in the world. Ten-million-dollar penthouses, luxury resorts, the most expensive corridor in Mexico. How does a person maintain a deep spiritual life in a place where everything invites excess and noise?
It is very important to have balance in your life and to give back. All of us that are fortunate to live a good live, we must find ways to help those who are not as fortunate. I try to balance my life by giving back – living a life that is not to serve is a life that doesn’t serve.
Yes, hyutziyolotl is the heart of the hummingbird. A heart with a spirit that posseses a lot of energy/ energy to serve. It gets that energy from the honey within the flowers that produces (the honey) from the sunlight. Through my birthday, I found out that I have that same type of energy, I have a lot of will power. We all need that energy from the sun to be happy and to give service to others – is so important.
I grew up looking at those two worlds – with that contrast, as I grew up in México. We are able to live around it, but we can not close our eyes. The only way for people to survive “poverty” is through education – and the government has not done a good job in that department. This is why the industry needs to give back. There are a lot of foundations that pitch in and we must all continue to do this because it’s never enough. This is why we all need to have a well balanced life.
All the proceeds from the book go to the foundation. That turns every reader, without knowing it, into a donor. Was that the intention from the beginning — or did you arrive at that decision after something happened?
My book is named, “Los apuntes de la libreta morada,” The notes of the purple notebook. The reason that I wrote the book is to give people hope. Through the biographies that I have included in the book of people that have taught me, I feel this can give people hope by turning their lives around and being happy. Know that the past is who you are and that you can turn your life around. And of course, all the money that comes in from the sale of the book will be put to good use and help those in need. The book is in spanish and my goal is to translate it in english soon. I thank you all for reading it and I wish you all a life full of love, light and happiness.
This will be an opportunity for all to dress up and enjoy music and good spanish food. All proceeds will go to help those in need.
What is the Casa de Día San Miguel, and what role does it play in the lives of the elderly adults you serve?
This is a “house” that benefits the elders in our community – grandparents join to socialize and during half a day, doctors visit them to help them with any medical problem they are having, they eat, play games, they exercise, do yoga, they are pampered – they have thier hair done, etc. During this “feria” we will be donating funds to this house.
The early-bird ticket price ends on May 15th. For someone who wants to support Huitziyolotl but cannot attend on June 12th, is there another way to help?
This date has been extended thru May 25th, anyone can buy tickets and attend or give them away. Anyone can also donate funds – these donations are used for many necessities such as clothing, food, mattresses etc.
In Nahuatl cosmology, the hummingbird is a messenger between worlds. You have spent years building a bridge between the Los Cabos that everyone photographs and the Los Cabos that very few people want to see. If that hummingbird asked you what message you carry from one world to the other — what would you tell it?
The message that I would carry would be, that all of us that are privileged to live a comfortable life in such a magical place, must be very grateful and also concious of the fact that there is a lot of need to help others. We must all make an attempt to give back. There are a lot of opportunities to do this, there are many associations where one can donate, many schools that need help. Many events where we can attend in order to help those in need. I invite you all to come to the FERIA de SEVILLA on June 12th at the ROOF TOP 360/ Hotel Corazon in Cabo San Lucas. You may purchase tickets by calling +52 (222) 429-8700. All proceeds will benefit the Instituto de la Mujer and the Casa de Dia San Miguel.