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Background

Jesai is a shop owner at the less visited ancient city of Coba. He is very satisfied with his life, his family, his work and the people he gets to talk to each day. This is his story:

Work and Family Life

Living in Coba, Jesai and his entire family are centered on the tourism trade. His father is an artists and creates many of the items his store then sells to tourists, although with other Mayan descendant families. Jesai both works and lives with his family and are there in all aspects of his life. He talks about how family is the support, refuge and protection again the world. The people you can rely on and his family is always the people he can go to for anything, despite some occasionally fights.

Family is central to Jesai’s happiness, but he also sees a lot of fulfillment in his work. He gets to meet people all over the world who come to see the ancient Mayan ruins in Coba. His goal is just to continue his life in tourism. He couldn’t think of anything he would change in how his life is going right now and is very content with business and family life, even with the COVID slowdown.

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His Perspective

As a child, Jesai always wanted to be a hero and thought about going into the military to help save people. Although his aspirations have since changed, his perspective remains that saving people is still his priority. He looks to save and preserve the memory of his ancestors and tell their stories.

Saving people happens in many different ways. Sometimes it’s physically saving them from danger, but sometimes it’s preserving their story, sometimes it’s a smile or a connection in a time of need. The Coba performance used to be flooded with guests, now there are only a few people who attend. Although not really seeing the need for much change in his life, Jesai hopes more and more people continue to come back to Coba to learn more about both the ruins and the culture of the Mayans.

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Background

Susana works nights on the beaches in Cancun where hundreds of sea turtles come ashore to popular beach sites to lay their eggs. Her job is to find the eggs and rebury them in safe spots to increase the chances of their survival. This is her story:

Sea Turtles

Each night after the hundreds of tourists leave the sandy beaches in Cancun, they are replaced by hundreds of sea turtle mothers looking for spots to bury their eggs. Susana’s job is to find the eggs and dig out, by hand, each of the hundreds of eggs laid by each turtle every night. Using red light to avoid disturbing the turtle mothers, Susana waits on the beach watching for the flipping sand from massive sea turtle fins.

After finding the turtle nests, and observing the mothers laying the eggs, Susana will move in, often while the mothers are laying the eggs, to move them to a secure location, increasing the likelihood of survival. Sea turtle hatchlings often only survive at one percent rate, these efforts to relocate the eggs help maintain and improve those survival rates.

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The process is tough work. Susana is often working from 11pm until 7am each night. When she’s not there to see the turtles laying their eggs, she’ll look for the soft sand and dig carefully with a shovel and small stick, finding the softest sand that indicates where the eggs have recently been buried.

Susana has been involved in relocating the turtle eggs for 6 years. She finds the work rewarding and feels she’s making a real difference in the lives of these majestic creatures.

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Her Perspective

As a very quiet and reserved person, Susana silently goes about her work each night. She brings out individual eggs which look like sand covered ping pong balls, gently and carefully. The tasks is a lot of work, with 5 – 20 buckets of 150 – 200 eggs, each night. It’s one by one work, all in an effort to just allow one percent to survive. It’s about major efforts to make a major difference for only a select few turtles. Her job gives her the perspective of doing what you can and giving your all, to make that life saving difference, even if it’s only for a few lucky hatchlings.

As she applies that to her life, she puts her all into giving those around her a chance for improvement, a chance for life. She quietly goes about making the world a better place.

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Background

Saul is a young boy living nearby the heavily tourist centered city of Cancun, Mexico. He travels daily by bus out to the hotel zone to sell his mother’s products to tourists on the street. This is his story:

Life in Sales

Saul is just nine years old, but he works full time along with going to the school to help provide for his family. He’s a shy boy, who speaks only Spanish to the mainly American tourist who flood into Cancun’s hotel zone strip. He’s the oldest of three children and lives with both his parents and grandparents in a city a few hours’ bus ride away from Cancun.

However every night, and even into the early morning hours, Saul comes with his aunt to sell small trinkets to tourists in order to get by. His main focus is small woven bracelets his mom hand makes, which he holds tightly onto until he makes his sell and pulls them individually off their sewn on strands.

