- 9 months ago
Josefina Zoraida Miliano logró la medalla de bronce en la disciplina powerlifting de los Juegos Parapanamericanos de Santiago de Chile.
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00:00In this Month of the Mothers, we are going to talk to a great mother, with a very persevering person, very welcoming, with a great athlete who has won gold medals for the Dominican Republic, and also a friend of mine who does a tremendous job.
00:30Today we are going to talk to a great mother, with a very persevering person, very welcoming, with a great athlete who has won gold medals for the Dominican Republic, and also a friend of mine who does a tremendous job.
01:00But the truth is that I have always had a great admiration for athletics, for the whole process of the Olympics. And I want to start with you. Your relationship with sports. Why? Open your eyes one day and you are a sportswoman. Explain that part to me.
01:20In 2011, 2011, 2012, a lady, a lady from my house, who was at that time a board member, invited me to the wheelchair sports club for rehabilitation.
01:39I had never seen people with disabilities doing sports and that, and it seemed strange to me. And I accepted to go, so I stayed, definitely, because for me it was something new and interesting, and I wanted to do it.
01:57I always liked sports. I was a super, super, super fan of Félix Sánchez. And when I joined the wheelchair sports club, I started playing basketball, which is what I did at that time.
02:15Then the marathons were implemented, 10K, 5K, and I also ran them. Then, already in 2016, Mr. Jaime David made a capture camp and I participated. Already at that time I practiced on the track, I did 100 meters, 400 meters, but I did not stand out.
02:40I also threw, but I did not stand out. Then my coach, at that time, introduced me to the one who is my coach today, and when I attended the gym, I never, yes, imagine, I have not seen a person with a disability doing sports, much less lifting weights.
03:01When you understand that lifting weights is standing, then I started practicing and I liked it. It was like a love at first sight, as I always say. And there I stayed, in 2014.
03:16One of the essential themes of this podcast is the overcoming adversity. I am an admirer of overcoming adversity, in every sense and in every way. Because life, to everyone, in one way or another, throws you its curve, as we say in baseball.
03:39The curve can be a death of an early relative, it can be a disease, as you say, it can be a disability, it can be a big mistake that is made in life. And in my study of singular human beings, there are people who take adversity as a sentence and there are people who make adversity a blessing.
04:03Obviously, your case was the second one. You made adversity a blessing. And before talking about your sports career, your professional career, since you started talking about your experience, I want you to bring me back to that childhood and your first years in school, that studying about you, I realized that at first I think it was your grandmother or etc. who took you.
04:25Tell us that story so that our friends, who collaborate with us with their time and see us, can be transported to that moment in your life where you didn't even have a wheelchair.
04:39Yes, I arrived, my grandmother brought me to the country at the age of four. I am of Venezuelan birth.
04:47That's right. But you don't even have the accent anymore. You are more Dominican than me.
04:52Yes, really.
04:53I think I'm the Dominican.
04:55And at first, I didn't have, I mean, I didn't have a wheelchair. My grandmother took me to school loaded.
05:03Oh my God, how nice that is.
05:06Yes, when I was about eight years old, I had my first wheelchair. And really, I'm going to tell you, I don't know how it looks, many of the disabled people tell me that I'm the poppy of the disability.
05:21But it's just that I was born with a disability. I don't know what it feels like not to have a disability.
05:27Correct.
05:28And apart from being born with a disability, I was born with family. My family never belittled me.
05:34Correct.
05:35So, for that part, I don't know what it's like not to feel isolated, neither from my family, nor from friends.
05:41At school, well, things change a bit because...
05:44There you did feel a little bit because you were a little different, right?
05:47Exactly. So, it was like I fell into my reality. Yes, I'm different from the other kids.
05:54So, but that didn't limit me either.
05:57I used to go up, even in high school, I did it on the second floor.
06:03And I would leave my chair down and go up.
06:06I would go up like God helped me.
06:08God was training you to lift weights.
06:10Exactly, maybe.
06:12So, like in that part, I never felt rejected.
06:17My grandmother taught me about life, about life, about everyday life.
06:25I didn't know what it was.
06:26What would the world be without our grandmothers?
06:28Yes.
06:29And look, mine gave me a lot of shock.
06:31But it helped me a lot.
06:32Mine, mine, mine too.
06:35She taught me anyway.
06:37Sure.
