Clip 1: The Disaster of Colonial Capitalism in Puerto Rico

Real Estate agents introduce their company and show off their newly built luxury home in Dorado. Speaking on the future of Puerto Rico post-hurricane Maria, Mr. Albino Sr. comments about their company’s aim to to build a “brand new island; an island of the 21st century” by helping new investors who want to come to Puerto Rico “protect their wealth”. With the help of his hired assistant, he goes on to advertise some of the extravagant amenities and features of the luxury home. The scene switches to archival footage of a television advertisement that seeks to attract tourists to Puerto Rico by showcasing the island as a “vacation paradise” and highlighting the newly built golf course on top of El Morro, a colonial fort built in the 16th century by the Spanish. We see contemporary footage of tourists playing golf and taking pictures on El Morro and clips of people working on the streets of Old San Juan performing tasks such as taking out the trash and operating cranes.

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Clip 2: Puerto Ricans and Crypto-Utopia Newcomers

The clip begins with an African woman asking newcomers a question. After naming her positionality as a African woman living in Puerto Rico, she explains that she has seen the negative consequences of settlers offering an economic relationship and wants to know why Puerto Ricans should trust the newcomers. Two crypto-currency advocates respond by saying that they want to “co-create” and “unite together and work as a ‘We’”. One Puerto Rican woman spoke back to that by saying: “My people died and my land was taken the last time that there was a ‘We’, so honestly, I don’t trust any of you.” The tension in the room continues to rise as a man named Brock Pierce starts aggressively responding to feedback from people in the room and makes an offensive statement to the Puerto Rican woman.

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Clip 3: Resilience Against “Financial Slavery”

Students on campus at the University of Puerto Rico are shown talking about how “financial slavery” happens through the debt, which also brings privitization, loans, and austerity. One student draws connections between the U.S. appointed oversight board, informally known as La Junta, and socio-economic disparity and inequality. He points out how the affordability of the University was one of the things helping to bridge the “clear difference between the rich and the poor'', but now with tuition hikes and a failing public infrastructure, they are experiencing more displacement of native Puerto Ricans who feel no other option but to leave in order to seek financial autonomy. Then, we are taken to diasporic New York City, where we meet a Puerto Rican man who begins describing the ways in which the debt and the austerity measures affect so many aspects of life. He outlines many ways that Puerto Rico was in a “sustained crisis” due to the 10-13 years of severe budget cuts, and how that helped cause the thousands of deaths post-Hurricane María. The scene ends with him answering a question about whether he likes to live in the city of New York. He points out that he is only living in NY because “you do what you have to do '' to be “useful”, and that even though he is doing well financially, he is still missing his land, his people, his culture.

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Clip 4: Defining a Just Recovery

A group of Puerto Ricans gather over a meal to discuss their experiences, dreams, hopes and fears. We hear them speak on their ideas about what “utopia” looks like, what “hope” looks like, and what “being free” means for them in the current post-María context. One woman speaks about how utopia might mean that she doesn’t have to worry about paying her bills, having more of her friends leave the island, or struggle with food insecurity. Others express that they feel like they’re being targeted for annihilation and that there is a need to protest their treatment as second-class citizens. The scene moves to Cecilia and Lale as they sit on the beach talking about the impressive and powerful social demonstrations that happened in Puerto Rico to demand the resignation of governor Ricardo Roselló in 2019. Although the victory of people getting an elected governor out of office within 12 days is extremely significant to the history and legacy of political struggle, Lale stresses the point that there is so much left to be done. They talk about the urgency and necessity of being vocal about political demands and socio-economic change, because the governor is not the root of the problem, but rather a symptom of it. The clip ends with powerful footage of community demonstrations, where the rhythms of voices chanting, clanking noisemakers, and clapping hands fill the air with a sense of celebratory hope and compelling dissent.

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