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His Perspective

Despite being very independent at such a young age, Saul is not too aware of where he is or where he comes from. He knows he likes working a lot more than being in school and that each sold bracelet means more food and security for his family. He doesn’t think much about the future or other opportunities, he’s so quiet and so used to people speaking to him in a language he doesn’t understand that he’s become solely focus on exchanging money for bracelets.

He likes what he does, likes convincing people to buy and presenting beautiful bracelets to his customers. He loves Spiderman and other super heroes, but despite being a child, he doesn’t wish for a nonexistent reality. He’s grounded in the here and now, with a concentration that rivals the best sales people in the world.

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Background

Miguel has been a tennis fan his entire life and reflects on lessons from the game as relatable to his life. This is his story:

Old Drunk Men

As a group coming to the Indian Wells tennis tournament for some time, making the drive from Mexicali, he talked about his group of four as a bunch of “old drunk men.” He says they are set in their ways and relying on their experience from life to give them perspective. He is relaxed, easy going and likes to take things one step at a time. He’s learned much about other cultures and languages from relationships he’s had throughout his life. “The best way to learn a new language and culture is to get a girlfriend who speaks that language or is from that culture.”

His group of four were at the tennis stadium supporting the oldest mens singles player in the tournament, Stan Wawrinka. They were there cheering him on as they related to him as the old man of the tournament. He represented for them the good old days of tennis, where grit and power were valued above finesse and strategy.

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His Perspective

Miguel is a man who has learned to let the little things go. Stressing about things you cannot control just simply adds no value to his life. He lives within his means, works hard for his wages and enjoys the simple pleasures in life.

Sincerity and honesty are his two life pillars. He feels that living honestly guide his perspective in life and has led him to good friends, strong family connections and a life well lived.

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Background

Pitin has been a street performer in several countries, with talents and hopes to bring a smile to as many faces as possible. This is his story:

Life on the Streets

Pitin grew up in Mexico and has been performing as a street clown for years. He doesn’t make a lot, but he does what he can to survive while still adding joy to the world instead of being a burden. He’s a hard worker, it’s not easy to go out every day in clown makeup with a few balloons and perform with no guarantee that people passing by will appreciate his efforts or contribute to him earning his next meal.

Yet Pitin keeps a positive outlook. He’s found, unlike others who perform in the street, he’s willing to give to those without expecting any monetary reward. His genuine desire is to bring a smile to peoples’ faces as they pass by. He is particularly good at lighting up a child’s face and that typically spreads to the parent and others watching nearby.

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His Perspective

Pitin lives a simple life and currently performs on the streets in San Jose, Costa Rica. He always has a smile on his face and tries to make it as contagious as possible. His views toward the world, that can sometimes be cruel, indifferent or overlooking, is that he can either choose to add what he can or become bitter and sour. He chooses joy, and has to choose it every day as he finds little ways to bring joy to those who see him.

When he chooses joy and happiness, he gets more out of his time performing on the streets than he could ever imagine, regardless of the monetary payout, he’s found a way to be happy.

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Background

Joseph works in a family run business at a nursery in Alajuela, Costa Rica. He spends his days with the plants, nurturing and helping them grow to their full potential. This is his story:

Business

The family business has been around for a few generation. Joseph works at Vivero Ocampo with his father who is the owner, and a new partner they recently brought on to help with business. Joseph takes pride in his plants and knows the needs for each individual plant to flower or produce delicious fruit.

Plants are his life and he immerses himself in caring for and understanding the best tactics for cultivating the most fruitful plants. He mostly sells his plants and trees for residential and commercial landscaping, but he also has several fruit and herbal plants used for consumption.

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His Perspective

Joseph believes that giving and being generous in life is the key to happiness. For those that come to visit his nursery, he welcomes them with open arms, free tours and plenty of fruit samples. He feels connected to people when he can give and seeks no immediate reward in return other than the feeling of doing something good for those who come to his nursery.