06:38And one of the many things she told me was that she had to make sure that when she's not in this world, she leaves first.
06:49It was that she wanted to leave in peace knowing that she left me prepared for life.
06:53Maybe not with a career or not, but I'm prepared to live.
06:57Sure.
06:58So, for that part, I'm always blessed.
07:01Because my family has always supported me.
07:03My mom, even though my grandmother raised me.
07:06My mom has always supported me too.
07:08My brother, my uncles.
07:10That's cool.
07:11In general, yes.
07:12But look, Zoraida, let's go back to sports a little bit and then we're going to continue talking about your story.
07:18Why lift weights?
07:20You know that, at least for me, and I think for a lot of guys of my generation at least,
07:25they get into a stage in life where they fight with the gym because the gym makes you stronger.
07:31And when you're kind of jealous and in a relationship, when you're in love and stuff like that,
07:35we all went to the gym.
07:36And I tried to lift weights.
07:38And I have to admit, that gives me more work than hell.
07:43So, I want you to tell me how you...
07:48I mean, it starts with basketball.
07:50And how, day in, day out, you start lifting weights?
07:54And how do you end up being a gold medalist in lifting weights?
07:59Tell me that story because now I feel like I was kind of weak, that I couldn't lift weights.
08:03Tell me.
08:04It was like...
08:05I was looking for a place in the world of sports.
08:09A place to fit in, a place to be seen.
08:13So, I really like... I mean, I have an innate strength.
08:19I mean, I have a lot of strength.
08:21And when I started lifting weights, I understood that was where I was going to develop it.
08:26Not because...
08:27Explain to me that first moment when you said, I'm going for this.
08:30How did you... when you got the... I mean...
08:32Look, when I got to weights, that I, without having any previous preparation,
08:39I lifted 50 kilos.
08:41And I felt... I felt... I felt comfortable.
08:44I felt like...
08:4550 kilos is 120 pounds, 115 pounds.
08:47More or less.
08:48And I felt comfortable doing it.
08:50And I said, here.
08:52Wow.
08:53And, explain to us a little bit, what are Paralympics?
08:58They are...
09:01Adapted games for people with disabilities.
09:03Ok.
09:04And I see that, you know that there is one of the...
09:09You got to Tbilisi, Georgia.
09:12Which is not Georgia of the United States.
09:15In Europe.
09:16In Europe.
09:20Which was even one of the republics of the Soviet Union at the time.
09:23A country that is very far away and very difficult.
09:25And I see that you won the gold medal there.
09:31Explain that experience to me.
09:33I mean, how was that?
09:35Look, really...
09:36And with how many people you competed with.
09:38And tell me, why didn't you push yourself?
09:40I mean, tell us about that experience, that gold medal.
09:44In the...
09:45Which was also the first Dominican to achieve it.
09:47Yes.
09:48In a World Cup, no.
09:52Because it was a World Cup, that.
09:54It was the cycle.
09:55Ok.
09:56But really, I wasn't going to compete in that category.
10:00My category, with which I started, is 73-79 kilograms.
10:07And what is that category?
10:0886 kilograms.
10:10So, I prepared myself to be in that category.
10:16And really, I didn't have the expectation of winning gold.
10:21It was the first time I went to a competition without that expectation.
10:25Because...
10:26You wanted to compete.
10:27I was going to compete to be present.
10:29Ok.
10:30Obviously, to win one of the three places.
10:34But I never won gold, really.
10:36Because I know my rival.
10:39And I know she is tough.
10:42And what country is she from?
10:43She is Chilean.
10:44Chilean, ok.
10:45She doesn't compete with us Chileans.
10:47She won...
10:48In the Paralympic Games, she won bronze.
10:51Ah.
10:52She is a Paralympic medalist.
10:54I imagine you become friends.
10:55Yes, in fact, we have already been in other competitions.
10:59And I met her in 2023.
11:03We are known friends and that.
11:06But never rivals.
11:07Ok.
11:08On the podium.
11:09So, really, having her...
11:13She taught me that...
11:16It's discipline and good work.
11:19It doesn't matter if she started with 40 and I with 30.
11:22I could win with 30 and she with 40.
11:26So, it's like doing a good job.
11:29And always have the discipline.
11:32And that's it.
11:34Look, you know that...
11:36Now that you talk about that, I remember that...
11:39I mean, when I investigated you...
11:41That you left sports and went to professional life.
11:45You even worked, if I'm not mistaken, with VHD.
11:47Uh-huh.
11:48Tell me about that experience in the work world,
11:51already inserting yourself in a professional world.
11:55And, incredibly,
11:58an adversity,
12:01that somehow you have to leave the job,
12:03then you go back to sports.
12:05Tell me about that transition,
12:06I leave sports and go back to sports.
12:08In 2017-16,
12:11I decided to do it professionally.
12:15And I started looking for a job.
12:17Okay.
12:18Because, unfortunately, sports don't pay.
12:21And there are bills, so...
12:23I started looking for a job.
12:25I started working at the VHD bank in León.
12:28I worked there for 5 years in the service area.
12:32First I was in the telephone center,
12:34and then I moved to the customer service area.
12:37So, already in 2019,
12:39which was also one of the biggest reasons
12:44for me not to continue with sports,
12:47my son was born in 2019.
12:51So, already in 2021,
12:55I leave VHD in León.
12:57Before that,
12:58tell me about the experience of being a mother.
13:00Because one of the reasons why we invited you
13:02is not because you lift how many pounds
13:04with the chest machine,
13:08but because we are in the mother's month.
13:11And tell us about that experience,
13:14because you left sports,
13:15you went to work,
13:16you became a mother.
13:18So, after being a mother
13:20and working in formal jobs,
13:22you go back to sports.
13:24The normal thing would have been
13:26that with the boy,
13:28you continue working in a more formal life,
13:31and not in sports.
13:32Exactly.
13:33Yes, because I just said
13:34that sports don't pay.
13:35Exactly.
13:37They do that all the time.
13:40When my son was born,
13:42before him,
13:44I had already had two losses.
13:47So, a doctor,
13:48who coincidentally was the same doctor
13:50who assisted me twice,
13:52told me,
13:53look,
13:54the most advisable thing
13:55is that you don't try to have children,
13:56because you can't,
13:57because your system,
13:58I don't know what,
13:59but everything was by mouth.
14:00He never did an analysis for me.
14:02It was simply because I was coming
14:04and I was already having an abortion.
14:06So,
14:08when I was already in the bank,
14:11installed,
14:12and everything,
14:13what I had the most was
14:14getting pregnant,
14:15even though I had my partner.
14:17You were the most logical.
14:18Yes, yes.
14:19Except that you are still
14:20in the system of the Virgin Mary.
14:22You just don't do it.
14:23Exactly.
14:24You just don't do it.
14:25So,
14:27I understand that
14:28God has a plan for everything.
14:30I mean,
14:31maybe if I hadn't been
14:32in the bank working,
14:34I wouldn't have fallen into this,
14:35into the hands of my gynecologist,
14:37of my gynecostetra,
14:38because I,
14:39being in the bank,
14:42I had,
14:43I had an accident,
14:44an accident,
14:45and then,
14:46my,
14:47the one who was at that time,
14:48my,
14:49my coach,
14:50no,
14:51my supervisor,
14:52referred me there,
14:53to Corominas Pepin,
14:56who was close to
14:57the branch where she was,
14:58well,
14:59and there the doctor saw me
15:00and told me that,
15:02I explained to her
15:03that I had had two losses,
15:04that a doctor had told me this and that,
15:05so,
15:06she told me,
15:07I gave you an analysis,
15:08and I said, no,
15:09well, let's do an analysis,
15:10because,
15:11for some reason,
15:12you can't conceive.
15:13Correct.
15:14So,
15:15it was a lack of hormone,
15:16what I had,
15:17and she put me in a treatment,
15:19and four months later,
15:20I got pregnant.
15:22So,
15:23I lasted a year,
15:24without going to work,
15:26because,
15:27it was advisable,
15:28to not,
15:29to avoid anything.
15:30The pregnancy,
15:32I understand that the pregnancy was,
15:34more than already,
15:35more than having my son in my arms,
15:37the pregnancy,
15:38like,
15:39changed my way of thinking,
15:40it changed the chip,
15:41because I already understood
15:42that someone was coming,
15:43on the way,
15:44that depended on me,
15:45on my,
15:46on my good actions,
15:47that I already had to change,
15:49eh,
15:50how,
15:51the course of my decisions.
15:53So,
15:54eh,
15:55after I left,
15:56the VHD,
15:57clearly,
15:58I left the VHD,
15:59to go back to sport.
16:00I mean,
16:01I quit.
16:02So,
16:03you had that goal,
16:04you already had sport,
16:05in your heart,
16:06and you wanted to go back.
16:07Yes.
16:08But,
16:09before we go back to sport,
16:10Zoraida,
16:11tell me about the little moment,
16:12when you had that face,
16:13eh.
16:14I,
16:15I don't know,
16:16it's something inexplicable,
16:17you can't,
16:18my pregnancy was,
16:20calm,
16:21I never had,
16:22any setback,
16:23nothing,
16:24nothing,
16:25eh,
16:26they made me a caesarean,
16:27because that was,
16:28that was the way.
16:29When my son was born,
16:31in my mind,
16:32I don't know why I always,
16:33every time they were going to make me,
16:35a sonography,
16:36I asked the sonographer,
16:38I don't know if it's said like that,
16:40eh,
16:41how is the child,
16:42that if he came with his,
16:43That's how it's said, yes.
16:44That if he came with all his parts,
16:45that if his feet were fine.
16:47I understand you,
16:48because as the father of five,
16:49I,
16:50I've always been very nervous.
16:51So,
16:52ah,
16:53and I said,
16:54my God,
16:55that I asked my son not to be,
16:56not to be born with a disability.
16:58My disability is not hereditary,
17:00it's congenital,
17:01but things happen.
17:02So,
17:03I had that fear,
17:04and when my son was six,
17:06when I was six months pregnant,
17:08the sonographer told me,
17:09stop asking that,
17:10that child has that spine better than yours,
17:12than mine.
17:13He's coming well.
17:14Amen.
17:15His limbs,
17:16everything,
17:17the child is perfect.
17:18He must be like ten years old.
17:19No,
17:20six.
17:21Six, sorry.
17:22Next month he'll be six years old.
17:23That's cool, that's cool.
17:24I had to bring him here,
17:25to throw him,
17:26to give him a candy,
17:27something.
17:28Oh, well.
17:29I'll bring him next time.
17:30And being a mother has really
17:32changed my,
17:34my world totally.
17:36I breathe
17:37so that my son is well.
17:39So,
17:40that was the reason
17:41why I decided
17:42to leave the bank
17:43to go back to sports.
17:44So, now let's go to sports.
17:45I want to see that message,
17:46that message that you say,
17:48that you breathe so that your son is well.
17:50I think that
17:51that's the best,
17:52that's the best definition
17:53for the mother's month.
17:55Mothers are what you just said.
17:57They breathe so that we are well.
18:00And,
18:01Zoraida,
18:02and now you go back to sports,
18:03but you have two or three years out.
18:04Uh-huh.
18:05Explain to us that challenge
18:07of getting back in shape,
18:08of getting back to training,
18:09of getting back
18:10to get into this dynamic
18:13of a discipline
18:14that those of us who have practiced sports,
18:17no one laughs,
18:18I practiced sports
18:19in a part of my life,
18:21that is definitely not simple.
18:25So, that change,
18:26I mean,
18:27you started getting up at another time,
18:29what time did you train?
18:30I mean, how do you get back in?
18:32Because the normal thing for an athlete
18:34is that when you take off for years,
18:35it is very difficult to recover.
18:37I know a few stories,
18:38maybe Michael Jordan and you,
18:40because it is difficult to return
18:42to a high level of performance.
18:44How do you do it?
18:45Yes,
18:46and even being a mother
18:47it became more complicated for me.
18:49There was a time
18:50when I had to take my son every day.
18:52I left my house
18:54almost a kilometer and a half
18:56until I got to the subway
18:58to go train with my son.
19:00But what do you have inside?
19:02And what did you gain?
19:03A determination.
19:05I believed in myself.
19:08I mean, I believe in myself.
19:10No, but definitely.
19:11So...
19:12Because I see that you have eight medals
19:14in weightlifting,
19:15including the gold one.
19:17Yes.
19:18And you have traveled the world
19:19to represent your country.
19:21Exactly.
19:22That has to be cool.
19:23Yes.
19:24Really, the hours of flight, no,
19:25but the experience of knowing other countries, yes.
19:29Which one did you like the most
19:30of all the countries you have been to?
19:31Mexico, definitely.
19:32Mexico?
19:33Look, I don't want to know much about Mexicans,
19:35but yes.
19:36No, it's because...
19:38by chance,
19:39but it's true that I don't like Mexicans.
19:44And why Mexico?
19:45Do you like spicy food?
19:46Yes.
19:47And the people too.
19:49I like it.
19:51Chile is also interesting, but...
19:53I haven't been to Chile.
19:55And how was it?
19:56What did you like about Chile?
20:00Having won a medal.
20:01Ah, but...
20:04I made it easy for you.
20:06And...
20:07And now tell me one thing.
20:09What is the most difficult thing about being an athlete?
20:12What is the most complicated thing?
20:14Being poor.
20:18That's a good answer, yes.
20:19That's a good answer.
20:21But don't rush.
20:22Let's see how that...
20:24Examples like yours
20:26motivate us as a society
20:27to see how we support the athletes more
20:29and do more things.
20:31When you are in those countries,
20:33in Georgia,
20:34in Chile,
20:35in Mexico,
20:36and you hear the national anthem,
20:38how do you feel?
20:39When you go up to that podium
20:41and you are there,
20:44representing us,
20:45how do you feel?
20:47I'm going to tell you the truth.
20:49When I heard the national anthem,
20:51the first time in another country,
20:53which wasn't for me,
20:55it was one of my teammates who won gold,
20:57and I...
20:59I got so excited
21:01that I said one day,
21:02and it was in Mexico,
21:03I remember, it was in Mexico,
21:05it was my first...
21:06my debut,
21:07as they say,
21:09and I didn't get a good result,
21:10I mean, I didn't get anything.
21:13I mean, I did get something,
21:14but I got three no good lifts.
21:17So,
21:19I said, one day,
21:20that national anthem is going to sound for me.
21:23And in Mexico,
21:25in 2024,
21:27I participated in the World Cup,
21:29and indeed,
21:31the national anthem sounded
21:33thanks to the work I did.
21:48And it's a...
21:49I mean,
21:50I feel more proud
21:52when I hear the national anthem
21:53than when I get the medal.
21:55Definitely,
21:56the national anthem
21:57in another country
21:58sounds majestic.
22:01The truth is that
22:02I share that feeling a lot,
22:04because
22:06in an activity
22:07that I represented the country,
22:09you know that I'm now
22:10in the public service,
22:12and I...
22:13and when you hear
22:14and when you hear
22:16Quisqueyana,
22:17when you hear it
22:18being far from here,
22:20that brings you back.
22:22It's a beautiful emotion.
22:25So,
22:26we've talked about
22:28this journey of yours,
22:30going through sports,
22:31being a mother,
22:32being a mother,
22:34going in and out.
22:35If you were to make a recommendation
22:38to someone
22:39who is watching us,
22:41of how
22:42to overcome
22:45the
22:46failures,
22:47and you would have to sum it up
22:48in a very forceful way,
22:50the failures
22:51or the problems,
22:53which sometimes are not failures,
22:54they are
22:55curves,
22:56like I said at the beginning,
22:57that life throws at you.
22:58Which do you think is the main element,
23:00the main element
23:01you need to have
23:02to be able to be resilient?
23:04Not giving up.
23:06Yes,
23:07it's...
23:08That's easy to say, Zoraida.
23:09Yes, I was going to say that.
23:10But that's more difficult
23:11than what one says.
23:12Yes,
23:13it sounds
23:14soft like that,
23:15not giving up.
23:16But,
23:18well,
23:19determination is everything.
23:20You...
23:21It's okay
23:22that the moment
23:23you fall,
23:25you sit down and get up,
23:26but it's not okay
23:27that you stay there.
23:28I fell and that's it.
23:29I mean, fall
23:30and get up.
23:31Sure.
23:32So,
23:33that would be my...
23:34I mean,
23:35it's the only advice
23:36I can give
23:37of not giving up.
23:38Not giving up.
23:39Opportunities
23:40are...
23:41Opportunities
23:42happen
23:43only once
23:45and very rarely
23:46they happen twice.
23:48So,
23:49take advantage of it
23:51and always give everything
23:52for everything.
23:53Always.
23:54And,
23:55one...
23:56I mean,
23:57do you keep
23:58some kind of
23:59connection
24:00or relationship
24:01with people
24:02in Venezuela
24:03or are you already
24:04100% Dominican?
24:06Really,
24:07I'm never going to be
24:08100% Dominican
24:09because I have
24:10Venezuelan blood.
24:11Sure.
