Down to Earth with Zac Efron (2020) s01e06 Episode Script
Puerto Rico
1
[wind howling]
[Zac Efron] Imagine a huge disaster hit.
[birds squawking]
It destroyed everything
that you depended on.
[man] Marker!
[Zac] Where would you go?
What are you gonna eat?
[Zac] Very lemony.
[woman] It's also a pesticide.
[coughing]
[Zac] What would you drink?
Is this your signal to drink the milk?
[laughing]
[bleating]
[Zac] What are you going to do for power?
So we have here a total of 30 solar panels
that we can supply
to all our neighbors' extension cords.
[Zac] How would you survive?
To find out, we're going to visit
a small island in the Caribbean.
This island is a brilliant case study
for sustainability
because it's such a microcosm.
Food, water and energy are all
the main staples for modern life
and here all three
are under constant threat
due to increased hurricane activity
caused by global climate change.
We're here to learn from the survivors
- [woman laughing]
- [Zac] Thank you.
[Zac] and to see how everyone
is planning for the future.
This is Puerto Rico.
[Zac] That's why I got started
in all this.
I was like, "What's enough?"
I felt like I was just on a
- [man] Treadmill.
- Yeah, I was on the treadmill.
It was like, "What am I doing?"
[Zac] Let me start at the beginning.
A few years ago, I met Darin.
- I can't feel my feet or my hands.
- I'm proud of you, bro.
Yeah.
[Zac] He's a guru of healthy living
and superfoods.
Yes, great. Thank you so much.
Really appreciate it.
[Zac] You could say he wrote the book
on the subject. Literally.
[Darin] A healthy lifestyle,
solid principles.
[Zac] Darin and I are traveling
around the world
to find some new perspectives
on some very old problems.
[Darin] That's Mother Earth, bro.
[Zac] Searching for healthy, sustainable
living solutions for the planet
[Zac] Wow.
and all who live on it.
Woo-hoo!
Ignore the crazy white guy.
- [Zac] And hey, you gotta eat too, right?
- [Darin] You don't have to eat it.
- How does it move like that?
- [woman] Oh, my God.
[Zac] It's time to get Down to Earth.
[theme music]
Trippy.
[Zac] As we start our journey
here in the port of Old San Juan,
we are instantly hit with the warm
salt air and a fresh feeling of
Check, check.
what are we getting ourselves into?
Whoa, dude. This setup's money.
Look at that!
[Latin music plays]
- Oh, my God, so great!
- [chuckling]
Nice to meet you! Happy birthday.
[Zac] Here in Old San Juan,
there's music and art everywhere.
You could feel the rich history
in every step you take.
Some of the streets are lined with
the original cobblestones from the 1800s.
That's old.
- [Darin] Dude!
- [Zac] Whoa!
- [Darin] Look at that!
- [Zac] Sick.
Do you guys see this?
Just look at that!
[Zac] There's a lot to do
and our stay is short,
so we're splitting up.
While Darin scouts for some
of the local food sources
through area co-ops, markets,
and restaurants,
I'm headed a little inland
to meet somebody
who has recently become a familiar face
in the story of Puerto Rico.
Look, you can't visit Puerto Rico now
without realizing
what was going on here
almost a year ago to the day.
And that brings me to why I'm here,
standing all alone in this stadium:
Hurricane Maria.
[woman] Hi, there.
- [woman] How are you?
- Madam Mayor.
[Zac] This is Carmen Yulin Cruz,
the polarizing and controversial mayor
of the city of San Juan.
And unknown to most of the world
until the spotlight of the hurricane
shined upon her
as she fought for federal attention
to this U.S. territory's disaster.
We have a very different view
from September 20th.
I'm kind of in here, like,
feeling the vibe.
I saw some of the photos.
[shouts in Spanish]
[Carmen] The world thinks of Maria,
but we had Irma 15 days before. So
[Zac] The calm before the storm,
but it's a storm before the storm.
We had no electricity at that point.
- Still from Irma?
- Still from Irma.
[Carmen] Just imagine
you have 685 people sleeping here.
For about three days,
nobody could get out.
So it was really rough.
And where were you during this?
Just over there. Through those doors.
That's where myself and my staff stayed.
We lived here for three months.
We will never be the same.
We'll never be the
I'm not the same person
that I was on September 20th.
I saw things that nobody should see
- [Zac] Mm-hmm.
- in times of "peace."
This we call the Wall of Hope.
