Sporting plain white clothing, a multicoloured scarf and a distinctive grey fedora, Mr Paez is known around Bathurst for his work as a Spanish teacher, his pop up stalls featuring colourful South American crafts, and his program on community radio station 2MCE.

Mr Paez has now turned his attention to writing, and his debut book Abuelito explores his experiences growing up in Ecuador with his grandfather, and how he taught him all about an ancient and magical spiritualism called cosmovision.

READ ALSO: Pool to be renamed Manning Aquatic Centre Bathurst, councillors decide

“For millennia, my people tried to copy the synchronicity and the extraordinary work of the cosmos,” Mr Paez said.

“The scientists of the time wanted to document how the universe functioned and incorporate that knowledge into their society.”

“I remember when my grandfather taught me all about the Southern Cross [‘Chakana’ in ancient Incan terminology], and how this extraordinary constellation rules the destiny of our planet.”

READ ALSO: Wiradyuri elders set for a grand ceremony at Inland Sea of Sound

The Southern Cross mentioned by Mr Paez is the very same constellation of stars that is symbolic throughout Australia.

Abuelito [which is Spanish for grandfather] goes into great detail about the many spiritual stories and lessons Mr Paez’s grandfather bestowed upon him, and the book’s cover art symbolises how his grandfather enlightened him with such a broad-minded and expansive philosophy.

“I once asked my grandfather what it meant to be timeless, and he responded by drawing a line on the ground,” he said.

READ ALSO: LEAP artists to share their music around Bathurst this weekend

“He asked me what I saw, and all I saw was a line.”

“He then asked whether I believed that there was a past and a future, and with a younger mind, I called the left end of the line the past,  the other end the future, and placed the present in the middle.”

“After all that, my grandfather deduced that it was a line fully encompassing the present, stressing the point to me that now is all that matters.”

“We have no beginning and no end; we are timeless.”

There is no one in the Bathurst community quite like Mr Paez, and Abuelito offers a significant insight into his way of thinking, and how his fascinating upbringing helped shape the person he is today.

“My grandfather influenced me in so many ways, and I have dedicated my life to emulating his wisdom, whether it be through my work as a teacher, a radio presenter and an artisan,” he said.

“A wonderful saying I learned from him is ‘you walk in your shoes because no one will feed your shoes, you speak your truth because your truth is within you, even if you’re wrong, and you walk your own path, because even if you walk among millions, your walk will be a lonely one’”

Mr Paez will be discussing Abuelito next Friday, November 30 at Bathurst Library.