His knowledge of plants allows him to offer something unique to his customers and his warm and welcoming personality gives both his visitors and himself a deep sense of genuine connection. His perspective in life is that as you cherish the simple things and give willingly when you can, happiness will always follow.

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Background

Moses lives in a small house on the edge of a vast jungle outside of La Fortuna, Costa Rica. His goal is to do as much with his life as possible to pave a better way for his own future as well as his future children. This is his story:

Isolation

Living behind a commercial area, Moses doesn’t live in a neighborhood. He has his younger sister, 6, and a little brother who is only five months old. Yet his problem in living outside of a neighborhood is there’s no one to play soccer with. He has setup rock goal posts in the muddy area in front of his house to play, but rarely gets a chance to play with other kids beyond his little sister.

He hopes that one day he can move to a place where more children live and where he can spend time his with his peers, improving his soccer skills. Although Moses does spend his weekdays in school, it’s far away and he doesn’t feel he knows the other students well. He studies hard and is trying to make a path to a better life.

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His Perspective

As many young boys often do, Moses dreams of becoming a professional soccer player. But he knows his options are limited. With a father working on the Yucca farm miles away, barely able to make ends meet, he doesn’t have the luxury of many options right now. He wants that to change in the future and sees the best way forward as focusing on his studies and doing well in school.

Although he has a mother and father in the home, he, as the oldest sibling, often feels like the provider and care giver to his family. He takes on a lot, but hopes one day to give his future family the freedom to not have the burdens of such responsibilities so young in life.

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Background

Josefina works in a family owned restaurant outside the city of Jaco selling empanadas from a recipe passed down from generations. This is her story:

The Family Business

Doing what they’ve always known in the family, just in a new place now, Josefina continues the family business of making special Argentine empanadas. She joined her cousins who came years three years earlier to establish the business in Costa Rica.

She has enjoyed the family recipe invented by her grandmother and now passed to a third generation of cooks to provide a delicious source of income. As the economy in Argentina changed, both due to COVID and political changes, they traveled to Costa Rica to setup new roots. Not everyone joined, but they’ve found business to be better in a more tourist focused country.

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Life Rules

With a bubbling personality that caters to her customers, Josefina lives her life by ten rules that center on authenticity and taking risks to improve your life. Her business and life is setup on these rules and help her in her journey to a new country and the uncertainties that have followed.

Josefina has a desire for improving life, both for her and those around her. She believes in responsibility, taking ownership, and forgiving those have wronged you. Rule number ten, “for every minute you are angry, you lose 60 seconds of happiness” drives her focus in life. Happiness in business, happiness in family, and happiness with others is her goal.

Her Perspective

Josefina has taken many risks in life. It’s difficult to be a business owner and entrepreneur. More so when you are in a foreign country, in an extremely competitive industry like restaurants, and as a woman. She relies on her ten rules for all that she does, both in business and life, and points to these principles as the reason for the success she’s seen so far.

She doesn’t have everything she’s ever wanted, but because of her work ethic, focus and her 10 rules, she’s realizing she has what she needs. She feels anyone can really be successful in life following those same 10 rules.

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Background

Alex is tour guide in the estuaries in southern Costa Rica and loves his job with the opportunities it gives him to show off his skills and knowledge of the wildlife in his home country. This is his story:

Family Life

Alex loves children and has adopted and saved 3 kids from abandonment and drug abusive environments. His most recent adopted child, who is now 16 years old, was left at a park by his mother when he was just 22 days old. Alex helped nurse him back to life and provided a safe haven for him to learn and grow. It has come with challenges and even issues from obvious fetal drug and alcohol syndrome, but Alex enjoys helping life thrive where it sometimes appears hopeless.

He also has two daughters who are 28 and 22, who were adopted and rescued from drug addicted biological families as well. Alex talks about his children being the purpose and center of his life. He does everything he can for them.

Now that his daughters are grown, he has also become a grandfather to two grandsons, ages 3 and 15. Seeing his children make a life of their own and thrive, when their start in this world seemed so bleak, gives Alex the fulfillment and joy many of us seek in this life.

