Ignacio Gonzalez Castro it is like a living yin-yang. He chats with that serene way, classic of Uruguayan genetics, but behind the scenes he leads a dizzying life. She was a teenage model, and without leaving her appearance aside, at just 23 years old she got first in her entrepreneurial career, and was encouraged to bet big: America Business Forum (7th edition, October 7, Punta del Este) and america rock star (2nd edition November 5 and 6, Montevideo), were his two trademarks to replicate in our lands, those meetings of leaders that marked the sustained evolution in the Northern Hemisphere. Without repeating or copying, he gave them that Latin seasoning, so intimate and close that he turned the lessons into life stories, and the business meetings into heterogeneous gatherings suitable for all audiences. Personalities from different fields passed through its forums, from politics to sports, fashion, business and entertainment. All with the same purpose: to share stories and experiences that generate an impact on others. Like your TV show, “The legacy”, who knew how to bring together in unique interviews, the life journeys of great names in the culture of his country, and who will soon multiply with other figures from the continent. His motto to reach success and happiness: go towards the future without ignoring the past. A bonsai spirit that behind its young packaging seeks to treasure the advice of ancient souls in a wave that multiplies ad infinitum.
News: What was it that triggered the idea of setting up these forums in the southern cone?
Ignatius Gonzlez Castro: I went to study in the United States, to a university in Boston that has the most important entrepreneurship program in the country, and hunger broke my head for eating up the field that those who studied there had. There were classes of forty people and, unlike what happened in our countries, all forty went to class. We Latinos go there thinking that we can chamuyar it.
News: What are we missing?
Gonzalez: It is a culture change. If you look at the United States or Israel, the entrepreneur is seen with good eyes and the successes are seen as a light to follow. In our countries the successful is distrusted, it is thought that he did something outside the law or that he screwed someone. It is frowned upon to stand out, you want to equalize downwards.
News: And the rules of the game don’t help either…
Gonzalez: But that lack of rules that weakens us is also what helped us know how to play on any field. I think that Uruguay is going through a great moment because there is a very strong sense of nation, it has become an oasis for attracting investment. It highlights the democratic quality.
News: It is a very friendly democracy, with differences, but not cracks
Gonzalez: In Uruguayan politics the crack does not claw. In Argentina, the work of politicians is discredited, because they should realize that, despite the changes of flag in a government, there are things that should not change.
News: You returned to Uruguay full of ideas, but how did you decide to launch a megaproject like the America Business Forum?
Gonzalez: little by little We held our first forum at the Montevideo airport for 700 leaders, and it was quite a challenge. The second edition doubled the number of attendees, and the following year we decided to take it to Punta del Este. Now we are already in almost 6000 Latin American leaders who come to think of a paradisiacal place. We also realized that what drives, and, above all, inspires, are life stories.
News: One day he took on the role of interviewer and produced “El Legado”, a program of intimate interviews with figures from Uruguayan history.
Gonzalez: The idea of the format is a kind of inner journey, where we take the celebrity to different scenarios and go through his darkest moments, his greatest successes. Sometimes we young people believe that we know it all and there is so much to learn from those who have already lived it. Life is too short to make all the mistakes yourself. The interview with former president Tabaré was one of the great milestones.
News: Your desired characters?
Gonzalez: Elon Musk, and from the world of politics, Barack Obama seems to me to be an outstanding leader, and from sports I would love Rafa Nadal or Cholo Simeone, because they are closer, but I have a very long list.
News: In recent years there has been a high Argentine immigration in Uruguay, does the invasion bother you?
Gonzalez: No way. You have that seasoning and spice that is needed, associated with good taste and that impulse to take risks and do things. I think both can benefit from the meeting. The symbiosis between the sister nations is more consolidated than ever.
News: How did your youth play?
Gonzalez: I think it worked in my favor, despite the fact that culturally our countries are not very prepared to see young people occupy decision-making positions. Youth is spectacular because it is the moment of your life in which you have a handicap, where if you make a mistake it is because you are learning and if you do well, you are a crack because you did it so young. I like to form teams with young people, because they are eager to learn.
News: Of all the lessons you heard from your interviewees, which is the one that struck you the most on a personal level?
Gonzalez: Something I learned from Maravilla Martínez, who told me “life is a fight, and you just have to get into the ring, put your body on it and continue fighting.” Another maxim that I have is that there is a kind of circular energy in life, that’s why you always have to put all of yourself because life gives you back in some way. Sometimes it doesn’t happen as what you expect, it comes back to you on the other hand.
News: In 30 years, if you sat in the interview room, what would you ask yourself and what do you think your legacy would be?
Gonzalez: I wonder if I was happy, and what things would have changed. I would ask myself what I learned, and what I am going to do the rest of my life with those lessons. If I enjoyed every moment and if I was consistent with myself.