[Zac] Oh, wow.
So, everybody that's come here to help,
or that has cared enough
to come to see us signs.
Fat Joe signed over here,
Spike Lee signed, uh
- [Zac] "Brooklyn in da house, Spike Lee."
- [Carmen] Yeah.
- Bernie Sanders signed somewhere else.
- Really?
This is from the unions.
The unions were extraordinary.
The AFL-CIO brought 327 workers, so
We want you to sign.
- Me? Really? [laughs]
- Yes.
- Oh, my gosh.
- So you have to sign.
I think you can
If you want, you can sign over here.
Um
A lot of these people here contributed
in a major way to the effort.
Are you sure you want me
to sign the wall?
I do, and I'll tell you why.
- It's good to keep the word out
- [Zac] Absolutely.
first of all about climate change
and that it really,
- uh, impacts people's lives.
- Mm-hmm.
And secondly, about the need
that we still have in Puerto Rico
of some major transformation.
And your voice is an important voice,
so it's gonna help us all over the world.
Well, thank you.
I will take that and your message
as far as I possibly can,
'cause that is the truth.
- Climate change is 100% real.
- So, here you go.
Oh, right there.
[Zac] This more than just
writing my name on a wall.
I realize that this is a promise,
and one that I intend to keep.
I wanna give back to Puerto Rico.
I wanna be worthy of this honor
and earn my spot here.
[chuckling] Only question is,
how am I gonna do that?
[Carmen] You're an official advocate
for the Puerto Rican people.
[Zac] I'm very proud of that.
We're going to one of the communities
in Encanta, which is called Cantera.
They spent 14 days
with water up to their hip.
- Oh, my God.
- This was underwater.
- [Zac] Wow.
- The devastation was so unparalleled.
[Carmen] This has never been about
the rebuilding of buildings.
It's been about the rebuilding
and transformation of human lives.
[Zac] I think that message resonates now
more than ever.
[Carmen] It does.
You know, governments sometimes fail,
but people find a way to help each other.
[Carmen] Let me show you something.
You see all those blue roofs?
- [Zac] Yes.
- [Carmen] Those are just tarps.
So that means
that if another hurricane hits,
they'll be totally exposed.
[Zac] Wow.
And
you know, there's
There's this issue about the deaths.
The number of dead.
We heard the other day
the total was adjusted.
Initially, it was 64
because they'd only counted
the people that died as a direct result
of the storm hitting.
But a Harvard study puts it
more around 4,645.
- [Zac] Really?
- So, thousands of people died.
SOS
WE NEED WATER / FOOD!
[Zac] It wasn't just the actual hurricane
that did the most damage,
but rather the lack of a recovery effort
that really raised the death toll.
In a way, it can be looked at
as a man-made disaster
just as much as it can a natural one.
[Carmen] The lessons learned here
should be really taken to heart,
so that it doesn't happen
anywhere in the world now.
- You're on the same level.
- We are.
I'm happy we're talking right now,
because I think
Puerto Rico to me represents
a microcosm of the whole world,
on a certain scale.
I mean, what's gonna happen
when this hits New York City?
Mm-hmm. Because, you know,
global warming is real.
- Hurricanes are gonna happen.
- Absolutely.
I say,
"Let's not rebuild, let's transform."
[Zac] The more devastation I see,
the harder it is for me to believe
that this is a U.S. territory.
Somehow I just feel negligent.
Seems like everyone that we meet here
is caught
between trying to survive day by day,
while at the very same time
preparing for an imminent storm.
[speaking Spanish]
Zac, Maria.
Hola, Maria.
[Zac] Mayor Cruz has worked hard to change
the way people live in Puerto Rico
by rethinking her community's
traditional infrastructure.
[speaking Spanish]
[Zac] The local government has been
fighting to restore the electrical grid
with a more weather-resistant model
[Maria speaking Spanish]
[Carmen kisses]
[Zac] adding solar solutions
wherever possible
and building community shelters
for the most vulnerable areas.
[Carmen] So this is her house, really.
But she had to move to this house.
The pastor in our church did the roof.
[speaking Spanish] This to me is
a paradise, because I've seen worse cases.
[Zac] Seeing her level of gratitude,
considering all that she has lost
and gone through, is humbling.
Maria and her husband
are practically camping
directly across from a pile of rubble
that was once their home
where they raised their four children.
