«The Canary Islands are part of Macaronesia, a region of the Atlantic birthed by volcanoes. He who was born here owes everything to the bowels of the Earth, but also knows that it is a living land, just as it gives you it takes away from you and sometimes it demands your dream. All men dream but not equally, those who dream at night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake up during the day and discover their vanity. But day dreamers are dangerous. “They fight for their dreams with their eyes open and make them come true.” This is how the movie begins «The dream that defeated a volcano», which premiered this December 13, just three years after the Cumbre Vieja volcano (today Tajogaite) stopped showing vital signs. Until then, during the 85 agonizing days that its activity lasted, it destroyed 1,300 homes and was on the verge of ending the lifelong dream of many people, including that of Vicente Leal.
His house – the closest to the volcano’s crater – was buried under meters of ash, and became a symbol of the resistance of the residents of La Palma. Today, the Macaronesian Stories initiative premieres this film in order to raise funds to help Vicente and other neighbors affected by the aftermath of the eruptions.
A house for ecotourism
The story of this dream began 30 years ago. During this time, Vicente invested all his time and savings to build a house on land inherited from his father in the middle of an incredible Canary Islands forest with views of the sea. He dedicated his efforts and every free day to turning that little paradise into a house to welcome travelers attracted by the nature of La Palma. In September 2021 everything was ready, however, Earth had other plans.
The Cumbre Vieja volcano literally emerged behind his house and Vicente saw how the lava flow remained a few meters away, covering it under several meters of ash. The volcano was about to take away the dream of his life, but he wasn’t going to make it easy for him. Together with his children and some friends, in the middle of the eruption, he entered the area, with the only help of a shovel, and with the aim of uncovering the chimney so as to never lose sight of the house.
Last summer, Vicente was still struggling to remove the meters of ash that covered his house by his own means. When he was about to give up, he decided to record a video to seek help and Macaronesian Gin, the only Canarian gin made with water filtered by volcanic galleries, answered that call. The Macaronesian Stories project was then born, an initiative to fight for dreams, and which has been joined by a group of personalities from the Canary Islands who have held a very special meeting at Vicente Leal’s house and which is also reflected in the documentary.
«It’s not just a house, it’s the dream of a lifetime. For 30 years I built a future for my family with my own hands until one day the earth opened up under my feet to take everything away from me,” says Vicente Leal: “Digging up the chimney was the only way to keep track of my dream and for three years I have been unearthing part of the house shovel by shovel. What am I going to do, I am a Canary Islander, and we Canary Islanders are stubborn, happy, supportive and resilient by nature, but it was impossible alone. I posted a YouTube video asking for help and one day I received a call that would change everything and started a chain of calls. Because when a canary asks another canary for help, it responds.
Canarian solidarity
The first call was from Macaronesian Gin, which invited other Canarians such as the singers Caco Senante, NIA and Ariann NIA, the Michelin star chef Víctor Suárez and the actress Kira Miró, who ended up meeting with Vicente in that house of doors and windows green surrounded by ashes. For Kira Miró, “being in the area moves you a lot. Meeting Vicente, seeing images of how the house was, that only the chimney stood out, and how he, little by little with his children and family, have been unearthing it, puts you into action: we must go ahead and continue with our dreams. It’s inspiring”
«Everything can be lost suddenly and recovery is always slow. The message we want to convey is one of hope, because dreams can come true. We hope that many people will be encouraged to share Vicente’s story and help him fulfill this dream of recovering his house. And may this be the first of many,” predicts Ángel García Recuero, spokesperson for Macaronesian Gin. «Life has knocked me to the ground, but I have gotten up because I am a Canarian. I carry it in my genes, we are like stones, hard. This is my story, that of a dream against a volcano, which I hope inspires others to fight,” says Vicente.
To fight and help because as the end of this film says: “When you help someone fulfill a dream, you are one step closer to fulfilling yours.”
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