On Monday morning, Peruvian actor Richard Torres married a tree in Brussels Cinquantenaire Park to raise awareness of massive deforestation and global warming.
Marrying a tree is a "playful and symbolic action" for Torres, who has already married several of them, including in Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil and Cuba, since he started calling people's attention to deforestation in 2013.
"I married the Belgian tree to ask for help. In the human world, we are destroying nature and it is urgent to save our trees," Torres said on his Instagram stories. "I ask the men, women and children of the world to plant trees."
He stressed that everyone should protect trees, as "they give us health, life and peace. It is important and urgent that we become aware of the fact that the earth is our only home, and it is in danger."
The wedding followed all Peruvian traditions, as Torres brought rice, fruit, pisco, flowers and even a ring to the ceremony.
Saving the lungs of the earth
Torres has its own non-profit organisation, Corazones Verdes Mundial (World of Green Hearts), which is committed to the replanting of trees worldwide, especially in the Amazon forest, which partly covers the north of Peru, where the actor comes from.
"It is very important for him to save the lungs of the earth, it is his home,” Jonathan Cabrera, Torres' interpreter and activist, told Bruzz.
Following the marriage to the Brussels' tree, Torres will continue his mission in Paris, Berlin and Firenze, while he is in Europe. His aim is to organise a total of 100 different ceremonies worldwide, and will only stop once he is recognised by the Guinness World Records.
He finances the project himself and does not rely on sponsors and other non-profit organisations for help.