[Zac inhales deeply]
[Carmen] It's Hugo, it's Georges,
it's Irma, it's Maria. I mean, how much
how much can people take
of losing and losing and losing?
I mean This is clearly debris,
remnants of the house.
Why is this still here?
[Carmen] Since her husband is disabled,
she couldn't get it all out.
[Zac] She literally had to do that
by herself?
- They all did. We all did.
- [Zac] OK.
We picked up 283 million pounds.
- 283 million pounds of debris?
- [Carmen] In four months.
- In San Juan, two hundred
- [Zac] In San Juan alone?
Alone.
[Zac] It would be my honor and pleasure
to help you move some of this out.
We can go organize,
and I can grab some of my crew members.
Would she like that?
- Good? Sí?
- Sí!
OK, good. All right, good. [laughing]
[Zac] No foundation, no red tape,
no waiting.
[chuckles] I just need Darin
- [Zac] He's here!
- [cheering]
the crew, and a pickup truck.
- Hey.
- [Maria speaking Spanish]
[Zac] One of the best ways to get out
of your own head is to help others.
Darin lives for this kind of
call to action.
[Zac] First things first,
let's clean up this debris. Ready?
- Nails right there.
- Oh, yeah.
[Zac] Gnarly.
[laughing]
[Carmen] Just imagine doing this
street after street after street,
- community after community.
- [Zac] I can't.
Yeah? Oh, nice.
[Zac speaking Spanish, laughing]
- There's no more room in the truck.
- [laughter]
She said that she's happy
because you kept your word.
[Zac] Say it's our pleasure.
- Gracias, amigo.
- Gracias.
- [man laughing]
- [Maria speaking Spanish]
Thank you so much.
- Gracias.
- Gracias a ustedes.
[Zac] Sometimes we don't realize
how even our smallest efforts
can make a tremendous difference.
Our work here today was just a dent,
but now my eyes are opened to how
I don't know,
how big this problem really is.
One of the basic necessities of life
is a roof over our heads.
But we also need sustenance.
Puerto Rico imports
about 85% of their food.
After the hurricane,
that number grew even higher,
as many of the farms and their crops
were wiped out completely.
Hey, hey, hey.
[Zac] Humanitarian, bestselling author,
award-winning chef,
and Michelin-starred restaurateur
are just a few of the things
that describe Chef Jose Andrés.
[Jose speaking Spanish]
[Zac] Shortly after the storm,
Chef Andrés stepped in
when the system had failed.
He and members of his organization,
World Central Kitchen,
worked tirelessly
in all available kitchens,
all over the island,
to serve 150,000 meals a day.
To date, Chef Andrés
and his 19,000 volunteers
have served 3.6 million meals,
reaching every single municipality
in Puerto Rico.
But serving meals was just the beginning.
World Central Kitchen is investing
in Puerto Rico's future
by building grants
to help their local farmers.
[Zac] I'm very excited
to hear about all this.
[Darin] Yeah, and what they're doing now
to ensure the betterment of the community
and create sustainable food.
[Zac] As the climate changes,
so must Puerto Rico,
and that's especially true
of the farming community.
- Whoa.
- [Darin] Look at that.
[Zac] Frutos del Guacabo is
a 50-farm cooperative
run by husband-and-wife team
Effron Robles and Angeline Martinez.
Also there to meet us was Griselle Via,
from World Central Kitchen.
So everything that I'm gonna show you
has two or three purposes
'cause it has to be as sustainable
as possible.
For example, we're so close to the water,
so we have to use passion fruit
to cover up.
So passion fruit is acting as a little bit
of a barrier to the wind.
This is amaranth,
and we use it for pest control.
You're gonna see it all over the farm.
[Darin] The bugs go after that?
[Effron] We don't use any pesticides
in this facility,
so we have to use nature.
Besides that, it's a very helpful grain.
[Zac] What does it compare to? Quinoa?
- [Effron] It's like quinoa, yeah.
- Wow!
There's great protein value to it,
and antioxidants.
The fact that it has these other benefits
to the farm is fantastic.
[Effron] And this is passion fruit.
- [Darin] Look at that. You want some?
- [Zac] Absolutely.
- [Zac] Have you always been a farmer?
- No, actually I'm a mechanic
and my wife is a chemist,
but we understand how to follow a process,
and that's the key.
[Zac] Wait, how recent was that switch?
Were you a mechanic how many years ago?
- I'm still a mechanic.
