Pepe Mujica opens up about life, happiness and culture
The 84-year-old former president of the Republic of Uruguay, José “Pepe” Mujica officially opened this year’s edition of Festivaletteratura at Teatro Sociale with a focus on his personal idea of happiness in the postmodern era.
The “world's humblest head of state” - as he has been called – has a past as a guerrilla and political prisoner during the military dictatorship of the 70s and he is considered a “black sheep in the power” according to the title of the book by Uruguayan authors Andrés Danza and Ernesto Tulbovitz, due to his rather austere lifestyle.
As a matter of fact, during his presidential term, from 2010 to 2015, he gave away 80% of his presidential remuneration to NGOs and impoverished families, continuing to live in his farm near Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay.
Mujica spoke at length about what can make a human being happy and wondered if a modern people can still be considered happy in spite of economic progress, which, according to his vision, does not always guarantee existential happiness. Indeed, loss of orientation to the roots and origins stem from economic power and progress. In order to achieve a happier life in the modern era, it is of primary importance to never lose sight of the two existential questions that keep us alive: “Why are we here? What do we live for?" Often, according to the former Uruguayan president, we forget that "the only vital miracle is that we are alive and it is worth living for the culture, which is the blood of humanity".
Mujica concluded by reminding his audience that “you have to fall in love with life and remember that triumphing in life means getting up after every fall. To fight is to live.”