Why I Became the Guardian of the Beaches of Puerto Rico

Welcome. This is another chapter of my radically wild saga in Puerto Rico. In this chapter, I share my journey of becoming a guardian of the beaches and rivers of Borikén, along with my thoughts and perspectives along the way. This is lived experience, not theory. This journey is about becoming a guardian of beach cleanup in Puerto Rico, not by title or organization, but through lived action. It is about showing up, taking responsibility, and refusing to accept that these sacred places should be treated like landfills.

The Origins of the Guardian of the Beaches of Puerto Rico

I have lived in the magical paradise that is Puerto Rico for over fifteen years. I did not arrive as an environmentalist or activist. Nor did I come here with the intentions of growing a food forest and living off the grid as I do now. I came as a DJ, traveling all over the island for three years playing music.

But as I moved through Puerto Rico, something deeper began to happen. I slowly awakened to a different way of seeing and being. The more time I spent outdoors, the more I connected to nature. The deeper I connected to nature, the deeper I connected to myself. With that connection came awareness, and with awareness came responsibility.

I began to truly see the beaches, not only their beauty but also their wounds. Trash scattered everywhere. Plastic buried in the sand. Rivers treated like drains. Places that felt sacred were being used like landfills. I could not stand it.

I was falling in love with this island, and watching it be treated like a trash can became unbearable. It started to hurt me to see this beauty being treated like trash, not by tourists but by the people who call this paradise home.

One day, something in me reached its limit. I had enough, not out of anger but out of clarity. It was time to take action. My Spanish was limited, but silence was no longer an option. I made signs in Spanish, simple and direct, and began walking from one side of the beach to the other, holding them up high to raise awareness about the trash.

I did not know what would happen, but I saw a shift. People paid attention. The beaches began staying cleaner. That was in 2013, and from that moment on, I have dedicated my life to being a guardian of Puerto Rico’s beaches. Whenever I am not walking, I watch over the beach like a lifeguard of trash. I remind people of the trash they leave behind. I am always on duty, trying to protect these sacred places.

"I am like a lifeguard of trash, watching over the beach and making sure others take out what they brought."

From Brooklyn to Borikén

I did not grow up surrounded by rivers or open horizons, well, not counting the East River and the Hudson. I was raised in Brooklyn, surrounded by concrete, noise, and constant motion. Nature was distant, decorative, almost invisible. I lived cut off from the Earth without even realizing it.

Our beaches, like Coney Island, were crowded, filthy, and chaotic. Sand buried under trash, water murky, the air heavy with smoke and smells of the city. That was my idea of the world outside my apartment window. The beaches were unappealing. My bathtub was my beach. That was my life.

The beaches of Brooklyn cannot be compared to the paradisiacal shores of Borikén. In doing what I do now, I want to remind others that this is not New York. This is heaven on Earth. We must care for its beauty and never settle for treating it like anything less than the paradise it is.

"This is not New York. This is heaven on Earth, and we must protect it."

What It Means to Be a Guardian

Being a guardian does not mean posting quotes or talking about loving nature. It means showing up. It means carrying the weight that others ignore or abandon. It is not easy. It is relentless. It is a commitment to life itself.

While many enjoy their day on the beach, I walk for miles under the sun, with the wind pushing against me as my signs act like sails. Many might think this is easy, but it is hard, week in and week out, sometimes three or four times a week. This is what it means to be a guardian. To dedicate yourself. To be passionate. To refuse to turn away.

Week after week, year after year, I collect what does not belong on these beaches. Plastic. Glass. Fishing lines. Every piece of trash is a reminder of disconnection, but also a choice. A refusal to stand by while beauty is desecrated.

Doing this work is deeply frustrating. Cleaning a beach only to return the next day and find more trash waiting. But I will not allow others to treat this paradise like a landfill when we have the ability to do something about it. If we do nothing, it will only continue to get worse. My goal is to leave the beaches so clean that others will not dare to trash them.

I carry signs not to offend, but to awaken. To make people pause. To feel the weight of their actions. To remember that this land is alive.

I have taken it upon myself to be a guardian of these beautiful beaches, the oceans, and our world. I do not wait for someone else to act. If I see trash left behind, I pick it up. If I see someone littering, I speak out. I feel like I have to babysit the beach so people do what they should already be doing, taking their trash away the same way they brought it. My presence makes a difference because the beaches stay much cleaner. That is what has kept me going as a guardian of beach cleanup in Puerto Rico.

"Trash is not just waste. It is a mirror. It is a reflection of disconnection."

We all have the power to become guardians, wherever we are. Speak out. Take action. Refuse to accept this destructive pattern as normal. To be the change this world needs, that is what it means to be a guardian.

Paradise Is Worth Fighting For

Puerto Rico is a treasure with over 200 beaches and countless rivers. Yet so many are choked with garbage. It is not only the beaches. If you drive through the mountain roads, you will see trash scattered everywhere as people casually throw it from their car windows. Look down the hillsides and you will find clandestine landfills, refrigerators, and bags of trash tossed into the forest as if this land were disposable.

My goal is to remind people of the paradise we live in. Many have no idea what they have and have taken this place for granted. I want to inspire them to protect it. By any means necessary, I will continue to be vocal. I will continue to carry my signs and clean up this island, one bag of trash at a time.

