Who is Helena Gualinga? All about the Ecuadorian activist spotted with Shawn Mendes

Canadian singer Shawn Mendes was recently spotted at Peru's Machu Picchu with Helena Gualinga. Rumors of a possible romance between the two have been floating around for months, but the displays of affection in Mendes' start-of-the-year trip to Peru have seemingly confirmed them.

Helena Gualinga is a 22-year-old Ecuadorian activist from the Sarayaku community in Ecuador. From an early age, Gualinga started working towards defending the rights of her community and is a leading representative of Sarayaku at International summits like the COP (Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and Youth for Climate.

Gualinga is also fighting against the rampant extraction of natural resources in the Amazon and is working towards protecting biodiversity and combating climate change.

According to a report by Infobae, Shawn Mendes and Helena Gualinga were spotted together in Peru. As per the report, they were affectionate towards each other as they walked through a bus terminal and on their journey to the imperial citadel by train. They also shared hugs and kisses at the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu.

---

Exploring the life and activism of Helena Gualinga

Helena Gualinga - Source: Getty (Photo by Monica Schipper/WireImage)

Born in the Indigenous Kichwa Sarayaku community in Pastaza, Ecuador, Helena Gualinga belongs to a family of environmental activists. Her mother is a former president of the Kichwa Women's Association while her aunt and grandmother are defenders of environmental causes and Indigenous women's rights in the Amazon. Gualinga's father is a professor of biology at the University of Turku.

Helena spent most of her childhood in Finland and attended the Cathedral School of Abo. She grew up seeing the persecution of her family for protesting against big oil companies and their incessant exploitation of Indigenous people and their natural habitat.

In a 2019 interview with Svensa High journalist Jasmine Nedergard (published by Yle), the 22-year-old explained that she followed her people's struggle against multi-million-dollar conglomerates since childhood. The conflict - at its worst- even led to the death of her community members.

"I feel like this wasn't a choice, I was born into this. I think this is an opportunity that needs to be taken," she said.

She also echoed the thought process of environmental activist Greta Thunberg whom she considered one of her role models.

In another interview published by Latin American Reports on January 31, 2020, Gualinga described her form of activism as a means of creating social change through action.

“We have had to stand up to big corporations and corrupt governments trying to get into our territories,” she said, explaining how the lives of her people revolved around protecting their natural habitat from exploiters.

“We value the forest as much as we value people because we believe it has a spirit. The water is a protector, the birds are also protectors," continued Gualinga.

In one of the most prominent moments of her activism, Helena Gualinga held a sign that read "sangre indígena, ni una sola gota más" outside the United Nations headquarters in New York City during the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit. The line translates to "Indigenous blood, not one drop more."

Helena Gualinga was one of the representatives at the COP25 in Madrid, Spain. As per a December 11, 2019, report from El Comercio, Gualinga criticized the Ecuadorian government for authorizing oil extraction from indigenous lands without their permission.

"Our country's government is still granting our territories to the corporations responsible for climate change. This is criminal," she said

"Our country's government is still granting our territories to the corporations responsible of climate change. This is criminal," she said during a speech at the conference.

She also talked about the climate crisis, highlighting that the indigenous people actively fight against global warming but are often excluded from the discussions.

"The rights of indigenous peoples cannot be excluded from the climate crisis, because while we are here talking about the climate crisis, indigenous people are fighting and defending their territories," she mentioned in her speech.

Gualinga founded a movement called Polluters Out along with Isabella Fallahi, and Ayisha Siddiqa. It was a digital movement aimed at protecting fossil fuels and was founded as a response to COP25.

The movement called on Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to reject funding from fossil fuel companies for COP26.

---

On March 18, 2022, the documentary Helena Sarayaku Manta was released featuring Helena Gualinga as the protagonist. Directed by Eriberto Gualinga, it features her life and activism and teaches the Sarayaku way of living. It premiered at the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital.

In October 2023, Helena and her sister Nina were also featured on the cover of Forbes Ecuador.