Environmentalist ‘weds’ 1,000-year-old Tule Tree in South Mexico

Peruvan activist and actor Richard Torres (third right) marries the 1,000-year-old Arbol del Tule, or Tule Tree, during an Inca ceremony replete with incense, grains and conch shells, in Oaxaca, Mexico on May 8, 2016. Photo by EFE

OAXACA: Peruvian activist and actor Richard Torres contracted ‘matrimony’ with the 1,000-year-old Arbol del Tule, or Tule Tree, in an Inca ceremony replete with incense, grains, and conch shells.

The ritual began Sunday around 11:30 a.m. in the presence of dozens of environmentalists and inhabitants of the southern Mexican town of Santa Maria del Tule, most of whom had no idea why the man was kissing and “marrying” the tree whose trunk has the largest diameter in the world.

The wedding was part of the “Marry a tree, save your oxygen” project, whose mission is to stop deforestation around the world, and has already been initiated in Peru, Colombia and Argentina.

“Stop the hand that cuts down trees. I condemn this genocide and ask the president of Mexico to halt the destruction,” the environmentalist said during the ceremony.

The Mexican capital, he said, “finds itself in its greatest environmental crisis, for which I ask my Mexican brothers to plant a tree and care for the water and the mountains because this earth belongs to everyone.”

The Peruvian-born in the Amazon region said that according to Greenpeace, close to 2 million hectares (5 million acres) of woodland have been clear-cut in Latin America.

“Some very important Mexicans have joined this campaign. Famous actresses like Thalia and Lucia Mendez are supporting the project,” said Torres, decked out for the nuptials in a sky blue tie and white tails.

In conclusion, Richard Torres said he will continue his reforestation tour in other southern Mexican states like Chiapas and Guerrero, where he knows “a lot of blood has been spilled,” which is why he brings them this message of peace. – Bernama

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