Meeting a revolutionary
Heriberto Marin Torres and his favorite art piece.
We’re talking about the man who accompanied Blanca Canales in raising the Puerto Rican flag on October 30th, 1950, and declared a free Puerto Rico. Someone I’ve admired for a long time. This all started because I was upset, angry after another round of elections in Puerto Rico resulted in the same groups of politicians being elected.
All this anger and sadness I had built up made me have a strong desire to take action, and I started to reflect on ways I would be able to do something better than stand around. Well, I film stuff, and I have a big passion for Puerto Rican history, maybe I can combine both and use my talents to help educate others on our history.
This led me to create a short, three minute video with quick facts about Puerto Rican history, it was meant to be a quick, fast introduction for those who need a TikTok rush. It included the Ponce Massacre, Cornelius P. Rhoads letter, The Carpetas, women sterilizations, the neglect after Hurricane Maria. During this process, I was compiling information on Pedro Albizu Campos. I wanted to create a video essay on his life.
Still from the short video I made on Puerto Rican history.
This video was meant to be mostly archival imagery, narration and fancy map animations, but the deeper I got into this video, the more I wanted to flush it out, so I plan a trip with my sister to visit our family in Ponce, and as the day gets closer, I take my chances and email a tour guide from Ponce, Melina Aguilar. I had been following her for some time now and she provides a lot of content online about our history, especially from Ponce where Pedro Albizu Campos (and I) are from. To my surprise she agrees to be interviewed for this video essay, and we plan to meet at Parque Pedro Albizu Campos in Tenerías, where Pedro was born.
Arriving in Puerto Rico — The day arrives for us to fly to Puerto Rico, and our excitement is over the roof. Prior to this trip, every time we visited Puerto Rico, it was a big event and planned months in advance, this was spontaneous. We land in San Juan, clap as we always do, rent the car, and drive straight to Ponce. The drive there is one of the most beautiful drives I’ve ever seen, I never get tired of it, so much that we even stopped on the side of the road to take pictures.
The mountains near Guayama while on the way to Ponce.
After about two hours, we arrive to my Aunt’s house, and our first day was spent with family, just the way we wanted it. As the night approaches, I begin to feel nervous because of the interview I have planned for the next day. Our family was going out for the night but I had to skip because I needed to prepare equipment and honestly put in some more practice. I’m a very nervous person if you couldn’t tell.
Interview with Melina — Well, the day arrives and we are on our way to the park for this interview, I have my questions ready, equipment is charged and I’m still nervous, but excited. The park is beautiful, cats roam the area, as well as chickens and roosters, so I knew this audio setup would be interesting. Melina arrives and the interview goes great! But what comes after is what has brought me to where I am today.
Melina asks “Who else are you interviewing?” and I reply with “Actually I don’t have many people lined up, but I noticed you were with Don Heriberto recently, I wish I would’ve visited earlier.” At this point she encourages me to not give up on this interview, she tells me how Don Heriberto is a very sweet man who would be down for an interview, and not only him, but his nephew Ernesto Davila, better known as Cobí. Cobí’s home is also a museum reflecting Puerto Rican history, including a lot of Don Pedro Albizu Campos’ history.
He lives in Jayuya, about a one hour drive from Ponce. Melina tells me “Go tomorrow, he’d be more than happy as well, start there.” She gives me his number, and now my excitement is through the sky, there was no way I was going to turn down this opportunity. I call immediately after we leave the park, Cobí picks up the phone and invites me the next day to his home. I remember turning and giving my sister a look of “I can’t believe this is happening.” So we go back to my aunt’s house and plan for the next day which was sure to be an adventure.
Trip to Jayuya — The following morning, my sister says they want to visit a river, and considering they had helped me so much so far I wanted to make sure I did this for them. It was 6AM in Adjuntas, the sun had just come out, and we were the only ones there, something about being in a river next to a rainforest is so calming and peaceful, it was the perfect start to the day.
6AM in Adjuntas.
After about 45 minutes, we make our way to Jayuya, I tell my sister to record the scenery along the way. We drive through the winding roads up the mountains, listening to strictly Puerto Rican music. We haven’t ate yet and stop at a breakfast spot near Jayuya, and it was gorgeous, breakfast with a view. Here I breakdown more of what we need to shoot, because they were now going to be more hands on, and once we were full, our final destination was Museo de Nuestros Martires.
As we pull up to Cobí’s house, two German shepherds approach our car, they’re barking and trekking towards the front of the car, making sure we can’t get in. One dog then goes to the side of the car and starts sniffing the tires, at this point I’m a little afraid, so I call Cobí. He tells me that’s normal and to pull into the drive way, I’m still a bit scared because of how close the dogs are, and as I drive slowly, the dogs are walking with me, sniffing the car.
Draco (left), and La Patria (right).
Meeting Cobí, Heriberto’s Nephew — I hesitate to open the car door, but I do so anyway, I’m trusting Cobí, and surely enough they are the sweetest dogs ever. The first dog jumps on me, licks my hand as its wagging its tail in excitement, I’m their friend now. The other one is trying to make its way in but the other doesn’t allow it. Once I get out, I grab my equipment and make my way to his house/museum. The place was beautiful, art fills every wall, books are on every shelf. Pedro Albizu Campos is the majority of all exhibits. I spend the next hour talking to Cobí about what it was like being a kid on October 30th, 1950.
At this point I wasn’t sure if I’d get to meet Don Heriberto, but I wanted to give it a shot. I ask Cobí if it would be possible to meet Don Heriberto, and he says “Of course, let me call him.” I am in disbelief right now, I’m thinking of how I’ve learned of our history, and now I may be meeting one of the people that not only lived it, but was part of it.
Don Heriberto doesn’t answer, he tries again… no answer. I tell him it’s okay, but Cobí tells me not to give up, that I should go to his house myself. Cobí says “He lives in San Juan right next to the cruise ships, he has a flag on his balcony, that’s how you’ll know it’s his house.”
This was my last day in Puerto Rico, it was 1PM and we fly out at 8PM, but my sister and I agree that we’re doing this. So we pack up, and before leaving, Cobí hands me a copy of “Irradiación de Una Sombra”, a book that is a drama about Pedro Albizu Campos’ life. Cobí hopes to some day see a film of him.
Museo de Nuestros Martires, Cobí in the back.
Finding Don Heriberto — Now an hour and a half drive is ahead of us, my sister takes this opportunity to nap. As we get closer to San Juan, I realize that the only thing I have to go off of to find Don Heriberto is: cruise ships and balcony flag… and something about national guard. So after arriving to San Juan, I start combing through interviews Don Heriberto has done, and it doesn’t take long before I find the general location of his house, I’m a great detective.
I park nearby, and I am the most nervous I have been so far. I spot the teal blue Puerto Rican flag waving in the wind. Both Melina and Cobí said “Stand below his balcony and call for his name, tell him you were just in Jayuya, he’ll invite you up for some coffee.” I tell my sister to wait in the car, and I place myself below his second floor balcony. The street is silent, he would surely be able to hear me now, it’s just up to me to defeat my nerves. I begin to think “You made it this far, you can’t back out now.”
Don Heriberto’s Balcony.
After a few minutes of wrestling with my brain… I don’t do it. But I don’t give up, I call Cobí and I say “Hey, I’m outside of his house, can you call him and tell him I’m here?” And he does me that favor, now it’s a waiting game. Five minutes later he calls me back and says “He’s willing to meet you but he can’t today, actually yesterday was his birthday and he’s still out with his family today.”
I feel slightly defeated, but all hope isn’t lost yet, Cobí instead of being mediator he just gives me his number, and tells me to call Don Heriberto in about an hour. At this point we are so hungry so we go to Plaza Las Americas to kill time and eat. Once in the parking lot, we’re trying to brainstorm if we should stay an extra day or what. After some back and forth, we agree to go off of Don Heriberto’s schedule.
