He told Renaissance and Ecologists Magazine: “I had to transform my relationship into what it means to move; finding strength and healing in movement.”
During Álvarez’s freshman year, he struggled to adjust to campus life. He heard PDJ leader Manny Pacquiao speak about spiritual running as a way to honor and revitalize indigenous cultures.
This revived Álvarez’s interest in his heritage – his grandfather was of Purépecha indigenous ancestry in the mountains of southern Michoacán, Mexico. As he learns more and more about PDJ, the spark will drive him on the 6,300-mile trek through the soles of his young feet. Much of Spirit Run details Álvarez’s journey from Canada to Guatemala — a grueling physical and metaphysical journey — interspersed with vignettes from his family’s past.
poor
Participants in this run come from different cultures and represent many indigenous peoples, including Dené, Secwépemc, Gitxsan, Dakelh, Apache, Tohono O’odham, Seri, Purépecha, Maya and more. On sacred ground, across rural and urban landscapes, they run in waves, 10 to 30 miles a day, circulating between wagons. They carry ceremonial and symbolic staff.
They spend the night outdoors or at neighborhood centers, casinos, reservations, and other places where they are welcome. Indigenous communities donate food and shelter, and share prayers, stories and songs.
Just as Álvarez was driven by his parents’ stories, other runners were carrying a heavy load as they crossed the Americas. Some people got lost on the “Highway of Tears”, a corridor in British Columbia, Canada, where many Aboriginal women went missing and/or murdered.
Some have relatives who are taken to boarding schools in Canada. Like the American Indian boarding school system, these institutions remove indigenous children from their families into environments of cultural assimilation, forced labor, and abuse.
Other runners know about gang violence, substance abuse and poverty. Álvarez wrote that many were driven by “a call to return to the land.”
reimagined
This journey is not without interpersonal conflicts, cultural incongruities, and leadership disputes. These are usually – but not always – comforted and balanced by communal sharing, self-reflection, and peaceful times drawn from nature. And, of course, running.
Álvarez said the PDJ provided him with a community, practice and structure to deal with his family’s trauma. “When it breaks me down, I can come back to this, get my strength back, and come back… We need to find communities that can support us because we can’t do it alone… It’s about not doing it alone. “
Álvarez wrote that he returned to college after running “with the help of a foundation of peace, dignity and self-love”. He went on to study writing, philosophy and conflict resolution. He tried his hand at nonprofits, restaurants and the Boston Athenaeum.
He is now writing his second book. He says he balances part-time jobs such as being a writer and delivering furniture, and it’s important to him to be rooted in the working-class world as he continues to struggle to find his place in the world: “It’s a job –in progress.”
Álvarez said he still runs, “as a spiritual practice and a way of self-examination”. He still has to wander and explore. “For me, the only answer is to move,” he said. “I think sports will heal us because we’re stuck in our own world.
When you go out and about, the more you walk, the more you enter an uncomfortable space. Each step complicates your narrative. Reimagining yourself is a power; reimagining your life. “
this author
Julia Travers is a journalist and creative writer based in Virginia, USA.
This article will be discussed at the March 22, 2022 Revival Readers Group meeting.Book free space now.
