Today’s Vegetarian Elite
will be presented
in Spanish,
with subtitles in Arabic,
Aulacese (Vietnamese),
Chinese, English,
French, German,
Indonesian, Italian,
Japanese, Korean,
Mongolian, Nepali,
Persian, Portuguese,
Russian, Spanish,
Tagalog, and Thai. Hallo, esteemed viewers! Today, on the second of our two-part program, we are delighted to present to you Nicolás Pauls, brilliant Argentine musician, actor, and television host . Nicolas leads a prosperous vegan lifestyle together with his wife and his two children. He is an environmental advocate, a tireless defender of free and dignified lives for all animals, and is committed to diverse social and humanitarian causes. On part one last week, we learned that Nicolás was born into a family blessed with artistic talent – his grandparents were ballet dancers, his father Axel Pauls was a prestigious movie producer and actor, his mother Marina Guerrero and youngest sister are actresses, and all of his brother are movie and television producers or writers. In 2006, the Pauls family received special recognition for their contribution to Argentinean national cinema at the Latin American Film Festival of San Rafael. With the arts beckoning his heart since an early age, Nicolás first love was music. For me music is everything. It seems to me that art is the most complete of everything; because it is inexplicable. In addition to a career in music, Nicolás Pauls made his grand debut as a movie actor in the film “Buenos Aires Vice Versa,” written and directed by the Argentinean director Alejandro Agresti. In the year 1995, Alejandro Agresti, an Argentinean director who lived at the time in Holland, was returning to Argentina to film a movie after 10 years in exile. And he proposed that I play a person in this film, in “Buenos Aires Vice Versa” So I filmed this movie, which was like a seed for what happened next. “Buenos Aires Vice Versa” received diverse nominations and awards: “Best Iberoamerican Film” in the 1996 Mar del Plata International Film Festival, “Special Mention” in the 1997 International Film Festival of Human Rights, “Special Award of the Judges” in the International Festival of New Latin American Cinema of Havana; as well as Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Script. And from that moment until today, the truth is that since 1995 until today, I haven’t stopped working. And I enjoy it more and more. After his triumphant debut, Nicolás has continued to receive offers for movies and television, and has become a favorite of national cinema. He has appeared in celebrated films such as “Nuts for Love,” “Sisters,” “Christian’s Jump,” “Three Minutes,” “Small Country,” and “Lovely Loneliness.” Since then, Nicolás Pauls has also ventured onto the small screen. He has worked on successful television shows such as “Gasoleros,” “Final Time,” “I Will Resist,” “Almost Angels,” and “The Brave”, among others. I enjoy television a lot, working in television. I really liked the program I did last year. I think that of all the programs I have made in television, it was without a doubt the one I liked doing the most. The script, the direction, the actors… Everything was perfect. It was called: “Blind Dates.” It was a great experience. “Blind Dates” was noted for its production, creativity, and exceptional cast. In 2009, at the Martín Fierro Awards given annually by the Association of Argentinean Television and Radio Journalists, “Blind Dates” received 9 nominations, making it the third most nominated program ever. Nicolás Pauls also excels as a television host with two classics in Argentinean television history, “Return Rock” and “LP,” two programs that paid homage to music. Hi, welcome to Elepé, the program where we remember the records most important to Argentinean rock. Despite his busy schedule in the entertainment industry and as a devoted family man, Nicolás finds time to indulge in one of his great passions – good vegan cooking. I think the thing I like most to do in life, out of all the things that I have done, is to cook. I think that is what I enjoy most. And I love it. Now we are living here, these months here in the country, with friends. And almost tacitly it was decided that the couple cooks would be us, Sofi, my wife and I, which for me is no problem at all. In the kitchen I found something very similar to that which music produces. In the sense that music is a very important food in life, extremely important – it nurtures the spirit. And food is not only creative, because for me it is an act of absolute creation and total freedom; it’s all in the process. It is like acting also, I mean, it is a truly a creative act that ends in an offering, in something that you are offering. I do it with great love, I really like to cook. And I do it with a lot of love because I enjoy it a lot. And it ends in everyone sitting down at the table to eat. . So, the end of the process is something very communal, very beautiful. Christmas 2010 saw the very successful launching of a campaign in Argentina called “Christmas Without Cruelty,” in which Nicolás also participated. It was organized by the international vegetarian movement “The Spoon Revolution.” In these parties, feed yourself without cruelty. Let’s not take from animals the right to life. I support the Love Revolution. Yes to life. No to violence. Yes to animal rights. For me, the utilization of an animal for consumption... I don’t say it just only because of their meat, but rather also their milk. It seems to me that it is like expropriating, it is like robbing; for me, it is to steal something. It is like stealing a baby; it is a crime for me, to steal a baby is a crime. And it is also a crime to steal food from a baby. Then the food that this cow produces, is not for us, it is for her child. So, it seems to me that this invasive exterminating consciousness, I mean, that to take this away is to exterminate and it is to exploit, and I am in absolute disagreement with the exploitation of anything. To understand that the cow produced that milk for a calf and not for us, it makes me see that if you go and you take away that milk you are robbing something. It is like someone coming to steal the milk that my wife produces for my children. It seems inappropriate; not only inappropriate, but unnecessary. Nicolás and his wife Sofia enjoyed two vegan pregnancies. Their beautiful, healthy