It’s raining now which adds so much drama to this phone call, I tell my sister I have to step out of the car because I’m so nervous that I can’t even take a phone call with them nearby. I’m thinking to myself “I have a Puerto Rican revolutionary’s phone number and I’m about to call him.”
Phone Call with Don Heriberto — He picks up and I immediately introduce myself. I had been rehearsing how I’d talk to him, I figured getting straight to the point would be best. I tell him of the visit I just made to Jayuya and how I’d love to speak to him. Don Heriberto is more than happy to, and at this moment I motion to my sister with a happy dance, letting them know he agreed.
The down side is that he’s a busy man and that includes his birthday, all weekend he was celebrating his birthday and now needed rest, so we schedule for another day to come back, December 10th. Don Heriberto walks over to his calendar and goes “What was your name again?”
“Emmanuel Chamorro”
Then he repeats my name as he writes it in his calendar. This moment was surreal, it was such a simple moment, but once I get back to the car, I tell my sister how crazy it is that he knows my name, and I’m on his calendar. I buy the new flight ticket immediately, and we eat El Mesón.
Meeting Delayed — Days go by back in New Jersey, and a few days before we’re due to meet… I get sick, so we have to reschedule, I remember feeling even more defeated because I was worried this would fall through, but he agreed to reschedule, and luckily I paid (by accident) for free flight changes.
The Moment of Truth — It’s the day of the interview now, my flight was the same day we were to meet. I departed Newark Airport at 6AM, due to arrive at 10AM, and then meet at 11AM. Everything is going to plan, and after arriving, I make my way to his house again. The moment I arrive, I call him, it starts to rain, hard. In the time that it took him to buzz me in and open his door, it stopped raining. He turns the corner to meet me at the stairs and I introduce myself.
The first thing he says was “Is it raining?”
His house looked like the typical Puerto Rican home, lots of vintage furniture, art and decorations. As I set up my equipment I tell him how appreciative I am that he opened his doors for me. He apologizes that he wasn’t able to make me coffee, but that was the least of my worries, I finally made it.
Pictures in Don Heriberto’s House.
The next two hours were spent talking about him and his life. October 30th, the first day he met Don Pedro, his years in prison, and the years after he was pardoned. I was in awe. He’s 96 years old and an amazing storyteller.
When we wrap up, I begin to breakdown equipment and ask if I can record some of the art on his walls. As I do so, he tells me the stories behind the art. He has some original images of Don Pedro. After looking around, he says that he forgot to talk about his wife, so we take a moment in his kitchen to talk about her. This was the last conversation I recorded. All equipment is in bags, I’m ready to leave, but he tells me to hangout for a moment, he’s very apologetic about the coffee he wishes he could’ve made me. So instead of coffee, he offers me cookies. You know, the kind that is either a sewing kit or an assortment of different cookies.
We’re now eating cookies in his kitchen, having conversation. After we’ve had enough cookies, he says “wait here one moment”, and he steps away into his laundry room which is connected to his kitchen. In the distance I hear him say “I never throw a flag away”, he’s now approaching me with a shoe box. Don Heriberto opens the box, and in it there’s about three to four teal blue Puerto Rican flags, he says “I’ll give you one and I’ll sign it.” At this moment I gasp and my jaw is floored. I tell him how appreciative I am of this as he’s signing it on his kitchen countertop.
One of the conversations we had was about the flag he has hung up at his house, and all the revolutionary figures that signed it. Blanca Canales, Rafael Cancel Miranda, Lolita Lebrón. Now I had a flag of my own.
This was the end of our meeting, I’m again very appreciative of his hospitality, and he wishes me the best of luck. I feel like I was a new person after this day.
Many of the bumps in the road leading to this day felt like signs to give up. Many more that I even have a hard time writing about, but I’m happy we pushed through it all, I now have a teal blue Puerto Rican flag hanging on my wall, signed by one of my heroes.
