#OneIslandOneJourney - Exploring the hidden Puerto Rico with Fernando
An island located in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico is known for its mountains, waterfalls and tropical rain-forests. It has had an intense political history, but it has managed to stay peaceful and beautiful through most of its existence. Fernando Samalot from Puerto Rico has been working on a personal project - One Island, One Journey, and has been capturing the hidden beauty of the island across each municipality. He is also the featured artist this week :)
So, who is Fernando?
My name is Fernando Samalot and I'm a 30 year old island dweller native to the Caribbean Island of Puerto Rico. I take pictures with my phone of the people I love in the island I love and then share all that love with the world. It makes me happy.
I'm currently immersed in a long term project called #OneIslandOneJourney where I am traveling around Puerto Rico with my girlfriend/videographer/editor/model/muse Bárbara Cruz, spending a week in every municipality (of which there are 78 in total) taking pictures as well as videos documenting the often unknown hidden beauties of our island paradise. I consider this journey in part to be the first phase of a lifelong project and ambition of mine to help create an infrastructure of sustainable eco-tourism in Puerto Rico. It's something I feel very passionately about and which I've turned into my lifestyle, living and breathing this project day in and day out.
I
grew up in a city called Guaynabo which is in the metropolitan area of
the island. On weekends my parents would take us out to our family farm
in the mountain town of Cidra where I have lots of memories of
adventuring in the mountains, finding swimming holes and enjoying the
outdoors. I think that's where I first started deepening my connection
with the tropical nature of Puerto Rico.
Any inspirations in life?
There's too many to count. I'd say my entire 20's were a kind of epic "speed round" of growth experiences in all senses, from emotional to intellectual and spiritual. Everyone I've crossed paths with, from my romantic partners, childhood friends, teachers and guides have become a part of me.
There was a particular few years, from when I was 24 to 28 where everything really took off.
I was playing in a band called tachdé, which I had been with for 12 years. For the longest time I thought music would be my main art form and I was ready to dedicate my life to it. Then in 2013, the band decided to relocate to Los Angeles and, long story short, it didn't work out. I went there for 4 months and then ended up returning home. This was a big turning point in my life because for the first time I had a kind of "free pass" to re-invent myself and be whoever I wanted to be. This moment gave me an opportunity to work on other projects I had left behind like my own solo music project Samalot. Throughout all of this, photography started playing a bigger role in my life, becoming a kind of visual diary of all my growth process.
Afterwards, I came back home and moved out to the central mountain town of Utuado where I got to be a part of an agriculture community living project called Conuco Entre Panas. That was without a doubt the simplest and healthiest year of my life. It was living in those mountains and venturing out every day, a lot of times by myself, that photography started gaining an even deeper meaning in my life. It became a link between me, the nature that surrounded me, and everyone I shared it with. I started to feel very passionately about connecting with my island and sharing that love with others. That's when the idea of doing this full-time and around the entire island first came to me. This idea wouldn't take shape for a few more years though, as there was work to be done and I've always been one for living in the present.
Just as my time in Utuado came to an end, in the summer of 2014, my life took yet another 180 turn. I started an unexpected relationship that turned into the most beautiful partnership of my life, I moved back to the city, met an incredible group of photographers with who we started an ecological conservation movement called La Tribu Contribuye, started doing monthly river and beach cleanups, giving talks on conservation and dedicating most of my time to volunteer work. After about two years of doing that, finally in November of 2015, I decided it was time to start my journey and I've since been living in the dream I envisioned all those years ago.
What does photography mean to you?
My biggest inspiration is also my biggest love: my island, its people and it's sacred nature. My photography goes hand in hand with my relationship with Puerto Rico. It's all about discovering, connecting and sharing. I'd say that 98% of my pictures are unplanned and born in the moment. Only a few times have I had a concept in my mind and went out to bring it to life. Being on this particular journey I'm on, there is always somewhere new to photograph. There is so much beauty in the unknown, in getting lost, in discovering and connecting with yourself through nature. I've never thought of photography in a traditional or professional sense. It has always been something very personal and linked to my own process of connecting with myself and my place in the world. I've never even felt the need to give it a specific meaning as it's simply been an extension of my perception and appreciation, a treasure chest of memories and moments that have made me who I am.
Something I've seen happen for the last few months and that's been incredibly gratifying is that the people who are seeing and connecting with my work are the ones giving it meaning. I'll often receive such heartfelt feedback that explains my work so much better than I ever could. It's rewarding to feel that my message is getting across without ever having to even say it out loud. There's this one comment that really resonated with me and I'd love to share with you.