This path has not been without challenges. I have faced hostility, ignorance, and even violence. My tires have been slashed four times. I was once shot at while recording a family leaving their trash on a pristine beach. The comments follow: "Gringo, go home." "Colonizer, this and that." I always wonder, what am I colonizing? Trash? Because that is what I have been picking up every week. Even my home is filled with things I rescued from the trash. All of my furniture comes from what others threw away. I call them my trash treasures. The animosity is real, but so is my love for this land.

I persist because this island lives in my heart. I will not give up. A bullet could not stop me, and nothing will. I literally shed blood, sweat, and tears defending these beaches. Borikén deserves protection. Its rivers and beaches deserve guardianship.

I do this from the heart, out of love for this world. This has become my life’s work, my way of giving back to the Earth that has given us everything.

Why Am I So Passionate

In a world where not many care, that is one of the reasons why I am so passionate. I choose to be someone who does. This is not something I do once in a while. I dedicate my life to this mission. Every time I go to a beach or a river, my signs come with me. I am a walking billboard for awareness. This work is woven into my daily life, not scheduled around events. Presence is the practice.

I am not a non-profit. I make no money from this. My passion goes deeper than that. Borikén now runs through my veins and into my heart. I am passionate for the love of Borikén.

My passion comes from a deep connection to nature, to Borikén, and to Atabey, Mother Earth. This land speaks to me, and I listen. I was not born in Borikén. I was reborn here. This is the place where I feel as if I emerged from the womb of the Earth and finally saw the world with new eyes. That is why I care so fiercely. That is why I show up. That is why I will not stop.

I was not born in Borikén. I was reborn here

The One Bag Challenge

When I started this mission, I would go overboard in collecting trash at the beaches, and so I came up with a simple challenge for everyone which I call the One Bag Challenge. This is so that others are not overburdened by trash like I was. We don't need to wait for organized monthly events because I believe that we are the cleanup whenever we go to a beach or river. It starts with one bag.

The first thing we should do when we go to these beautiful places is clean up around us. It doesn't have to be much, but if we all do our part we could change everything.

I am always finding many people sitting next to trash that isn't theirs. They will always say it is not theirs. But this is our home, our beaches, and we should start caring and preserving all of this magic and beauty that is Borikén.

This is a lifelong mission, not because it is trendy, but because it is necessary. The Earth does not need saviors. It needs humans who remember. If these words stir something inside you, listen to that feeling and let it guide you. Let it move your hands, your feet, your choices.

Become a guardian where you are. One bag. One action. One awakened human at a time. This is how we honor life. This is how we return to truth.

This Is Home

We are not separate from nature. We are nature. What we do to the Earth, we do to ourselves. When we poison rivers, we poison our own blood. When we bury beaches in plastic, we bury our future. This is not philosophy. This is reality.

These beaches are not backdrops. These rivers are not dumping grounds. They are living systems that feed us, cleanse us, and give us life. Treating them with neglect is not just environmental damage, it is self harm. You cannot claim to love life while destroying what sustains it.

I do not protect these places because they are beautiful. I protect them because they are home. Home deserves care. Home deserves respect. Home deserves guardianship.

When someone leaves trash behind, they are not disrespecting a beach. They are disrespecting themselves and everyone who comes after them. This island does not belong to us to abuse. We belong to it. And belonging comes with responsibility.

That responsibility does not start with governments or organizations. It starts with the individual. With awareness. With action. With choosing to care.

Join the Mission

In a world full of plagues, we can choose to be the cure.

I am not asking anyone to carry signs. I am asking you to take action and responsibility. To stop waiting for the government or for others to fix what is right in front of us. There is no someone else. There is only us.

This is not just about Puerto Rico. Trash is a human problem. This is about all of us, everywhere. Our world needs us to care, to act, and to fight for its survival.

You do not need permission to care. You do not need an organization, a title, or a scheduled cleanup. Every time you step onto a beach or into a river, you are being given a choice. Walk past the problem, or become part of the solution.

Start small. Start where you stand. Pick up what does not belong. Carry one bag. Speak up when you see disrespect. Lead by example. This is how change actually happens. Quietly. Consistently. Relentlessly.

Borikén, and our beautiful world, needs more people to start caring. It needs guardians. People willing to protect what gives them life. People willing to remember that this island and this Earth are not disposable.

I invite you to join me. Become a guardian, wherever you are. Let us be the change this world so desperately needs.

The question is simple.

Will you walk past the trash
or will you say enough

Will you help preserve the magic and beauty of Borikén and our world, wherever you may be

Take Action

If you see someone disrespecting the land, speak up with courage and clarity. Plant a seed. Awareness is contagious.

Next time you go to a beach, a river, or any natural place, bring a bag and pick up what does not belong. That is it. That is the start.

You do not need to clean everything. One bag is enough. What matters is consistency, not perfection.

If this message resonates, share it. Let others see that caring is an action, not an identity.

If you feel called to support this work financially, your contribution helps me continue walking the beaches, carrying signs, and protecting this island and beyond. Any donations are greatly appreciated. Donate here.

Be a guardian where you are.

Join the Conversation

What place in your life needs more care and protection?
Where do you see this problem showing up in your own community?
What is one small action you are willing to take the next time you step into nature?

Share your thoughts in the comments. This is how awareness spreads—one voice at a time.

Subscribe to my YouTube channel, leave a comment, and share this message so it can reach more hearts and minds.