children have been raised on a pure plant-based diet. The experiences were great, of the two pregnancies. Well, it is clear that the diet that we follow, this is contrary to what many times is said that it is necessary to eat certain foods that implicate animal suffering, that are necessary in pregnancy. Well, Olivia was born at 4½ kilograms, and Leon at 4 kilograms 200 grams, with super strong health, with beautiful births. For me, the only experience is the one I have experienced in my life. That is the only one I have passed through, and I would return to do it this way again. And without a doubt, I would encourage this lineage to continue. Both of them were born in different houses that we lived in. Olivia was born in one and Leon in another. And they were beautiful. Yes, absolutely naturally, in our home. They were divine births, divine. Given his concern with climate change and his understanding that organic veganism is the best way to address the problem, Nicolás Pauls was invited to speak at the conference “Global Warming: Yes, There is a Solution!” held in Lima, Peru in September 2009. The event was globally broadcasted live on Supreme Master Television, as well as locally on RBC Television’s Channel 11 and Radio Latina at 990 AM. And if, in addition, we know it will change the course of a devastated planet, we must join forces with haste. We must begin to communicate the concept of a vegetarian world, because we know that by changing this idea, and this conception and by beginning to prioritize the respect for all living beings, we can return the air to the planet so it can breathe again. Thank you. Invited as the Guest of Honor to this very conference was Supreme Master Ching Hai, who graciously accepted to attend via videoconference. Nicolás, along with other dignitaries, had the opportunity ask her a question. Hallo, Master. Thank you. We know about the economic interest behind the meat industry, so the question is: What do you think is the way to inform about this truth, the importance of the meat industry in relation to global warming when neither government nor mainstream media talk about that? Good afternoon, Mr. Pauls. How are you? Very well, thank you. Thank you, too. I’m glad to see that you are a vegan yourself and you look a picture of perfection - healthy, handsome, intelligent. Congratulations! In your question of how to communicate the truth about meat, the first thing I can say is that you are already living this truth by example. So, congratulations again for that. Thank you. we cannot wait for the government and the media to get the message out. We must take the lead. We must do it by example. And you would be one of the natural agents for this kind of message since you are already well-known and I’m sure well-loved by the public. Well, I love you already. So I’m sure everybody else loves you. We have to inform people of the truth and we have to live by that truth. This truth, our need to stop the killing of animals, is the only one that will stabilize the Earth physically, as well as bringing peace and restoring hope to humans and the planet. So please, help us spread this message, Mr. Pauls, and you will see the change that comes from more and more people returning to a humane, considerate way of life. I have said before, we can have Eden on Earth, and it is true. Thank you for being so kind to all of us by being kind to the animals. Thank you for doing your part in saving the planet. Thank you very much. Nicolás offers a message to Supreme Master Ching Hai about this encounter, and shares his thoughts about participating in the event. It was nice to have you answering questions, I still feel like I’d like to... Surely, after writing down the questions and sending them out and so on, I started to think of a few other things. But well, I guess there is no longer a chance to ask them. But I like what she says, I like her message. I like it, it seems very clear to me. I am in tune with her, with her way of thinking. This trip was very revealing on many levels. It seemed to me very, very important, to attend this conference. The invitation to the conference helped me to also understand that this position that I have due to being a person who has worked for many years in communication media, and making music and acting, it is important to be able to say something. Or perhaps the lifestyle I have, that we have with our family, is a way of living that could apply to others. I felt that from some place, like even an obligation – this obligation to communicate that. So, if what I say can make a person see, begin to see things from the other side, I have to be conscious of that, that it may be even important and can change something. I began to think like that when I received the invitation. I thought, “Why are they inviting me? What do I have to say?” So I said, “Well, yes, I have something to say.” I began to reassess that message, or what I have to say. I began, because of that, to apply it afterwards also. To say, “Well, then, it shouldn’t simply stay at an excellent conference in Lima, Peru, but rather, let’s use it also in other places, let’s spread it out.” And that is what I began to do. So this trip was also revealing because it woke me up. It woke me up: “Well, you’re in a position where perhaps what you say will be heard by many.” Let us continue to build this, and we continue communicating what we think. Let’s walk forward together, because there is a lot to do. Nicolás has a parting thought for Supreme Master Television viewers. Well, respect for everyone, basically, as a fundamental pillar. It seems to me that without that, nothing works. It seems to me that from here one can begin to build. I think that what is being built from respect has an absolutely solid and indestructible foundation. And that is the only way to make our passage through here more harmonious, through this experience that is the only one we are going to have. So let’s nurture this, let’s defend this, let’s proclaim this – the idea of harmony between us, between all of us. Thank you, loving viewers, for the pleasure of your company today. We look forward to seeing you next Saturday for another episode of Vegetarian Elite, here on Supreme Master Television. Coming up next is Between Master and Disciples. May the Divine melodies of Heaven be the peace anthems of our time. |