Michelle on Redemption at La Guarida Canelazo Stories – Vlog 10

Michelle Puga

Chapter Links (Timestamps)

Tonight’s vlog takes a departure from the usual as we find ourselves at one of Cuenca’s gems, La Guarida. Nestled within this beloved event center and restaurants, we’re here for a special occasion: Canelazo Stories. This event, curated by Andrés Zambrano, brings together diverse voices to share personal narratives. The theme for tonight’s stories? Redemption.

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Setting the Scene

La Guarida exudes a unique charm, making it one of my favorite spots in Cuenca. Tonight, it serves as the backdrop for an evening of storytelling. Canelazo Stories offers a platform for individuals to share their journeys, and I’m honored to be among the speakers tonight.

My Journey

When Andres extended the invitation to participate in Canelazo Stories, I was thrilled yet apprehensive. The theme of redemption struck a chord, evoking memories of my Catholic upbringing. Raised in a devout household, redemption was often associated with fear and guilt.

Redefining Redemption

However, as I delved deeper into the concept, I realized that redemption transcends religious doctrine. Researching beyond the confines of my upbringing, I discovered redemption as a universal act of forgiveness and self-improvement.

Inner Transformation

My journey toward understanding redemption led me to a profound realization: redemption is a deeply personal process. It’s about choosing a path guided by love rather than fear. Through self-reflection and growth, I’ve embraced a life of authenticity and compassion.

Impact of Conversations on Death

In my work facilitating conversations about death, I’ve witnessed firsthand the transformative power of introspection. Contemplating mortality often sparks reflections on redemption and legacy-building. It’s a reminder that our actions in life shape our personal heaven or hell.

Tonight’s storytelling event has been a journey of introspection and revelation. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share my story and explore the theme of redemption. As we continue to navigate life’s twists and turns, may we all find solace in the journey of self-discovery and growth.

Final Thoughts

As we bid farewell to La Guarida, I carry with me a sense of redemption—a reminder that growth and self-discovery are ongoing processes. I look forward to trying the canelazo at home, sharing its warmth with loved ones, and continuing to embrace life’s journey.

Thank you for joining me on this journey. Be sure to stay tuned for more vlogs about our life in Cuenca. Until next time, embrace the journey and please feel free to explore what redemption means to you.

Michelle on Redemption – La Guarida Canelazo Stories – Vlog 10 (Transcript)

Jason 00:00

Hey, welcome to today’s vlog. It’s a little bit of a different one. Today we’re at one of my favorite event centers, restaurants in Cuenca it is called La Guarida and they have an event tonight called the Canelazo Stories. So this is basically a storytelling evening where the owner Andres has selected around six different people just to tell a story for around 10 minutes each. Tonight I’m going to give you just a bit of Michelle’s story, and the theme is redemption. Let’s go.

Andres 00:55

Michelle with you. It’s a pleasure to have her here. It’s a pleasure to have so much diversity here at La Guarida. And thank you thank you so much for accepting my invitation to all the speakers. To all the previous speakers, thanks for accepting my invitation. This is Canelazo Stories, and we’ll start right here.

Michelle 01:19

Hello, everybody. Thank you for being here in this tenth edition of the Canelazo Stories. It’s a privilege for me to join you this evening. And thank you Andres for inviting me and I’m going to tell you, when he invited me to this event tonight, I was, like, thrilled to be in the Canelazo story. I was like, oh, this is awesome. So he’s like, do you confirm and I was like, yes, I confirm. He was like, all right, so the subject is going to be redemption. And I was like, Oh dear Lord, really?

Michelle 01:52

So let me frame this a little bit for you guys. So I’m Ecuadorian and I was raising a very Catholic family. So I was in a school for my 13 years of education I was in a Catholic school run by nuns and just for girls. So one of the things that I remember when he said redemption, I was like, I came back to those years of my childhood when redemption means you need to redeem your sins or else you’re going to go to hell, you know? And it was a really tough thing for me to just digest what this means. So being in a Catholic school, we had a lot of rules and we followed the Bible. And it was basically you need to follow all of these rules or else God is not going to like it and you’re going to go to hell, you’re not going to be allowed to heaven. And I’m talking like I started my education when I was 5 years old. So ever since I’ve been told that there is this God that is going to be very angry at me if I do something that is not aligned to the rules that we have.

