While the glow of the Olympic Games still lingers in the air, the city of Río de Janeiro is not pulling down the curtain just yet. For next 7th of September will see the start of the XV edition of the Paralympic Games in that city. Wolf, the most cunning of all the Kukuxumusu characters in his disguise as a harmless sheep, has managed to get called up for the big event and he will accompany the paralympic athletes in the Spanish delegation to help cheer them on to victory.

This Spanish delegation consists of 114 sports people (One 100 with disabilities and 14 others to help out), as well as another 68 people who will serve as trainers and coaches, as part of medical teams and as organization workers.

Wolf will serve as mascot for all these sports people in their mighty attempts to win medals as they give their all in their effort to reach the podium despite all the obstacles that need to be overcome. For sure, our Kukuxumusu wolf will help cheer them on in their fight to break barriers and mindless typecasts.

The Liberty Seguros firm, in collaboration with the Spanish Paralympic Committee, has wished to count on Kukuxumusu in order to stimulate support and help for its project #SeSalen, the biggest fan club of the paralympic sports. In this way, they will directly provide support to six of the paralympic athletes that will compete in Río in their different fields.

We have given the six athletes our particular Kukuxumusu stamp with a drawing that for sure will illuminate the social networks over these coming days. Far from feeling intimidated by their particular disability, these athletes give their all, day in and day out. As the lyrics from the rap song sung by El Langui goes “they shine, they stand out for their capacity, for their self-improvement, for their efforts, for their talent and skills… they stand apartt for their great achievements”.

Tennis player Daniel Caverzaschi is known as ‘the paralympic Nadal’. He is Junior World Champion and he is ranked as no. 16 on the world’s best players list. He was born lacking a thighbone and knee bone on his right leg. Wolf represents him whacking a reckless fly with his racket.

Swimmer Ricardo Ten, who already has accumulated three gold medals from the Beijing and Sidney Games, is a world champion and record-holder in his specialty – the 100 meters breast-stroke. When he was just eight years old, an electricity accident caused him to lose both his arms and one of his legs. As he is rarely seen without his goggles, Wolf represents him with them on.

Alfonso Cabello is the fastest man in Spain in the one-kilometer-track event –he competes with his peers and also with other runners who have both arms – a Gold Medal winner in London he is also a world champion in his event. He was born with his left forearm amputated. He runs so fast that even Wolf is losing his sheep’s skin as he imitates him.

Weight-lifter Loida Zabala holds the Spanish national record in her weight. She was a finalist in the London Games and has won the Spanish national championship for the last past ten years in a row. An inflammation in her spinal cord caused total immobility to her legs when she was just 12 years old. Wolf represents her just as she is – fun-loving and a real party animal, especially for rock music.

The best disc thrower and hammer thrower in modern times, David Casinos, came away with four gold medals from the games in London, Beijing, Athens and Sydney. He was left totally blind at the age of 25 as a result of diabetic retinopathy. In his case, his inseparable dog, Farala, accompanies him just as it does whenever he competes.

Sandra Peña is the top female representative of boccia in Spain. She is always wearing a smile on her face. In our Kukuxumusu drawing some birds are shown as they try to fly off with her balls. She suffers from cerebral paralysis.

We have discovered the hard facts behind the stories of our different athletes and to find all of them with such spirit and good humor comes as a welcome surprise to us. You only have to look at them in the video alongside El Langui or to see the comments coming from them on the social networks. In spite of their obvious difficulties they continue to surpass themselves and to show that yes, they can and they do.

Here at Kukuxumusu we are wholeheartedly with them “all the way”. We can only applaud their achievements and we can only do our best to give them a voice and to join in their fun and do all we can to ensure that all our followers, fans and friends award them with that big stadium wave that they so heartily deserve