Who are you?
Claudia, a.k.a. “cgg”. Mother, photographer. Born in Montevideo, Uruguay & exiled to Canada in 1977. My parents arrived with $450 in their pocket, 2 suit cases & 2 young children under the age of 7. Through hard work, they were able to provide us with a happy home and education. I have learned so much from all of their sacrifices. Although I have lived most of my life in Canada, my roots and that “pull” to my culture has always been very much alive & raw inside me. This has inspired me to raise my girls as little Uruguayan Canadians. I only speak Spanish to them. Spanish books and music are a big part of our lives. Thanks to YouTube we can watch different cultural events that happen in Montevideo, such as the yearly Carnival and various festivals and Skype keeps us connected to our family. My husband (being East Van born and raised) has embraced this and has learned a lot of Spanish along the way. It is fascinating to watch our 2 ½ year old switch back and forth between Spanish & English depending on which parent she is talking to.
What do you do for fun?
Photography. I love it. When I was just a kid, I was fascinated with my father’s camera and would get in so much trouble if I touched it, but I didn’t care – I just HAD to hold it and sneak in a few pictures. Those were the film days when film and processing was expensive. At 14, I finally got my own camera and did black & white dark room photography for 5 years. I have lugged my camera all over Cuba, Jamaica, North & South America through my travels. I love to document life – people working, people having fun. I also have a thing for buildings.
What is your favourite community? Why?
My favourite community is the one we are submerged into right now. We moved to the TriCities last year and our children attend a Parent Participation Preschool which is just amazing. The group of families that run the preschool really walk-the-walk. When one of the teacher’s husbands broke his leg, everyone got together and cooked up a storm and delivered meals to the family. We put on a successful coats & toy drive this winter for our local food bank. The fund raising committee that I am part of has done a great job in raising the money that will keep the school up and running for next year. Next month we are holding a big fair which will give back to the local community with bouncy castles, pony rides, and entertainment, all for a very nominal cost. Thanks to this community and preschool, our children are in a positive play-based environment and it gives you the warm and fuzzies to watch them discover, thrive and gather confidence.
What is your superpower? People look at me and tell me stuff. My skin must emit some kind of “truth serum” pheromone or something. I am like the bartender in all the movies that you see working behind the counter and people come and sit down, order a drink and then tell them things their best friend doesn’t even know.
How do you use it to build community? Of course, this new discovered truth that people share now comes with a sense of responsibility because people often want words of wisdom. This superpower helps me to build community one person at a time. Someone once said “pretend that everyone you meet has a sign around their neck that says ‘make me feel important’”. Every person is different, but fundamentally, people just want to feel accepted and we also want to feel hope. By listening, it gives them permission to feel vulnerable which is very powerful.
My Three Favourite Things About cgg Are…
1. She’s Really, Really Nice. To make a long story short, Claudia played a very big role in getting my career to where it is today – when an opportunity came up at UBC’s Sauder School of Business it was with Claudia’s recommendation that I made it to (and through) the interview process and into the role. To this day, I am both incredibly grateful and also very much in her debt. Thanks, Claudia!
2. Photographic Awesomeness. Claudia has a wonderful eye that spectacularly captures the soul of people and places (see awesome photos of Uruguay). She’s creative, poetic, cool, and super-classy when it comes to the pictures she snaps, sure, but especially through how she presents her work – a knack for powerful storytelling is reflected by Claudia’s words and images above. Even through a lens people seem to tell her things! Oh, and any great photographer must have a strong entrepreneurial spirit, which totally shines through in cgg’s story of how her family grew a happy and healthy life in Canada while staying connected to their roots in Uruguay.
3. Intercultural Community Building. The fact that Claudia’s toddler can flip back and forth between Spanish and English – depending on the parental audience – will serve the child/children well in our hyper-globalized world. I love cgg’s stories about using technology (YouTube and Skype) to maintain a healthy cultural connection between the national/local communities of Uruguay and Montevideo as well as the very important connection to family.
Special Bonus Reason! URUGUAY! I love Uruguay. So does Michelle. We wrote about Montevideo a lot during our month in South America and, well, I can simply say that Montevideo is on of my “favourites” list of global cities. One of the reasons that we had such a great time is because Claudia gave me some great insider tips – because, like I said, she’s really, really nice!
—
All photos courtesy of the lovely and talented Glaudia Garcia aka cgg.