Michelle 03:10

So I really had moments of anxiety like, you know, being seven, eight years, old. I don’t know, I find a coin in the yard and I’m like picking up this coin I’m so happy and then it was like, am I stealing something? I think I need to go to the church right now in the confession and say to them my sins right now. So it was actually a lot of anxiety. My mom would say like, “It wasn’t that bad.” it was, trust me. So when Andres told me you need to talk about redemption, I realized that the meaning of redemption for me had a very religious connotation. It was something around just following the rules. There is a heaven or there is a hell. And if you don’t follow them, you go to hell. But if you want to go to heaven, you need to redeem your sins, so you go to this confessionary you say like I did this wrong and this other thing and the priest is going to tell you have to do X amount of prayers and you’re going to be fine. So my experience with redemption was based on fear. So when I was growing up like let’s say 17 or 18 years old, I was like, I cannot keep living like that. I don’t want to live with fear. Like every time that I want to do something different from what I’ve been told to do, it’s gonna be a thing. So I started my, you know, my rebel years and I said, “OK, I’m not gonna call myself a Catholic anymore if that’s what it means.”

Michelle 04:55

So for coming this tonight I actually had to go to Mister Google and say ‘meaning of redemption for a non-Catholic person or nothing related to religion.’ So mister Google replied and he told me, “Redemptions refer to the action to save or being saved from sin, error, evil or negative situation, being redeemed or rescued from a state of guilt and then start a journey of forgiveness and improvement.” And then I was like, so I’ve been practicing redemption, but I was just calling it in a different way. You know it. For me, it was just part of the hero’s journey. So whenever you go down below and then you realize that this is not your path and then you’re saying, like, no, I want to be a better person and then it comes redemption but I was not calling it that way. So for me, I just realized that redemption, it’s more of an inner relationship with myself, something that I understood that I don’t have to prove to a god that is somewhere up there or to prove to society. I realized that the redemption process is something so personal that I go through to be a better human being. And by doing that, I help the society, I help my community, I help my family.

Michelle 06:32

So as Andres said, I work with death. So yes, I go grab a coffee and have conversations with people about death. You’re going to say like, yeah, that looks sounds interesting. But trust me, for the people who have gone to my death cafes, I know a few here who have come there. They know that after putting the subject of death on the table, you can really be fully alive. If there’s one thing that we have certain here, is that nobody wants to talk about it. And one of the things that I’ve seen in the sessions of talking about death is like whenever you put that on the table, this subject of redemption also comes in because people say like, “OK, let’s talk about death” and then it’s like what have been doing with my life right now? It is too late to change? Sometimes it’s like they are facing a fatal disease or they are in the very, like late years and they are saying, “I cannot change things right now.” So what they think about is redemption and legacy and they are saying, “OK, I cannot go back and erase all the things that I did in my life, but what can I do for the next generations? What can I do better for the next generation? What legacy can I take there?” So in the end, I understood that this battle that we have of heaven or hell, is here on earth. You build your heaven or you build your hell depending on what actions you do here. So it’s not like you have to wait until you die to really leave that. And for that, one of the key things that I’ve learned in these years, especially these last years, is like, how do you choose? Do I choose to like the little Michelle that I was used to living by fear and just following the rules because she was scared? Or do I choose my life through love? And I do and become a better person. So I hope that I touch some hearts tonight and you can reflect on what redemption means to each one of you. Thank you.

Andres 09:06

In this bag, my Mama forgot that she was making the gift baskets. It’s oh, no, it’s there. It’s there. I’m sorry, mom. This is a canelazo kit. You should be able to make a Canelazo with all of this. Just add a little bit of vanilla if you want, or brown sugar or honey. It’s up to you. Some people do it differently. That’s the way Flaco does it and we’ll have canelazo in a little bit to celebrate. Thank you, Michelle.

Andres 09:40

Hey, guys, thanks for coming to Canelazo Stories. We’ll see you at the eleventh edition. Thank you.

Jason 09:45

So we’ve just finished the Canelazo stories at La Gaurida and how do you feel, Michelle? It was a great story thanks for sharing.

Michelle 09:52

Thank you. I feel redeemed. Actually it was really good, just sharing with people and looking and listening to the different stories it was very enriching so I really enjoyed it.

Jason 10:04

Awesome and what did you get as a little gift?

Michelle 10:06

Oh, I have a kind canelazo kit to do it at home.

Jason 10:09

So we have to make our own canelazo.

Michelle 10:11

Yes, we can. We can ask my mom to do it for us.

Jason 10:14

What is canelazo?

Michelle 10:16

Canelazo is a very traditional drink from the Andes and it’s actually something that family shares on special occasions, so it’s really nice.