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Career

Yet despite his focus on family, Alex also has a particularly exciting day job. With his talent for mimicking over 100 different kinds of animal sounds, Alex has thrived giving tourists boat tours in the mangrove rivers in Quepos, Costa Rica.

At work, he’s known as crazy Alex for both his sound mimicking capabilities and his habit of diving in the river during night tours to pull crocodiles out of the water. His abilities to spot the tiniest animal life, call his white face monkeys to food, and get the basilisks lizards to do their signature move of walking across the water, has led him to a successful career in the tourism industry. He loves his job, but he does it all for his children, so they can grow up and have even more opportunities than he’s had.

His Perspective

Life is about what you make of it and how you can give just a little joy and happiness to others. Alex loves taking risks for the benefit of others. Adopting children is always a difficult decision, but Alex jumps in head first, as if diving in to wrestle a crocodile, so the joy and admiration of those around him. Alex feels life is meant to be lived and to add joy to those around you in the most meaningful ways. His focus on family, even from his origins living in the small and poor islands of Las Damas, has centered his goal on connection to those in need.

With such a focus on joy and risk taking, Alex feels his perspective changes day to day with each exciting new adventure that the new day offers him.

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Background

Vanessa is an optimist and a fighter. Her whole life she’s been fighting for more: more time, more joy to spread around and more focus on family. This is her story:

Childhood

Growing up in a small area of Costa Rica known as Los Chiles, Vanessa was diagnosed with a rare disease, she may be the only person she knows or has heard of with this disease. Her parents were told that she would only live until she was 5 years old. She was 3 at the time. They decided to make the most of the time they had with her and wanted to show her as much of the world as they could. However, Vanessa’s parents worked as car mechanics for most of their lives and didn’t have the money to travel the world. Instead they went to all the beaches in they could in their home country of Costa Rica.

Yet she beat the odds and as she continued to fight for survival and thrive, they realized that their doctor had been wrong, about her passing away, and about the medicine he was prescribing her. He diagnosed her with epilepsy and gave her medicine that eventually confined her to a wheelchair for life.

The family moved away after a flood destroyed their home, which allowed them a chance to be closer to a hospital and receive a new physician who was better able to help Vanessa with her illness. At 14 she took a chance with an injection that could only be found outside of the country. The doctor said it would either cure her or kill her, and she, along with her parents decided to take that chance. The injection did not work and she did nearly die from the experience. She had to be revived from the painful experience, but she fought on.

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The Future

Vanessa is now 23 and living in La Fortuna with her two younger sisters and parents. She works in a local market selling books and connecting with all those she meets. She is still confined to her wheelchair, yet never lets that stop her in any endeavor. She loves to tell jokes and listen as well as talk to all those who come to the market. Family is what’s most important to her and both her and her younger sister work in any capacity to make ends meet. Her younger sister drives tractors and workers for different farmers in the area. They all contribute to the needs of their entire family, working with whatever skills they’ve gained.

When asked what she thinks about her future, Vanessa said, “I don’t think about it. I always live in the present because my sickness doesn’t allow to think too far ahead. Sometimes thinking too far ahead brings fear, fear of the unknown and fear of change.” Vanessa’s focus on the now helps her maintain positivity and do what she can now to seize the day! Although dreams may be a luxury her situation doesn’t afford, she does think of traveling one day, if she didn’t need constant medicine and care. One day though she hopes to be free enough, financially, physically and medically, to see more of the world.

Her Perspective

Vanessa’s illness has given her a great appreciation for life. She has now lived 19 years longer than her first doctor believed she would. She is vibrant, positive and kind. Her attitude helps combat the negativity that could engulf her, but her mindset is focused on now and what is going right for her today.

Her desire to connect with people, together with her outgoing nature, makes her someone that all in the market know and admire. She loves names and remembering people’s unique names, although she does admit that unique names are hard to find in Costa Rica, with everyone named Maria or Jose! Her view on life has given her time and just maybe she’ll have enough time and freedom one day to travel to see and feel snow for the first time in her life.

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