@the_world_asiseeit wrote commented on instagram:
"This image and its accompanying message are very moving. Puerto Rico is not just a "fun park". Our island, our land, is a living being. It is a complex system of delicate interactions. We should all follow the example of Fernando and Bárbara transmit in such a sublime way with every image. Allow that longing you feel to go and see these places with your own eyes become a pilgrimage into a deeper and spiritual understanding of who we are and the role we represent in this marvelous blue planet."
Puerto Rico is unknown to us. Tell us about your home :)
Puerto Rico to me is sacred island with a complicated history. To give you some context, our island Borikén, as the taíno people - natives to our island called it, is one of the last remaining colonies in the world. It was first a Spanish one since Colombus "discovered" it in 1493 and was then handed over to the United States as spoils of war in 1898. This status has many times hindered our own evolution, keeping the island in a sort of political limbo preventing it from reaching it's full potential.
A tropical island with vast natural resources and some of the most fertile grounds on the planet, it's absurd to consider that we import over 75% of our food and that we haven't yet created a solid infrastructure of sustainable eco-tourism. I think this all goes back to not fully embracing what we are, a small tropical island. For many years the approach to "development" here has come in forms of huge tax breaks and incentives for multinational corporations to come to Puerto Rico and make a fortune without having to contribute any of it to the actual economic development of our island. This combined with years of corrupt mismanagement has put us in a economic crisis that has been ongoing for the last 10 years.
Now, on the good stuff, since we really are so much more than that.
I can't think of another place in the world where you can wake up on top of a mountain, watching the sunrise over fog filled valleys, then in a single day bathe in a pristine river, explore a cave, drive through beautiful views and then still make it down to the coast in time to watch the sun set into the ocean. It's incredible to think that such a small island (only 100 x 35 miles across) is filled with so many incredible places! I mean, I've lived here for 30 years and have yet to see all of it myself. I hope to change that these next few years.
Traveling around the island, all I see is potential and possibility for growth and sustainable development. All we really need is people joining together to work towards that. It's easy for me to remain hopeful about our future when I am seeing all this with my own eyes but I can understand how exhausting it can be facing a constant economic and humanitarian crisis for so long. That's why I put so much of my love and energy into my work, so people can know the Puerto Rico I know firsthand. The sacredly beautiful tropical paradise I am grateful to call Home.
Travel tips for Puerto Rico
1. Rent a car. (Need one unfortunately)
2. Pick a town and drive aimlessly. The farther away from the metropolitan area, the better. Try the Central Mountains or the Coasts!
3. Get lost. No matter how lost you are you're always 20 minutes from a main road and it's going to be beautiful.
4. Connect with locals! Ask around. People here are incredibly nice and always willing to help.
5. Check out local instagram pages like @backpackingpr, @placespuertorico and @prturismoo. it's where most of the most awesome places are documented!
6. Find a cool local guide. There are only a few million of them.
7. Be humble and go with an open heart and you'll be surprised at all the magic you can find!
Tell us about your love life? :)
I am happy to say I am in a very healthy, adventurous, supportive, accepting and ever evolving relationship.
First healthy one I've ever had, really. It's interesting because all my life I kept attracting all these complicated and dramatic relationships which I later realized were only reflecting my own personal process. See, we tend to attract people that resonate with who we are at any given moment. It wasn't after I spent a year single and living up in the mountains (again, healthiest year of my life haha), nurturing my own self love and focusing on my own healing that I became strong and positive enough to attract someone I could ACTUALLY HAVE A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH. True love really begins inside each one of us. I gotta say, it feels incredible, not needing someone to save you or complete you. You have everything you need within yourself and then you just get to share that, unconditionally with someone else. I'm blessed to have found a partner I can explore that with and not just that, but to have the space and freedom to love and connect with everyone that comes into our lives on various different levels. Love keeps evolving and we're evolving with it.
And finally, what is your dream Fernando?
If I have one dream it's to see my island become what I know it can and to be able to contribute in some way to that. I want to leave a legacy, you know? Something bigger than me. I've never been too interested in recognition or being the protagonist of anything. To me and my work, the protagonist is always Puerto Rico. If by taking pictures and speaking out I can add something to it then to me that is a gratifying life.
Oh, and, the healing and evolution of humankind, of course. The universe is pretty magical and mysterious! I can't wait to keep exploring it together. I know we'll get to that eventually. In the meantime, I'll be doing my own little grain of salt of the work from my little island.
 |
The closer I get to you,
The closer I am to myself.
Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
|
 |
we're a single river flowing in two streams
and two souls sharing a single dream.
Ponce, Puerto Rico
|
So, who is Fernando?
My name is Fernando Samalot and I'm a 30 year old island dweller native to the Caribbean Island of Puerto Rico. I take pictures with my phone of the people I love in the island I love and then share all that love with the world. It makes me happy.
