By Rosa Velez
A Vision of Beauty, of a childhood memory… longing to see her beautiful island and the flaming red colors of this flamboyant tree… even amongst the many storms… still strong.
Remembering my Mom trying to protect my sister and I from the blustering hurricanes, and the loud, frightening lightning, thunderstorms… by hiding us under the kitchen table until the storm was over.
Many years later… we’re all grown up (my sister Ana and I) and Hurricane Maria hits Puerto Rico. All I could think of was how I feared my Mom was in danger, and I couldn’t protect her.
I was in N.Y., and she was living on the island again. My feelings, anxiety of trying to get in contact with her were overwhelming, yet still, I tried to get in contact with her.
No lights, no food. The island was washed away… even most homes were gone.
The storm was finally over, but the island, its beauty, its people, were destroyed… emotionally and physically. They knew they had to rebuild, amongst this horrible hurricane… through community, resources, and the government also intervening… they were able to get food, lights, new homes, and new palm trees, and even flamboyant trees to bring its beauty back to our devastated families.
Amongst the many storms, hope, caring, and love is one of the most valuable gifts we can give one another… when people get together and help each other… this is a true blessing. We are all family… (community), even the ones that aren’t related.
Yet, the real blessing is that soon this little girl will see her Mom again, amongst the beauty of the flamboyant trees and our beautiful, resilient island… Puerto Rico… so longing to see you both… amongst the storms… I love you, Mom.
Still strong… after all these years.
Your little Rose (Rosita)
Rosa is a Puerto Rican artist, poet, peer advocate, and activist, and a proud mother of three boys. She works as a creative writing facilitator at the Alliance for Positive Change and is a teaching artist working with seniors and individuals in recovery.
For the past 7-8 years, Rosa has been deeply involved with Earth Celebrations’ ecological city-making work, teaching others how to create puppets and costumes from recycled materials as a form of art that empowers climate action and promotes sustainable, cleaner ways of living.
Through her creative and community-centered practice, Rosa believes that protecting our planet is essential to the wellbeing of future generations. Resilience, for her, is the key to sustainability.