Saskatchewanderer looks at province through `tourist eyes'
Chilean immigrant who is now citizen brings unique perspective to position
Felipe Gomez arrived in Saskatchewan a decade ago and he's been exploring the province ever since.
As an immigrant coming from Santiago, Chile, Gomez was warned about the freezing temperatures, but he didn't let it stop him. He embraced the untamed Canadian wilderness and immersed himself in outdoor sports, he said.
“First winter, everyone told me it's going to be rough. I really enjoyed it. I spent a lot of time outside skiing,” he said in a recent interview.
Gomez became a Canadian citizen last year and with this achievement came a new opportunity. On April 1, 2021, he was inducted into the role of Saskatchewanderer for Saskatchewan's Ministry of Parks, Culture, Sports and Tourism. Although many people have held the position before, Gomez is the first immigrant and he thinks this will give him a new a unique perspective.
“I'm still impressed by trees, by landscapes, by people, by wildlife,” he said. “I still have the tourist eyes, so I really want to share that with the rest of Saskatchewan.”
This is the eleventh year of the Saskatchewanderer program, which selects one person per year to explore the province and blog or vlog about their experiences. Topics typically include art, culture, nature and wildlife. Since the program started running, 67 locations have been visited and 4,000 kilometres have been travelled. The Facebook page has over 70,000 followers.
Since he assumed the position, Gomez has connected with a few local artisans and businesses in Saskatoon, where he lives. He's keeping his future itinerary open, but he says he wants to interview a trapper and visit Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. He will hold the position until March 2022.
Gomez said the pandemic hasn't posed many barriers yet, but that it could if restrictions tighten. A provincewide public health order was issued Tuesday, restricting all indoor gatherings to immediate household members.
Although Gomez continues to meet with people at a safe distance outside, the provincial government has issued a statement strongly discouraging this. If further restrictions are implemented and if Gomez cannot find alternative ways of creating content, the project would face considerable setbacks.
Gomez, however, still has some ideas floating around in his head. Prior to accepting the role of Saskatchewanderer, he started a project called Bike and Bass Tour, where he cycled across the province with his bass guitar and played songs in different locations. He is planning on incorporating some of these skills, which are COVID friendly, into his videos.