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We just finished an interview with a very interesting man named Juan Manuel Carrion, a painter, ornithologist, naturalist, musician and politician. A real renaissance man. Juan has spent much of his life in the jungle in Ecuador studying the many bird, plant, insect and animal species here. He told us that 18% of the worlds bird species are in Ecuador, which is pretty amazing considering that the total land mass of Ecuador is 0.01% of the entire world. The combination of jungle and high mountains provide a unique environment that allows many species to thrive. Although Juan Manuel spoke English he said we would prefer to answer my questions in Spanish. Up until now we have had a translator to help us, but today it was just Denise and I, leaving Denise to translate while operating two cameras and sound. She had her hands full, but did a great job.

Juan spoke about how we can learn the way that the natural environment in the jungle works. He said, 'There [in the jungle], everything is interconnected, and completely interdependent on one another. Each living thing has its own function, its own job, yet they all relate to each other and compliment each other in their own unique way.' Juan spoke about the need to replace the current political, economic and corporate structures in Ecuador and around the world with new systems, based on an understanding and respect of what nature has to teach us. When I asked him about the role of art to help create change and an awareness of oneness he said, 'The role of art has always been to wake people up, today our society is living in a collective dream and has forgotten that we are spiritual beings. We need to wake up our society and remind them that life is not about me and what I need, but about us and what we need. He continued, 'People always ask the question, ‘Who am I and why am I here?,’ but the question should be ‘Who are we and why are we here?’'

He was a real pleasure to talk to, a man of integrity and passion whose voice will be a valuable addition to the 45+ (!) people we have now interviewed

Tomorrow we will interview a man named Freddy Ehlers, one of the most well-known and powerful politicians in Ecuador.

Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee