Rivas Today

An avid environmentalist, Rivas was a founding member of the Spanish division of Greenpeace in 1981 and has used his influence as a journalist and artistic skills as a writer to speak out against the environmental abuse of his native Galicia. His most notable association with environmental awareness was in 2002, when the oil tanker Prestige ran aground off Galicia’s coast with 77,000 tons of fuel aboard, resulting in the worst environmental disaster the region has ever seen.

Speaking to Elizabeth Nash [ http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/manuel-rivas-spirits-of-the-sea-609872.html Accessed 22^nd November 2009] Rivas had this to say of Galicia:
“In Galicia our feet are the roots of oak trees, but our arms are the wings of an émigré bird. We inhabit a great Tex-Mex frontier between home and abroad, medieval and hi-tech, and this produces a cultural vanguard. But the sea is fundamental, it's our cradle and coffin."

His views, both on the environment and on Galicia, still hold true today and we are proud to have him as a spokesperson for the community.