A Camino for Enrique

This pilgrimage was for Enrique Iglesias, President of the Inter-American Development Bank - IDB (1988-2005), before that, President of Uruguay’s Central Bank and its Foreign Minister, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, and later, Executive Secretary of the Ibero-American Group.


What the Camino really brought to me can be summarized in one word, ‘sharing.’ Sharing the camino with other pilgrims, and people living, working, welcoming along the way. Sharing the experience while being back home.
— Christian Pinon, fellow pilgrim, walking the Camino barefoot

What attracted me to the Camino del Norte and the Camino Primitivo was the beauty of the route on the coast of the Basque country and Cantabria, down through the mountains of Asturias, along the quiet paths of the pine and eucalyptus forests on the last few stages of the French route in eastern Galicia. But my main motivation for doing this walk was to pay homage to Enrique Iglesias, the Enrique Iglesias who can command an audience as well as any pop star and leave its members as moved by his analysis of world issues and his vision for the future as concert goers might be by a stirring rendition of some of the most popular Latin hits.

I am talking about the Enrique Iglesias who was brave enough to entrust me with responsibilities at the IDB that not only allowed me to live the work of the Bank in-country in Brazil, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Mexico, but gave my family the opportunity to share that life. In a way, Enrique sent me out on a pilgrimage, and I wanted to show my appreciation with another, through the land of his birth.

“The camino for me, was about facing some deep emotional needs - with each step, I walked through my past, to reach my present and fulfill my future. I was literally going to a physical place, to face the music.”

— Jenny Moase, fellow pilgrim, musician