UIC Barcelona's Aula Magna or Main Hall hosted the première of the “Brazados” documentary on Thursday, which aims to raise awareness about and raise funds for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The 40-minute film features the Upside Down Challenge Menorca sporting challenge, carried out by open-water swimmer Daniel Rossines, who swam around the whole island in stages of 15 to 20 km each day. He managed to swim more than 130 km parallel to the coast, or more than 65.000 “strokes” for ALS.

The documentary was presented by Rossinés and the event was also attended by journalist Mercedes Milá and former goalkeeper and football coach Juan Carlos Unzue, who both took part in the documentary. “My only goal, at this point, is to make this disease visible so that what happened to me will not happen to anyone else. I did not know about the disease until I was given the diagnosis,” said Unzue, an ALS patient, in his emotional speech. Laura Madrueno, a weather presenter at Telecinco, also participated in the documentary and made her commitment to this cause clear virtually, since she was unable to attend in person.  

The rector of UIC Barcelona, Alfonso Mendiz, welcomed the attendees and talked about how proud he was to host this event for solidarity. “ELA is only three letters that contain a diagnosis that is far too terrifying still now, in the 21st century. But if we know anything, and if the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is that knowledge and science have no limits.” In this context, he added, “We are and will always be here. This solidarity challenge is something that is part of what defines us as a university: research, solidarity, and also sustainability," he said.

In her speech, the Executive President of the Luzon Foundation, Maria José Arregui, called on the authorities to improve quality of life for these patients and achieve scientific progress that will enable them to tackle the disease in the future. “Our struggle is hard, but, between us all, we have an unspoken pact to ensure that no one can remain indifferent. If those in power politically ignore us, at least we will gain the support of society for our cause.”

Laila Jiménez, a news presenter for Telecinco; Cristina Pampin, a news presenter for TVE and a lecturer at UIC Barcelona; Marc Llobet, who works on the “Arutinys” programme on La Sexta and is also a lecturer at the University; another journalist from “Arutinys” Alba Sanchez, and Catalan swimmer Maria Garcia i Urzainqui, as well as former open water swimmer Erika Villaecija (also Catalan) all joined together for this cause.

More “strokes” for ALS  

During the première of the documentary, its main protagonist, Daniel Rossinés, announced a new solidarity challenge planned for May 2022 with a new slogan “Swim for ELA”. As he explained, this new solidarity sporting event will be collective and will be open to anyone who wants to participate.

This third challenge will take place between the ports of Calafat and Cambrils. Participants will be divided into teams of four to swim 20 kilometres over a five to eight-hour time frame. The organisers will provide a boat for each team that, as a requirement, must raise a minimum of 500 euros to be able to participate in the challenge. 

At the end of the event, Daniel Rossinés encouraged those present to participate in the new challenge and highlighted the value of initiatives such as the documentary Brazadas to further raise awareness of the daily reality of ALS patients. “The documentary captures real life lessons from people who are suffering from a disease that is in fact also a life sentence,” he said.

This event was made possible thanks to support from Compass Group Spain, the Luzon Foundation and the Upside Down Challenge.