24:12Which is from
24:13my dad.
24:14I like that
24:15in Venezuela.
24:16It's from my dad
24:18and I also have
24:19family in Venezuela.
24:20My uncles
24:21from my mom
24:22are there.
24:23Cousins.
24:24So, yes,
24:25I keep in touch.
24:26In a time
24:27many years ago,
24:28I went several times
24:29to Caracas
24:30and the truth is that
24:31all the memories
24:32are very nice.
24:33And,
24:34in this
24:35process of yours
24:36now,
24:37how do you see yourself
24:38with the passage
24:39of time?
24:40Do you see yourself
24:41serving in sports?
24:42Do you see yourself
24:43helping
24:44other
24:45people
24:46who also
24:47have to
24:48beat the curve
24:49that life throws
24:50at them?
24:52How?
24:53Because,
24:54really,
24:55for my work,
24:56I interact with
24:57many people
24:58and now that
24:59I'm in
25:00pseudo-journalism,
25:01I talk
25:02with many people
25:03and I think
25:04your experience
25:05has great value.
25:06How do you see yourself
25:07in 15 years?
25:08What have you thought?
25:09Where are we going?
25:10Because you don't need
25:11to lift weights
25:12for the rest of your life.
25:13No,
25:14I see myself
25:15as a coach.
25:16Ah,
25:17that's good.
25:18Trainer.
25:19Yes,
25:20for powerlifting.
25:21Ah,
25:22for powerlifting.
25:23The truth is that,
25:24look,
25:25yes,
25:26I'm not going
25:27to lift anything
25:28or anything,
25:29but,
25:30definitely,
25:31that's important
25:32because
25:33you love what you do.
25:34What is the
25:35most thing
25:36that you
25:37learn?
25:38Like,
25:39you were talking
25:40to me about
25:41a doctor
25:42that,
25:43to a certain point,
25:44if he had taken you
25:45away from him,
25:46you don't have
25:47your son's blessing.
25:48Have you had
25:49other situations
25:50like that
25:51where you feel
25:52that you have been
25:53discriminated against
25:54and how have you
25:55overcome it?
25:56I mean,
25:57maybe people
25:58who want to treat you
25:59very well
26:00or people
26:01who treat you
26:02badly.
26:03I mean,
26:04because I think
26:05that,
26:06oh,
26:07of course,
26:08exercise
26:09and speed
26:10are good
26:11things,
26:12it just
26:13has nothing
26:14to do
26:15with what
26:16you are capable
26:17of doing.
26:18It's good
26:19sports,
26:20the speed
26:21that you have
26:22to perform
26:23at the
26:24state level
26:25are good
26:26things.
26:27I have
26:28seen
26:29a lot and
26:30then,
26:31one of my
26:32school friends
26:33discovered
26:34I would think of an observer who could make many other observations.
26:41And it's good that you tell me, because that speaks well of us as Dominicans,
26:44although those two things have to be paid attention to and improved a lot.
26:50Especially in the field of labor.
26:52In the field of labor, which is even illegal.
26:55Let me tell you, no one can be evaluated
26:58by virtue of anything pre-existing.
27:02You have to be evaluated by the ability you have to perform a task.
27:07And now I'm going to tell you a positive experience,
27:10something that you have said, wow, what a beautiful thing,
27:13what a beautiful thing.
27:14I mean, turning the coin.
27:16And with that same relationship of yours in different activities.
27:22Well, being ironic, I think the same reception, being very ironic,
27:37in the field of labor, yes.
27:39Of course.
27:40Because, for example, when I started working at the PhD,
27:44I told the person I was interviewing
27:50that I didn't need a special treatment for being a person with a disability.
27:55And I was never treated...
27:57You weren't treated, I mean, you were treated like we're talking here.
28:00Exactly.
28:01Do you understand?
28:02Exactly, yes, because neither...
28:03And that's it, exactly.
28:04Neither, sorry...
28:05Neither the much, the much...
28:07Like, oh...
28:08That's not positive either, right?
28:10No.
28:11That's not positive.
28:12Because that's, in its own way, a form of discrimination too.
28:16Even if it's not negative, but you see it.
28:20And what changes would you like to see in your country?
28:24What changes would you like to see in this society?
28:26I'm not talking about that only, but in general.
28:30In general.
28:31Uh-huh.
28:32What couldn't you say to us,
28:34what we are in the profession of working in the government
28:38and that we want...
