Today Alejandro is a community leader and part of the next generation who will carry the Bribri people into the future.\u00a0When Alejandro first came to El Puente, he was with his parents who had just emerged from the jungle interior over a week’s walk away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The oldest child in his family, 7-year-old Alejandro spoke little to no Spanish with Bribri being his native tongue.\u00a0 He was the first child to sign up for the El Puente school program.\u00a0\u00a0
Alejandro worked hard throughout his education and went on to complete high school.\u00a0 He spent considerable time at El Puente over the years and still frequents the Steven’s home to this day<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As an adult Alejandro has been appointed a guardian of the Bribri culture and works with his community to protect the land, language, and way of life.\u00a0\u00a0Speaking 5 languages, including 2 indigenous languages (Bribri, Cabecar, Spanish, English and French) Alejandro himself has become a bridge between his own people and the non-indigenous of Talamanca.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also works daily both as a carpenter and multi-lingual tour-guide in the Puerto Viejo area.If it wasn’t for El Puente and its continued support over the years, Alejandro may never have found himself in the position of leadership he holds today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cEl Puente made a major difference in the lives of my mother, my father and myself.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n