Dancing with the "mangrove" to recover it: Paolo Realpe Mina (Muisne from within)
Valeria López Peña
EFEverde (Madrid).- In southern Ecuador lies Muisne (Esmeraldas), a coastal canton that still guards the secrets and ancestral wisdom linked to the mangrove swamp. One of its guardians, Paolo Realpe Mina, learned from his piangüera family to decode the language of nature through drums, poems, and dance, a cultural expression that aims to reconnect young people with their natural environment.
The mangrove, in feminine"It's a being that, like me, feels, expresses itself, and, like a mother, guides, educates, cares for, and protects," Realpe explains to EFEverde, as it acts as a nursery for fish, crustaceans, reptiles, migratory birds, invertebrates, and aquatic mammals.
An ecological sanctuary facing multiple threats: urban expansion, aquaculture (especially shrimp farming), intensive agriculture, deforestation, pollution, and the effects of climate change (rising sea levels and intensified storms). According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), more than half of the world's mangroves are at risk of collapse by 2050 if protective measures are not implemented.
Despite all this, the mangrove forest endures as a vital ecosystem. Beach, river, sea, and tropical rainforest converge here, forming a natural barrier against natural disasters, acting as a carbon sink , regulating water quality, and harboring invaluable biodiversity.
In this coastal territory, the wind from the mangrove swamp warns its children about the depth of the water and erosion; it guides birds toward their prey, shaking the leaves in a swaying motion that was interpreted by ancestors and passed down to the present day. "That's why music and poetry are born: to decode the language of nature and raise awareness among new generations," says Realpe.
Dancing with the windProtecting mangroves: a necessity in the face of climate change
“We began to sail slowly, synchronized with that rhythm. It's a language. That's where music is born, a sentimental connection with that whole,” says Realpe, who as a child learned to interpret life by playing, fishing, singing, and playing drums alongside other children.
However, over time, that connection has weakened. Realpe recognizes the value of academia, but warns: "If it doesn't go hand in hand with feeling, it becomes distorted." And with it, politics too: "Many authorities haven't learned to see that there are beings who feel, who think, and who express themselves in a loving way. This is how the social and sovereign strengthening of a planet that sustains me should be woven."
For him, the emotional disconnection from the "mangrove" and ancestral culture prevents the creation of living spaces for reconnection: with gardens, musical instruments, or activities that awaken joy in nature.
Although the Muisne mangrove swamp is protected as a Wildlife Refuge , where significant areas of the six species of mangrove present in the country (pava, red, white, black, piñuelo and button) are found, “it is of no use,” Realpe believes, “because they are planned thousands of kilometers from the territory.”
Root and compassMuisne is a natural theater. “Everything is art: dance, music, decoding,” says Realpe. But it is also a site of conflict: shrimp farming expansion, drug trafficking routes, poverty, and exclusion have generated serious social problems.
Aquaculture and logging affect the carbon storage of Ecuadorian mangroves.
“Writing poems saved my life,” she confesses. “I had many wounds I didn't know how to heal. By writing them down in poems, I learned to forgive and empathize.” That's why she worries that the new generations will disown their cultural heritage, distance themselves from the "mangrove," and become filled with fear and resentment.
He himself experienced this disconnection when he entered a religious school , where he was expected to learn through verbal rigidity, not action: “I was scared, I was very rebellious in the face of the rigidity of the academy,” says Realpe, “so, I lasted until the new years at school, I left home to escape from that, I lived on the streets, I traveled, and I met very good people.”
On that journey, they reached Quito (the capital), where there were many Muiseños (people from Muises), so they began organizing gatherings to dance and play reggae music, among other Afro-descendant rhythms. However, one day, there was a police raid to disguise them as drug traffickers. The case became a media sensation, and they enlisted the help of lawyers who were able to prove that it was an injustice.
From within“Fear makes us aggressive. I had the opportunity to take that path, but my culture gave me a very solid foundation of values. I remembered where I came from, and I know that empathy, kindness, and creating alternatives are better,” Realpe says.
For Realpe, preserving is not only about resisting, but also about creating community: “You preserve when you are connected, when there are values, because you no longer judge: you do.”
This is how Muisne from Within was born, a community-based tourism initiative that offers guided tours of the canton. It's an alternative to convey cultural values and reconnect visitors with the essence of the territory: the mangrove, dance, and its conch ritual.
For Realpe, "the path is to return to playing, to dancing, to singing, to decoding. It's about that rhythm that invites us to let go, to learn, and to care." EFEverde
The International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem is celebrated every July 26th to raise awareness of the importance of this ecosystem and promote solutions for its conservation.
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