Macaronesian Stories, a moving campaign to rebuild a dream buried by La Palma's volcano in the Canary Islands

Today is the launching of the short film 'The dream that beat a volcano', showing Vicente Leal, a resident of the Canary Islands who has been fighting since 2021 to fulfill a dream that the volcano took away

LA PALMA, Spain, Dec. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today marks three years since the end of a roaring volcano on the island of La Palma in the Canaries. During the 85 harrowing days of its activity, more than 5,000 people were evacuated, around 1,000 homes destroyed, and it nearly ended the dream of Vicente Leal, a resident of the small Spanish island with the home closest to that volcano's crater.

For 30 years, Vicente dedicated all his time and savings to build a house on a piece of inherited land, in the middle of an incredible Canarian forest and overlooking the sea. He dedicated all his efforts to turning that little paradise into a house, but in September 2021, the Earth had other plans.

The volcano erupted right behind his house, and Vicente watched as the lava flow approached, burying it under a blanket of ash. The volcano threatened to take away the dream of his life, but he refused to give up. Together with his family and the help of some friends, he entered the area in the middle of the eruption, and just with a shovel, he set the goal of uncovering the chimney, as to never lose sight of the house, to be able to find it afterwards.

This year, Vincente was still struggling with the daunting task of removing the mountains of dark ash ejected by the volcano to regain his dream. He then decided to record a video to seek help. Macaronesian Gin, the only Canary Island gin made with water filtered through volcanic galleries, answered his call and launched this initiative to fight for our dreams, and help Vicente to fulfill his.

Today, together with the short film 'The dream that beat a volcano', Macaronesian Stories aims to raise funds to help Vicente and his neighbourgs affected by the volcano rebuild their dreams in an archipelago hewn from volcanic activity spanning millions of years. The initiative has been supported by personalities from the Canary Islands to showcase the spirit of solidarity and resilience of the people of this volcanic land. Several participated in an encounter this week at Vicente Leal's plot, the first meeting held in the house since the eruption, which is featured in the short film. Actors, musicians, designers and artists experienced a unique and exciting encounter, with the shared goal of fighting for all of our dreams while also celebrating life.

Find here a B-roll video for TV

Website: macaronesianstories.com

Video: https://youtu.be/NyEv1PdAaYs?feature=shared 

Press contact: Rosa Piqueras, +34 646 92 84 74 Beatriz Pavón, +34 675 82 54 31 comunicacion@mrgoldwind.com

The state of the house 3 years ago, affected by the aftermath of the La Palma volcano.

Vicente Leal at his house today, closer for his dream to be completed.