What the fuck does magic and resilience have to do with a WordPress event?
Is this just a literary device to cause intrigue, or does it make some sense?
I will explain, don’t worry.
In this blog I have little constancy in terms of writing, but at least, I can be proud to have 28 entries (including this one) that have to do with WordPress, of about 99 articles. The oldest one by the way from October 2014, that means it has persisted these ten years.
I’ve been tired of repeating, both on the blog, as in the few social networks that I “badly have” (sorry for the bad joke), in interviews, videos, the great change that it meant in my personal and professional life to have entered the WP world.
Anyone who is part of it will be able to observe something similar; everyone has their own path, no doubt, but a change is generated.
A friendship, a connection, a partner, a business partner, or whatever. We are social entities, to deny it is to go against our nature.
Working as a team gives us a purpose beyond our projects. That means a lot, for many people, because it matches our values and ethics.
This edition of WordCamp Pontevedra is 5 years old.
I have been there since the beginning and I have seen an incredible evolution. Not only in the organization, but in everything that has been generated naturally, without following any strategy or vision.
We do things because we want to, because we feel like it, because we have the strength, because we want to improve our reality and environment.
It is not always easy, sometimes combining personal, family and professional life is a complex challenge. You get tired, you get irritated, it causes you to throw in the towel and say:
— Let the next ones come, I need to rest.
But as I said in my last article about WordCamp Europe in Torino, I couldn’t imagine attending an edition without lending a hand.
The same thing has always happened to me with Pontevedra.
I know I released the “presidency” to Sabela last year (2023). She expected it, even if she denies it 😉 By the way, we call it “presidency” just for fun, better to clarify this.
In any case, we were never going to leave her alone. Just as Juan Hernando did with me, who accompanied me for both editions.
Juan, from the silence, has always been there omnipresent, helping in everything and knowing how to act in every moment.
He has always been a good inspiration, not only for his friendship, but for his knowledge and vision of what the WordPress community is. It has been and will always be a privilege to share these moments with him.
This year has not been easy. I think times have accelerated in a weird way. Technology and technology companies have somewhat hijacked our attention, and this makes it psychologically harder for us to focus, to maintain focus.
My business model has grown in a way that makes it difficult for me to control time and organization, let alone delegate tasks.
I do what I can with honesty and clarity. But it is still frustrating.
Therefore, those moments you have to dedicate to organizing community events or any time you set aside for it, becomes a stressor, not something that gives you pleasure.
In the beginning, it was all about pleasure, having a good time. That was the idea. But with the responsibilities and the growth of your business model, you find it hard to organize yourself and you get frustrated, you feel bad about yourself, you compare yourself, and that’s never good.
The pressure of doing things right, and seeing that they can be improved, but not being able to make the time to do it is a frustrating feeling.
I am learning to manage it, to apply the wu-weito flow and accept things as they are.
In the end (I always have an intuition) everything will be fine.
Little by little it has become one of the most veteran WordCamps in Spain and as I always say, there is no greater mystery than having a very good team, that each one does his own thing well, and above all with love. I don’t consider that we are a team as usual, we are friends who get together.
We were never very “team-oriented”, although each one has a role acquired over time, the reality is that afterwards, we all do everything from contacting suppliers to mopping the floor.
Communication is the most complicated thing from my point of view in our WC because of the summer. Half of Spain comes to a standstill in July, the other half in August. We ourselves take vacations at that time, either because of the weather or because of our children.
Communicating something at that time is very difficult. And between us too, that frustrated me many times. Not to mention: suppliers, university, etc.
But all that “birth” of stress, stress, worries, worries, lack of communication, as if by magic, disappears the week of the event.
What had to come out, came out. If something goes wrong, we have nothing else to do. Just keep going. A high percentage of actions, usually come almost by traction, in free fall.
In my first year I wanted to incorporate Sabela into the team because of her creativity and energy. In two years she revolutionized many things. We were all sure she would do great. She brought fresh ideas such as new formats for talks that worked perfectly.
The magazine that was handed out, the game, an incredible set of details.
That attention to detail plus creativity has been key to the success of his leadership, leaving a very positive feeling among all the people who attended.
