We were lucky to catch up with Ximena Soza Vergara recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ximena, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
My resilience comes from the model of working women I have meet and seen through my life. I was born during the dictator of Augusto Pinochet, the survivors of those brutal times are a testimony of resilience. Mothers that lost their children but kept on fighting for justice and for their love ones not to be forgotten. I have also shared with indigenous people of the Americas, they have proven immense resilience, their sole existence is a testament of this.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
As an educator, artist, poet and researcher I create pieces of work using different medias that speak about stories that are not frequently told, those of immigration, disappearances, war and indigenous peoples of the Americas.
In collaboration with other educators of members of communities I have worked on didactical material to promote native languages like Tsotsil, Tseltal ( Mayan languages from Chiapas, Mexico) and Mapudungun ( Mapuche language from Chile and Argentina) . This material is particularly special to me since the lost of original languages mean the lost of cultural and religious values of a community our latest work is done through ContraCuento, where we choose to retell stories. Another work I am proud of is the studio I share with my children Wepeuma, in which we create clothing and jewelry with Mapuche designs (original people of South America).
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Perseverance, creativity and social consciousness are three important skills that have been shown in my work during my career . perseverance allowed me keep going when things were hard ( as a young single mother of two things were hard many times), Creativity was necessary to solve many problems and to use resources wisely. Social consciousness has been important to remember who i am and to respect others.
My advice would to stay true to their values always.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
When I am overwhelmed I turn to my support network, take a pause, have tea with someone I trust until I am ready to keep on going. Having self care strategies in place is really helpful, knowing what copying skills we can use in stressful times is key, but those come through a process of self awareness, so using time to get to know ourselves is a great investment.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: ximenasoza, wepeuma, contracuento
- Facebook: ximenasoza, we peuma, contracuento,
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