The Inspiration Behind Maria

¡Hola!

My name is Cuquis Robledo and I am the director of Maria: An Interactive Map and Documentary. Thank you for viewing my project, Maria, and for immersing with the interactive map of Puerto Rico, and watching the mini documentaries about the effects Hurricane Maria had on the island. The reason I decided to do a multimedia interactive map and documentary experience on Hurricane Maria is because this topic is personal to me. When Hurricane Maria - a Category 5 hurricane - hit the East coast of the island on September 20, the whole island was in a blackout, and it was not until 4-6 months later that the island started getting power back. My stepfather’s family was affected by the hurricane, and they ended up evacuating to Houston one week after Maria hit. My stepfather’s youngest brother and his family ended up moving permanently to Houston for a better life for their kids, but his second oldest brother’s family and his parents moved back to Puerto Rico about four months since it hit.

What I love about documentary work is how close and connected you get with the people you meet, as well as learning about different people from around the world and telling their most authentic stories. What inspired me to travel to Puerto Rico for this project and do documentary work with it was previously, I had traveled to Bogota, Colombia to work on three videos for a non-profit that hires people with disability. I loved being able to use being bilingual (I’m Mexican/Cuban so I can understand English and Spanish), to communicate with the founders of the organization and learn their story. I also love to travel and being able to do videography work and travel was a dream. I got the travel bug after my trip to Colombia, and I wanted to pick another Spanish speaking place that had a lot of meaning to me. Puerto Rico just made sense to me with the family connections as well as the topic area.

This was the first big project I spearheaded on my own without an official video team. I sought out my own interviews, and also got support from friends and family on the island to connect me with other people on the island to interview, such as top Meteorologist, Ada Monzon, reporter Mayra Acevedo, and Mayor Oscar Santiago of Vega Alta, Puerto Rico. I also had the help of my family members as assistance if I needed an extra pair of eyes to look at the camera, and of course help me carry my video equipment and take me around the island. I even hired the best tour company on the island, Across Caribe, and the best tour guide, Sahid Perez, to take me around the island to take broll video, and to introduce me to people to interview and learn their stories.

What I have learned from this project is that Puerto Ricans are some of the most resilient people I have ever met. They united together during the hurricane and worked together as a community to support one another. They are also the most accepting and welcoming people. The welcomed me with open arms to the island and were very open with sharing their stories with me. They don’t want pity. They just want people to hear their stories and to show empathy.

If you want to help the island and its people, then the best thing you can do is come and visit! For your next vacation or trip, book a trip to Puerto Rico and meet the people of the island and enjoy the pleasures of the island. Tourism is their main economy, and the more tourism they have, the greater the opportunities the island will have in rebuilding and recovering after Maria. Tourism is now open again and Puerto Rico is waiting for you to visit.

So, book your vacation now with one of the best tour companies on the island!