Blackout - 2018

Even in the Darkest Times the Sun still Shines in Rincon. This week, Puerto Rico experienced the first island wide blackout since Hurricane Maria lasting for over 24 hours, sending many into panic and fear, but it was through the tight knit bonds of the community that we all came together to stay strong and support those who need help.

When the news first spread, gas lines and grocery stores were packed with people stocking up on water, food, gas and basic necessities to survive the potential 36 hours without power. However, after Hurricane Maria, most Puerto Ricans have learned to stock up on these items already and were prepared. This is not the first time power has been cut off since Maria but it was the first ISLAND WIDE power outage and more than 41,000 customers have not had their power restored seven months after the Hurricane Maria. An executive deputy director of the power authority, said Wednesday that the blackout was caused by a private contractor whose bulldozer downed a transmission line while trying to remove a collapsed tower. This coming just one week after 840,000 customers were left without power after a tree fell on another power line in the center of the island. A backup line that was supposed to prevent such an outage also failed. The same contractor was involved in Wednesday's and last week's failures, and has been fired. Puerto Rico's legislators are currently debating whether to privatize the island's power authority, which is $14 billion in debt.

Which forces us to think about what is really going on with the "rebuilding" of Puerto Rico. With this year's Hurricane season quickly approaching, how can we prepare ourselves for another potentially devastating hurricane? This is such a unique situation that the United States has not dealt with before, but will soon be forced to face as we get closer to summer and the hot weather here in Puerto Rico. While the government is continuing to move at a snails pace, the real progress is coming from within. Rincon alone has a huge network of Heroes and Organizations committed to helping restore the Island to its natural state of wild beauty.

We live in a world where technology and social media are praised and the more "followers" one has seems to define their success. But when a Blackout strikes, none of this matters. What matters is the real friendships and connections we have with actual humans who we can speak to and touch, not just DM or Snapchat. Instead of staying inside and crying on the world wide web, we took action and began to share what resources we had with each other and make sure we would be safe together. I cant say what the future holds but one thing is certain, Rincon will always be a community that supports itself through the strong and creative people who call it home. I am so lucky to have these people in my life and I can't think of any other place I'de rather be.