I'm currently immersed in a long term project called #OneIslandOneJourney where I am traveling around Puerto Rico with my girlfriend/videographer/editor/model/muse Bárbara Cruz, spending a week in every municipality (of which there are 78 in total) taking pictures as well as videos documenting the often unknown hidden beauties of our island paradise. I consider this journey in part to be the first phase of a lifelong project and ambition of mine to help create an infrastructure of sustainable eco-tourism in Puerto Rico. It's something I feel very passionately about and which I've turned into my lifestyle, living and breathing this project day in and day out.
 |
| Fernando Samlot |
Any inspirations in life?
There's too many to count. I'd say my entire 20's were a kind of epic "speed round" of growth experiences in all senses, from emotional to intellectual and spiritual. Everyone I've crossed paths with, from my romantic partners, childhood friends, teachers and guides have become a part of me.
There was a particular few years, from when I was 24 to 28 where everything really took off.
I was playing in a band called tachdé, which I had been with for 12 years. For the longest time I thought music would be my main art form and I was ready to dedicate my life to it. Then in 2013, the band decided to relocate to Los Angeles and, long story short, it didn't work out. I went there for 4 months and then ended up returning home. This was a big turning point in my life because for the first time I had a kind of "free pass" to re-invent myself and be whoever I wanted to be. This moment gave me an opportunity to work on other projects I had left behind like my own solo music project Samalot. Throughout all of this, photography started playing a bigger role in my life, becoming a kind of visual diary of all my growth process.
 |
visual representation of my heart
whenever I'm with you.
Yauco, Puerto Rico
|
 |
life is movement,
ever flowing,
always changing.
grow with it.
Peñuelas, Puerto Rico
|
Afterwards, I came back home and moved out to the central mountain town of Utuado where I got to be a part of an agriculture community living project called Conuco Entre Panas. That was without a doubt the simplest and healthiest year of my life. It was living in those mountains and venturing out every day, a lot of times by myself, that photography started gaining an even deeper meaning in my life. It became a link between me, the nature that surrounded me, and everyone I shared it with. I started to feel very passionately about connecting with my island and sharing that love with others. That's when the idea of doing this full-time and around the entire island first came to me. This idea wouldn't take shape for a few more years though, as there was work to be done and I've always been one for living in the present.
Just as my time in Utuado came to an end, in the summer of 2014, my life took yet another 180 turn. I started an unexpected relationship that turned into the most beautiful partnership of my life, I moved back to the city, met an incredible group of photographers with who we started an ecological conservation movement called La Tribu Contribuye, started doing monthly river and beach cleanups, giving talks on conservation and dedicating most of my time to volunteer work. After about two years of doing that, finally in November of 2015, I decided it was time to start my journey and I've since been living in the dream I envisioned all those years ago.
What does photography mean to you?
My biggest inspiration is also my biggest love: my island, its people and it's sacred nature. My photography goes hand in hand with my relationship with Puerto Rico. It's all about discovering, connecting and sharing. I'd say that 98% of my pictures are unplanned and born in the moment. Only a few times have I had a concept in my mind and went out to bring it to life. Being on this particular journey I'm on, there is always somewhere new to photograph. There is so much beauty in the unknown, in getting lost, in discovering and connecting with yourself through nature. I've never thought of photography in a traditional or professional sense. It has always been something very personal and linked to my own process of connecting with myself and my place in the world. I've never even felt the need to give it a specific meaning as it's simply been an extension of my perception and appreciation, a treasure chest of memories and moments that have made me who I am.
 |
| I know you felt it too.
Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
|
 |
time to wake up, my dear.
what do you dream about
when you're already living in one?
Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
|
Something I've seen happen for the last few months and that's been incredibly gratifying is that the people who are seeing and connecting with my work are the ones giving it meaning. I'll often receive such heartfelt feedback that explains my work so much better than I ever could. It's rewarding to feel that my message is getting across without ever having to even say it out loud. There's this one comment that really resonated with me and I'd love to share with you.
@the_world_asiseeit wrote commented on instagram:
"This image and its accompanying message are very moving. Puerto Rico is not just a "fun park". Our island, our land, is a living being. It is a complex system of delicate interactions. We should all follow the example of Fernando and Bárbara transmit in such a sublime way with every image. Allow that longing you feel to go and see these places with your own eyes become a pilgrimage into a deeper and spiritual understanding of who we are and the role we represent in this marvelous blue planet."
