Mayra Barberi, the Boca player who puts out fires in Patagonia
Mayra Barberi, Boca Juniors A player and recently champion with the club in promotion to “E”, She is a physical education teacher and also a volunteer firefighter.. For the second consecutive year, May had a preseason unlike that of any athlete: He went to fight the fires and help the victims in Patagonia. In a one-on-one conversation with AM850.com, Barberi spoke about the situation that exists today in the south of Argentina and also how hockey accompanies her life as a volunteer firefighter.
“I have been part of the Lago Puelo Volunteer Firefighters, the place where I was born, since 2021. “We received a call from the Epuyén and Cholila barracks to go and collaborate in fighting the fires.”began. And then she continued telling what a day is like being a volunteer firefighter in Patagonia: “The days are very variable and are always marked by uncertainty. In our case we do not go to the fire every day nor do the same people always go to the fire. You never know exactly how long you’re going to be or if you’re going to be directly in front of the fire.. “Sometimes we are called to protect homes, make strips with sapping tools, cool areas with water or work directly fighting fire.”
Regarding how being an athlete helps her in situations in which she has to fight fire, Barberi answered: “I think hockey gave me a lot of tools, both mental and physical, for situations like this.. From the physicalresistance and preparation, which are achieved with constant training and practices. And from the mentalthe ability to keep a cool head in times of pressure and always starting from the basis that no objective can be achieved individually, Work is always collective, each role is important, everyone fulfills a function and at all times you need the otherno one can do it alone.”
Mayra, in addition to being a Boca player, has been a Xeneize fan since she was born and her passion for the blue and gold is as much as that of being a volunteer firefighter. “I think that some of the values that define a hockey player are commitment, discipline and solidarity, but also, and above all, understanding that it is a sport that is played as a team. And that is perhaps what appears most today in my role as a volunteer firefighter. But above all, it is the unconditional love that I have for Club Atlético Boca Juniors and the affection for my headquarters, which makes me choose to dedicate my time and put my body into it in a loyal and genuine way.“he explained.
And he continued: “Being part of Boca Juniors and the Lago Puelo Volunteer Firefighters is an enormous pride and responsibility.. In both places I always try to act with humility, in a genuine manner and in the most professional manner possible, understanding the commitment involved in being part of and representing such important institutions.”he explained.
To conclude, Mayra Barberi was sincere and confessed: “It’s hard to say what impacted me the most, because sadly there wasn’t anything that surprised me.. In this area we have been going through fires of this magnitude for years. The strongest thing is that it is no longer surprising, because it is something that happens every summer in Patagoniawhich does not mean that we naturalize it.
May’s love for her country and helping others is the same as for hockey, the sport that connects her with Boca Juniors, the club that runs through her veins. Without a doubt, these stories are the most beautiful to tell because they help to spread and visualize what, in this case, a player experiences on a daily basis in addition to running with a stick and a ball.