28:40What would you criticize us?
28:42What would you tell us we have to do?
28:43Go ahead, tell me what you want.
28:45You can criticize the government.
28:46No, you can criticize...
28:47Oh, well, of course, criticize it.
28:49Criticize it, because I criticize it and I'm part of the government.
28:53There's always a way to improve.
28:56Yes, really, the way...
28:58I think it's something...
28:59Not only at the level...
29:01I mean, not only in the Dominican Republic.
29:03I think it's something worldwide.
29:05The way of doing politics...
29:08Uh-huh.
29:10Although you didn't ask me to specify,
29:14but mainly with the athletes.
29:17I mean, everything is very nice.
29:19Oh, I have a gold medal.
29:21Oh, I won a gold medal.
29:23And it's like 15 minutes.
29:25Correct.
29:26They forget about the athlete,
29:27that the athlete came from below,
29:30that the athlete needs support.
29:32Many times they close the doors
29:34and they don't have that...
29:36I mean, we don't receive that support from the government.
29:38Really.
29:40And much less people with disabilities.
29:43The athlete with disabilities doesn't receive support from the government,
29:46unless...
29:47I hit you.
29:48Well, look, that's...
29:50That's a great teaching.
29:52I think we all should try to write it down and see what happens with that.
29:56As you said, it's a world problem.
29:58And we don't have to be this little piece of the world.
30:00I mean, here we have to see how we're going to do that.
30:04And what mechanisms of...
30:09For example, you have...
30:12How is the Paralympic sport organized?
30:16To call it in some way.
30:18I mean, here are federations.
30:20If someone is not watching and wants to use your example,
30:24and start competing, and start with who communicates,
30:27how do you do it?
30:29There is the Paralympic Committee.
30:33Dominican Paralympic Committee.
30:35Most of us train in the Olympic Center.
30:39There, both on the track,
30:41as in the swimming area,
30:43in the weight area, which is where I train,
30:45you can approach.
30:47If you see a person with a disability...
30:49The one who is in the Olympic Center with a disability
30:52is because he practices a sport.
30:54Correct.
30:55Normally.
30:56So, anyone who sees a person with a disability approaches him.
30:59As many have done it with me.
31:01They have asked me about the sport and that.
31:03And then they are given the information of where to attend.
31:08But the Dominican Paralympic Committee
31:10is there, in the Olympic Center,
31:12in the velodrome area.
31:14And what are the sports that are most practiced
31:19in the Paralympics?
31:21I mean, what are the disciplines?
31:23In addition, we have already talked a lot about you,
31:26about the skill you have as a weightlifter.
31:30But in addition to those disciplines,
31:32what other disciplines have we highlighted?
31:35In case we can interest anyone who watches us.
31:39There is athletics, para-athletics,
31:41which includes throwing,
31:44jumping, swimming,
31:48taekwondo, archery, basketball.
31:53Although basketball is not practiced directly there,
31:56but there is also basketball.
31:59And does the country have facilities for those sports
32:02in these conditions?
32:04I mean, do we have an infrastructure for that?
32:08More or less.
32:10Between the two.
32:11Yes, yes.
32:12Ok.
32:15If you had to tell me
32:17a person that you have admired throughout your life,
32:20that you say, wow, what a source of inspiration,
32:22what a beautiful story,
32:24a person,
32:26what would you tell me?
32:28In sport?
32:29Or in life?
32:31If it motivated you for sport,
32:33it can be a sport or it can not be a sport.
32:36In sport, as I told you,
32:38I was a fan of Felix Sánchez.
32:41Of course.
32:43Felix is a great person.
32:44Yes, for me he is a great person and a great athlete.
32:49He is one of the few people I admire.
32:52And one last question.
32:54Do you like baseball?
32:55Baseball?
32:56Yes, I am a high school student.
32:58What are you?
32:59Delete this interview.
33:00This is not going to air.
33:02If you had told me you were a high school student,
33:03I would have laughed less with you.
33:06Hey, I was a high school student.
33:08But look, gentlemen.
33:10Zoraida,
33:12you have a new friend.
33:13Thank you very much for coming to share with us here.
33:15Always.
33:16And the truth is that this interview has been great.
33:18Until the last part.
33:20About high school and high school.
33:22But we will forgive you.
33:23Ok.
33:24Bye bye.
33:29Hi.
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