To all the people of this Galician WordPress family, thank you. ❤️
Each and every one of you has become a very special annual appointment: Carlos Sobrino, Carlos Longarela (comrade of suites, wherever there were ;-), Jesús Amieiro, Jorge González, Leo Menéndez, María Sáez, Mónica Saavedra (and Andrés who is already part of the group), Santi, Sonia Díaz and Yolanda Pazos. We missed Paula Rivera and Lúa Louro this year, but they were still very present.
Special mention to Santi who this year made his debut wearing the do_action and he did it: SPECTACULAR. I loved that day, with which we could count on the great Fernando Tellado who always comes with love to give us that workshop, without asking anything in return.
The associations that benefited from the website, very involved and as every year, created a magical atmosphere of true community and support.
I would also like to highlight the work of Sonia and Monica, both incredible with their energy that from Ferrol, have filled with good vibes this WordCamp that is already theirs.
Sonia’s design work has been amazing year after year, hats off to everything she does behind the scenes.
Last year we paid a painful tribute to the man who had accompanied us for so many years(Jose Luis).
This year, unfortunately, we have to talk about another person who is gone: Mónika Piszczelok.
Although I did not have the opportunity to get to know Mónika in depth, what she and Julio had to learn was super complex.
With what love they took care of each other, they learned to live with a hard reality, and today, Mónika has left us. Even so, Julio was, as he is every year, giving his best.
What a great tribute and teaching this man has left me with such a beautiful relationship. Thank you for this lesson in resilience, my friend. You are great and she will always be in you.
There are many people who get involved and make this make sense, even if they are not in the list of organizers, they deserve a place there.
Xose Lousao, for example, a great friend of our community who year after year makes an effort so that our WP party is celebrated in style. Thanks comrade!
Jose Luis Losada (son), another great example. Before his father asked him to do it, now without his father, this young man deserves an honorable mention every year, he keeps accompanying us and carrying boxes as one more organizer.
You’re the shit, man. We told him he had the right to ignore his father’s wish to help us every year. Well, with love and nobility, he is still with us.
Paulino Pérez, Emma Torres and Xabi Rolán, three vocational professors. Those “essential people” in the words of the poet Silvio Rodríguez; those who continue to work year after year, fighting to improve the University and its surroundings.
Without the support of them and the entire Faculty of Communication, the University of Vigo, both the concierge staff (Paco, Jose Antonio) and the cafeteria staff (Rosa), none of this would make sense.
To all the people I cannot mention, but who come every year full of enthusiasm to participate either as volunteers, photographers, speakers, assistants, or curious.
From Seville, Cadiz, Granada, Madrid, Portugal, and anywhere in Galicia, it is the people who attend, who give you a reason to keep doing it. It is only thanks to you that the effort makes sense.
To all the friends and sponsors who make a financial effort to make this possible at such a reduced cost.
I don’t see LucusHost, Siteground, Raiola, WordPress, Dinahosting, Hacce, Sirvelia, Modular DS, etc. anymore.
I see people, friendships such as: Moncho, Jonathan, Paula, Amadeu, Juanma, Héctor, Lorenzo, etc.
I don’t see brands, I see peoplewith their values who continue to support this event year after year, for all that it leaves in the community 🙏
A Galician WordPress community that does not stop growing, incorporating new people, dynamics and talks.
That in all the cities where events are held (Lugo, A Coruña, Ferrol, Ourense, Vigo, Santiago and Pontevedra) a gang is created, a group of friends, a support group among freelancers, or simply geeks of this little world.
I am sure it will evolve in the future (I don’t know when) from a WordCamp Pontevedra to a WordCamp Galicia, because WC does not belong to a few, it belongs to everyone. And only with the union and with love, we can continue to grow in a sustainable way.
For the time being, get involved, participate, give a hand without expecting anything in return.
Profit is generated in helping other people. The more you give, the more it generates. There is no more mystery than this. In the words of Leonard Nimoy, a character I quote on multiple occasions:
“The miracle is this — the more we share, the more we have.”
Live long and prosper!
Featured image of the article thanks to the great team of photographers. Official Flickr album. Photo by Eneko Garrido.
