The Perez Family: Amahia, Diego, Esteban, Rosa and Eduardo

This side of the Perez family evacuated to Houston, TX one week after Hurricane Maria hit the island, and ended up moving to Houston permanently. I know the Perez family because Eduardo (far right) is the youngest brother of my stepfather and they stayed in his former house in The Woodlands. Rosa now owns a beauty salon in Tomball, TX, and Diego, Amahia and Esteban are in school learning English and adapting to their new life. They were the initial the inspiration behind this project.

The Perez Family: Isamar, Gustavo, and Alberto

Alberto Perez is my stepfather’s second oldest brother, and he and his family also evacuated Houston the same time Eduardo and his family did. To make the most out of the situation, they spent a lot of time with our family and it was the first time all of the cousins were together. They moved back to Puerto Rico in December because Alberto’s job required him to move back, but they wish they could have stayed in Houston with the whole family

Samuel Gonzales: President of Fondos Unidos

Samuel Gonzales is the president of Fondos Unidos (United Way), and his organization worked closely with relief efforts after the hurricane, especially with rebuilding the parks in San Juan. I met Samuel through my stepfather’s cousin who works as part of United Way.

To donate for hurricane relief, donate here…

Zulay Figuroa

Originally from Venezuela, Zulay divides her time between San Juan during the weekdays and her weekend home in the mountains in Utuado, Puerto Rico. Her home in Utuado was made out of wood and miraculously survived the hurricane. My aunt got in contact with Zulay from a friend at work, and Zulay welcomed my whole family and I to her mountain home. She even used her property for the military to come and drop off supplies.

Samuel Lind

Samuel Lind is a famous artist known for his Afro-Heritage artwork. I got the opportunity to meet Samuel during one of my tours with Across Caribe. His studio is in is house located in Loiza, where there is a big Afro-Latino culture. After Hurricane Maria, he needed to find a way to express himself, so the subjects of his paintings revolved on nature and of the hurricane. Book an Afro-Heritage tour and meet Samuel Lind here…

Basilio Perez-Nasario and Blachy Melendez-Acevedo

Basilio and Blachy have a farm and private property at the foot of El Yunque, the National Rainforest. Over the past year, they have opened up their property for tourists to enter a private part of El Yunque that leads to a waterfall and pool. What they learned from Hurricane Maria was how the community came together to help clean their farm, and in return, they cooked food for the community. Book a private tour to El Yunque here…

Mayra Acevedo: Reporter for WIPR News in San Juan

Mayra Acevedo is a reporter for WIPR News Puerto Rico and reported about Maria on satellite radio, and on social media. It was a big opportunity for Mayra to cover Maria, but it also affected her personal life as well. She takes pride in the work she does and enjoyed reporting and supporting her community during that time. After I interviewed Mayra, she interviewed me about this project for her social media page, Notiseis 360. Follow Mayra on Facebook and Twitter: @MayraAcevedoTV.

Ada Monzon: Meteorologist of WIPR in San Juan

Ada Monzon is the most respected meteorologist in this part of the hemisphere. She tracked and covered the path of both Hurricane Irma, and Hurricane Maria. She also went to social media to cover the news, which ended up saving thousands of lives. I had the honor to do a phone interview with her. She discussed how emotional she was covering Maria. Because of her work, all of the island respects her. Follow Ada Monzon on Twitter at @adamonzon.

Mary Ann Gabino: Vice President of Fundacion Comunitaria

Mary Ann is the Vice President of Fundacion Comunitaria and has worked effortless to provide relief and support for the people after Hurricane Maria. She focuses on while they are in an economic crisis, they do not want pity, but collaboration. The best way she says we can help is to promote tourism, come to the island, and enjoy the wonders of Puerto Rico. Learn more about the relief efforts of Fundacion Comuntaria here…

Oscar “Can” Santiago: Mayor of Vega Alta

Oscar Santiago is the mayor of the municipal Vega Alta, Puerto Rico. He and his wife worked hard after the Maria to provide support for their town. He loves his island and its people and hopes people who come to the island can appreciate it as much as he does. It was such an honor to interview Mayor Santiago. At the end of the interview, he gave me two pins representing the town of Vega Alta as a thank you for covering the effects of Hurricane Maria.

Mariela Avilés Font

Mariela is a doctorate student in psychology at the University of Puerto Rico. She works at the psychology clinic at the university, where they provide free care and appointments for people who need it. She worked on a multidisciplinary project through the university looking at the effects of Maria on different demographics and populations, and saw that the kids and elderly were the most effected. She arranged all of the interviews with the faculty and students for me.

Eric Senior

Eric is in his final year as a doctorate student in psychology at the University of Puerto Rico. He also participated in the multidisciplinary project looking at the effects of Hurricane Maria throughout different socioeconomic statuses and demographics. He learned that more rural towns on the island were effected the most because their was not enough access to supplies in these rural towns. He takes pride in the work he does with the university.

Amaryllis Muñoz Colon

Amaryllis is the head faculty of the psychology clinic at the University of Puerto Rico. She lead the multidisciplinary project on the effects of Hurricane Maria across the island. In addition, their clinic lost power during the hurricane so they had to attend classes the first couple of weeks outside in tents. She saw a lot of cases of depression, stress and post-traumatic stress disorder in many of their patients. She emphasizes how important it was to listen to their patients during the time of Hurricane Maria, and to never dismiss how a child feels during that time.

Aida Jimenez Torres

Aida is a faculty member of the psychology clinic at the University of Puerto Rico. Her focus on the multidisciplinary project regarding the effects of Maria on the island was the elderly population. She explains how important to not forget the elderly, especially when their families are not on the island, but are in the states. This is also important especially since most elderly are in nursing homes without their families to take care of them.