Puerto Rico is unknown to us. Tell us about your home :)
Puerto Rico to me is sacred island with a complicated history. To give you some context, our island Borikén, as the taíno people - natives to our island called it, is one of the last remaining colonies in the world. It was first a Spanish one since Colombus "discovered" it in 1493 and was then handed over to the United States as spoils of war in 1898. This status has many times hindered our own evolution, keeping the island in a sort of political limbo preventing it from reaching it's full potential.
A tropical island with vast natural resources and some of the most fertile grounds on the planet, it's absurd to consider that we import over 75% of our food and that we haven't yet created a solid infrastructure of sustainable eco-tourism. I think this all goes back to not fully embracing what we are, a small tropical island. For many years the approach to "development" here has come in forms of huge tax breaks and incentives for multinational corporations to come to Puerto Rico and make a fortune without having to contribute any of it to the actual economic development of our island. This combined with years of corrupt mismanagement has put us in a economic crisis that has been ongoing for the last 10 years.
Now, on the good stuff, since we really are so much more than that.
I can't think of another place in the world where you can wake up on top of a mountain, watching the sunrise over fog filled valleys, then in a single day bathe in a pristine river, explore a cave, drive through beautiful views and then still make it down to the coast in time to watch the sun set into the ocean. It's incredible to think that such a small island (only 100 x 35 miles across) is filled with so many incredible places! I mean, I've lived here for 30 years and have yet to see all of it myself. I hope to change that these next few years.
 |
try embracing instead of resisting.
you'd be surprised how liberating it can be.
Maricao, Puerto Rico
|
 |
I dreamt of you for the longest time,
and then suddenly
I'm here.
Lares, Puerto Rico
|
Traveling around the island, all I see is potential and possibility for growth and sustainable development. All we really need is people joining together to work towards that. It's easy for me to remain hopeful about our future when I am seeing all this with my own eyes but I can understand how exhausting it can be facing a constant economic and humanitarian crisis for so long. That's why I put so much of my love and energy into my work, so people can know the Puerto Rico I know firsthand. The sacredly beautiful tropical paradise I am grateful to call Home.
Travel tips for Puerto Rico
1. Rent a car. (Need one unfortunately)
2. Pick a town and drive aimlessly. The farther away from the metropolitan area, the better. Try the Central Mountains or the Coasts!
3. Get lost. No matter how lost you are you're always 20 minutes from a main road and it's going to be beautiful.
4. Connect with locals! Ask around. People here are incredibly nice and always willing to help.
5. Check out local instagram pages like @backpackingpr, @placespuertorico and @prturismoo. it's where most of the most awesome places are documented!
6. Find a cool local guide. There are only a few million of them.
7. Be humble and go with an open heart and you'll be surprised at all the magic you can find!
Tell us about your love life? :)
I am happy to say I am in a very healthy, adventurous, supportive, accepting and ever evolving relationship.
 |
Your lips tasted like forever.
Lajas, Puerto Rico
|
First healthy one I've ever had, really. It's interesting because all my life I kept attracting all these complicated and dramatic relationships which I later realized were only reflecting my own personal process. See, we tend to attract people that resonate with who we are at any given moment. It wasn't after I spent a year single and living up in the mountains (again, healthiest year of my life haha), nurturing my own self love and focusing on my own healing that I became strong and positive enough to attract someone I could ACTUALLY HAVE A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH. True love really begins inside each one of us. I gotta say, it feels incredible, not needing someone to save you or complete you. You have everything you need within yourself and then you just get to share that, unconditionally with someone else. I'm blessed to have found a partner I can explore that with and not just that, but to have the space and freedom to love and connect with everyone that comes into our lives on various different levels. Love keeps evolving and we're evolving with it.
And finally, what is your dream Fernando?
If I have one dream it's to see my island become what I know it can and to be able to contribute in some way to that. I want to leave a legacy, you know? Something bigger than me. I've never been too interested in recognition or being the protagonist of anything. To me and my work, the protagonist is always Puerto Rico. If by taking pictures and speaking out I can add something to it then to me that is a gratifying life.
Oh, and, the healing and evolution of humankind, of course. The universe is pretty magical and mysterious! I can't wait to keep exploring it together. I know we'll get to that eventually. In the meantime, I'll be doing my own little grain of salt of the work from my little island.
 |
you made me believe in magic again.
Manatí, Puerto Rico
|
Very impressive article thanks for this post…
ReplyDeletePrediction
Breath taking photos of my Island.. thank you!!
ReplyDeleteLoved the great words and beautiful photos!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this Sid...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLove your photos! Going to PR next month. Taking my family to see where my parents were from. Really hope to live in PR someday, maybe to run a coffee plantation who knows lol...
ReplyDeleteThank you for this interesting article..
ReplyDeleteLyrics
Wishes 2016
ReplyDeleteThanks For sharing this information good work mate Movie Samachar
ReplyDelete