A cause that lies close to my heart: Adriana Díaz Tirado (El Nuevo Día) reports on the massive march and demonstration, “Pa’ la calle contra Esencia” [Take to the Streets against Esencia], which took place yesterday afternoon (March 28, 2026). The march— expressing opposition to the construction of a mega hotel and a vast, upscale residential project that promises to wreak havoc on the environment in southwestern Puerto Rico— began at Sixto Escobar Park, stopping at the Capitol building, and ended at La Fortaleza (the governor’s mansion). [Experts calculate that close to 50,000 people attended the demonstration.] Here we share translated excerpts from the original; read full article, in Spanish, at El Nuevo Día.
From across Puerto Rico, thousands of people converged on San Juan this Saturday to protest the Esencia mega-project, a hotel and residential development planned for Cabo Rojo. Organizations, scientists, academics, and other sectors have recognized the adverse environmental impacts of the project.
The national march, “Pa’ la calle contra Esencia” (Take to the Streets against Esencia), departed at 11:45am from Sixto Escobar Park in Puerta de Tierra, made a stop at the north side of the Capitol building, and concluded at La Fortaleza (the governor’s mansion) in Old San Juan.
“We’ve been planning this for weeks, and it’s a resounding success. We see the people’s rejection of the disastrous Esencia project,” said Dr. Héctor Quintero, an ecologist and one of the spokespeople for the Defiende a Cabo Rojo (Defend Cabo Rojo) coalition.
With a large Cabo Rojo flag escorting the sea of people, protesters walked among signs with messages in defense of the environment, children dressed as vejigantes [masked figures], artists on stilts with drawings of reefs on their clothing, and a giant guabairo— an endemic bird of the southwest municipality in danger of extinction — created and carried by the Papel Machete collective. [Papel Machete is a clever play on the phrase papel maché (papier maché) and “paper machete.”]
“Esencia no va, que no va, que no va… Cabo Rojo no se vende, Cabo Rojo se defiende” [Esencia won’t go ahead, it won’t go ahead, it won’t go ahead… Cabo Rojo is not for sale, Cabo Rojo will defend itself (or will be defended)] they chanted along the route under the blazing sun.
The protest was organized primarily by Defiende a Cabo Rojo (Defend Cabo Rojo), a coalition of community, scientific, and cultural organizations, which for several weeks had been urging people to join the demonstration under the slogan “This fight is for life” [Esta lucha es por la vida].
Sea Grant Puerto Rico was another organization that mobilized, arguing that “the mega residential-tourist project would occupy the Los Pozos area in Cabo Rojo, obstructing the right to free access, disturbing and affecting the local flora and fauna, and even potentially destroying archaeological artifacts.”
During the demonstration in front of the Capitol, attorney Francisco Vargas Alcántara, of the Comité por la Verdadera Esencia del Suroeste [Committee for the True Essence of the Southwest], stated that “this fight goes beyond environmental groups; there are economic, housing, and social considerations involved, and we would be harmed by this project.”
Last year, during well attended public hearings, questions and concerns were raised regarding the developers of Esencia. Even so, in December, the Office of Permit Management (OGPe) approved the project’s Environmental Impact Statement, albeit with certain conditions that must be met during construction.
Throughout the hearings organized by the OGPe in March, citizens and representatives of various organizations denounced what they described as the project’s social and ecological impact on the Boquerón neighborhood, and its alleged incompatibility with available natural resources, in areas such as the conservation of flora and fauna, the projected demand for drinking water, and coastal geology.
The total investment for the development of the complex was estimated at $2.684 billion, with projections of creating 17,000 jobs during the construction phase and 3,000 permanent jobs.
Although the developers have recently claimed to have made adjustments to the project, Vargas Alcántara pointed out that “they are not enough,” arguing that, as the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have stated, “a substantial reduction of that footprint is required, because the proposal is not compatible with the use of those lands.”
“The government’s job is to reject this proposal outright because there are additional reasons. They haven’t acquired all the land [they need] and they haven’t been able to demonstrate to the country how they would meet the water demand without compromising the region’s water security. We don’t fight these battles on a whim; we fight them for our survival, for the coastline, and for human and non-human life,” added the lawyer and Cabo Rojo resident [attorney Vargas Alcántara].
He denounced the fact that there are currently families in Cabo Rojo who do not have potable water seven days a week. “If they can’t guarantee potable water for the people who have historically given life to that area, what are they promising a group of people?” he asked.
Developers Respond
In response to the protest, Three Rules Capital stated in a written statement to El Nuevo Día that it respects “everyone’s right to express their ideas and to dissent when they deem it necessary.”
“Throughout this entire process, we have maintained open channels to listen, clarify doubts, and share real and verified information about our project. Everything is available in the public record; therein lies our clear commitment to transparency, to Cabo Rojo, and to Puerto Rico,” the company stated.
The company also maintained that it is “saddened” to see that “some political actors are using this platform to repeat false or distorted information,” and therefore urged people to visit the Esencia website.
“At a time when Puerto Rico needs unity, collaboration, and real opportunities for our people, we remain focused on complying with every process and contributing to the sustainable development of the west and the entire island,” the company added. [. . .]
Translations of excerpts by Ivette Romero. For full article (in Spanish), see https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/notas/miles-de-personas-salen-a-la-calle-a-protestar-contra-el-megaproyecto-esencia/w
[Photos above by Pablo Martínez Rodríguez.]
A cause that lies close to my heart: Adriana Díaz Tirado (El Nuevo Día) reports on the massive march and demonstration, “Pa’ la calle contra Esencia” [Take to the Streets against Esencia], which took place yesterday afternoon (March 28, 2026). The march— expressing opposition to the construction of a mega hotel and a vast, upscale
