For Canadian athletes with Chilean roots, Pan Am Games will mean a lot more than just sport
Volleyballer Humana-Parades, taekwondo's Park family, among those excited to compete in Santiago
Smiles, intensity and slapping hands with beach volleyball partner Brandie Wilkerson are hallmarks of a match involving Melissa Humana-Paredes. Expect the same and maybe periodic glances at the crowd over the next week in Santiago, Chile.
Fresh off a quarterfinal loss at the world championships, they are among 473 athletes representing Canada at the Pan Am Games. But this beach tournament, which runs Oct. 21-27, is more meaningful than others to Humana-Paredes, the daughter of two Chilean expatriates.
Mother Myriam Paredes will watch Melissa play in her home country for the first time, along with 20 to 30 relatives from her side of the family.
"There are a lot of emotions. It'll be their first time watching me play [in person] which is so special," she said in a recent interview with Anastasia Bucsis of CBC Sports. "I haven't had the chance to go back in a few years, maybe seven or eight.
"I'm not sure how I'm going to feel on the court until I'm there [at Peñalolén Park]. It's going to be a lot more than volleyball."
Humana-Paredes isn't the only Canadian athlete with family ties to Chile. Andrea Park was born there and will have about 10 relatives in the stands watching her three children in taekwondo — daughter Skylar and sons Tae-Ku and Braven of Winnipeg.
Fifty years ago, Myriam and husband Hernan Humana had their lives changed forever with the beginning of a brutal military dictatorship in Chile that lasted nearly two decades.
WATCH | Match replay: Humana-Paredes, Wilkerson world quarterfinal loss:
The military regime violated human rights and brutally persecuted opponents, imprisoning and torturing of 40,000 civilians, leaving a toll of 3,200 killed. A further 200,000 Chileans reportedly fled the country, including 7,000 who made it to Canada.
Humana-Paredes noted she only began to understand the depth and weight of it all in recent years.
"My family did a great job of maybe sheltering myself and my brother [Felipe] from the hardships and atrocities they went through and how difficult it was for Chileans at the time," she said. "I think [my parents] relished starting a new life in a new country, and a wonderful country like Canada."
WATCH | Humana-Paredes: 'This is more than a Games for me and my family':
The 31-year-old Humana-Paredes was born and raised in Toronto.
"I think they wanted to start new and put the past in the past. I'm so grateful for their sacrifices and the struggles they went through," said Humana-Paredes, her voice cracking. "I can't fathom what they went through at a younger age than me and still had a zest for life, so much love and gratitude for starting a new life somewhere.
"I think I owe them a lot and I do a lot of my journey for them. When I'm on the court, I think of them and how lucky I am to be able to do what I do and wear the Maple Leaf."
Hernan represented a Chilean national team for indoor volleyball during the 1970s and emigrated to Canada in 1980. He coached John Child and Mark Heese to bronze in Atlanta in 1996, Canada's lone Olympic volleyball medal.
Hernan also wrote the book, Playing Under The Gun: An Athlete's Tale of Survival in 1970s Chile about life during the 17-year reign of dictator Augusto Pinochet, who led the coup and died in 2006.
The most powerful way to honour her family, Humana-Paredes pointed out, is to enjoy the ability to play on the sand, have fun and relish the experience at the Pan Am Games while pursuing a gold medal. In her only other Pan Am appearance, Humana-Paredes placed fourth at Toronto 2015 with Taylor Pischke.
The comfort and safety of volleyball gave her family a fresh start, a reason to work and live. Hernan was his daughter's first coach and oversaw her indoor and beach teams until she was 17, while Myriam was once in Chile's national ballet.
"Every four years [at the Pan Am Games and Olympics] there's a chance to do something new and different. I can't fathom what it has done for my family," said an emotional Humana-Paredes, who made her Olympic debut in 2021 and lost in the quarterfinals with then-partner Sarah Pavan. "I don't think I'll be able to until I retire and look back on this time in my life. I'm eternally grateful."
Despite the short turnaround from worlds, Humana-Paredes is thankful she and Wilkerson prioritized competing at the Pan Am Games.
To visit where my mom and her family come from is exciting. ... To meet our family there and have them watch us compete, they're our biggest supporters.— Canadian taekwondo athlete Skylar Park
"Sometimes it doesn't take the priority it deserves. We're using it to gain a multi-Games experience as a team before heading to Paris and the Olympics [next summer]," said Humana-Paredes, who became Wilkerson's full-time beach partner last October after they were first indoor teammates in 2011 at York University in Toronto.
On Sunday, Andrea Park dropped off her family at the airport, including husband Jae, who was raised in Korea and coaches each of his children. She'll join them in Santiago this week along with her parents and sister, all of whom live in Winnipeg.
"Getting to visit where my mom and her family come from is exciting," Skylar Park told CBC Sports before boarding a flight to Toronto en route to Chile. "My brothers and I haven't been to Santiago. To meet our family there and have them watch us compete, they're our biggest supporters.
"Some of them [have visited] Winnipeg but they're always messaging and congratulating us."
WATCH | Taekwondo runs in Park family's blood:
The same aunts, uncles and cousins will be at Contact Sports Center for taekwondo competition, which begins Saturday.
"I always love a big crowd and thrive in that environment, but especially to have family members in the crowd who support me unconditionally will be extra special," said Skylar, 24, who represented Canada at the 2019 Pan Am Games in Peru.
As a youngster, she was picked up from school by her grandparents, who would feed Skylar, Tae-Ku and Braven dinner and drive them to training.
"My grandparents have been closely tied to their culture and have taught me and my brothers a lot," she said. "The [Chilean] food and culture have been a big part of our lives."
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With files from The Associated Press