- You're still [laughing]
[Zac] Passionate farmers like Effron
are changing the way that Puerto Rico
produce and distribute food in big ways,
using multi-purpose crops
in a chemical-free, natural environment.
This is amazing stuff.
This central distribution co-op works
as a middle man,
connecting similar farms
with Puerto Rico's restaurants,
markets, and consumers.
[Darin] So what was the inspiration
of going hydroponic?
[Effron] You can control it
a little better, I would say.
It's relatively cheap to do.
It's something that you can do
in a very limited space.
If a storm comes,
you can move it around, you know.
[Zac] It makes complete sense.
- What is this one?
- [Effron] That's lemon basil.
[Zac] Very lemony.
- So cool.
- [Griselle] It's also a pesticide.
- [coughing]
- [Darin laughs]
Sorry, I didn't Yeah.
[all laughing]
[Zac] All of these methods are being
taught to the young farmers of tomorrow
to ensure a better level of sustainability
for the future of Puerto Rico.
[Effron] Well, you know,
we have to educate everybody.
It's imperative to do,
so we have no choice.
[Zac] That's amazing.
[Effron] And we gather probably
from about 80 farms.
[Zac] Is this where they come to see
what you guys can make?
[Effron] Yeah. We work on a co-op base.
We try to make the economy
as fair as possible for all ends.
Your philosophy is blowing my mind
right now.
I wish that this was the way
everything works.
It's really amazing.
It's back to the basics, man.
[Zac] The basics.
I mean, why complicate it?
Of course, this farm also has livestock,
like goats, which produce milk
that they then use to make cheese.
So now we're gonna have a goat
coming this way,
and we're gonna milk it, all right?
[speaking Spanish]
We're gonna what?
- [Effron] So that's your new baby, there.
- [Zac] Whoa!
- [goat bleating]
- [Effron] Meet Chimby.
- Oh, my gosh.
- She's full.
[Zac laughing]
[Zac] I've always wanted I've always
Not "wanted" Never mind.
I'm kind of curious to see how this works.
[Effron] Sit down next to him,
so you're
Yeah, Darin, you sit this one out.
Go ahead.
- Yeah, you're good.
- OK, cool.
[Darin] Oh, how convenient for Darin
to be a vegan at a moment like this.
- Any chance that I'm going to hurt her?
- [man] No.
- [Zac] OK.
- [man] You wanna pinch them,
and then you're gonna squeeze
with this other finger.
Whoa. Wait,
just let me see it one more time.
The technique there, the finesse.
All right. [laughing]
- [Zac] Here?
- [man] These two fingers first.
- [Zac] There?
- [man] Yeah.
Wow. Oh, first try! [laughing]
- [Darin] You're doing great.
- Can we do this?
[Zac] No, it still feels really weird.
I'm not gonna lie. Oh, man.
Hey, Zac, so this is, like,
direct out of the source, buddy.
Aren't you feeling
a little low on protein right now?
[Zac] Why?
Is this your signal to drink the milk?
- It is my signal. Yeah.
- Is that what you're hinting at right now?
No, I'm just saying, drink the milk.
So, hold on, wait. You can't really
just drink this milk, can you?
Yeah, you can drink it.
The goat's one of the animals
that the milk comes pasteurized.
This is straight pasteurized milk.
- You can drink it.
- [Griselle] You can.
- So I can drink this right out of here.
- Yes.
Drink it! Drink it! [Griselle laughs]
- It doesn't taste any different.
- YOLO.
- [Darin] See? She likes that.
- Oh, man.
[clears throat]
[all laughing]
It's goat milk.
It's goat You can There's a
In your nose
- Yeah.
- The nose of it's a goat.
- It's more in the nose than in the mouth.
- Yeah.
- Yeah, the goat is.
- Yeah.
So it feels like you're drinking a goat
as opposed to just milk.
It smells like
[all laughing]
It tastes
Dude, come on. You gotta try this.
[Darin] I'm definitely
That's all you, buddy.
I mean, it's good.
If you don't breathe through your nose,
it's really good.
- [laughter]
- [goat bleating]
[Zac] It's just a little It's warm.
So, like, and seeing it come out
is pretty visceral.
I'm gonna put it down.
- [man] OK.
- Cool. Yeah. Rock and roll, man.
- Wow.
- Now you're connected.
[Zac laughing]
- [Darin] You shared a moment.
- [Zac] Thank you for that. Cool!
Yo, thank you.
That was a new experience.
[kisses]
[bleating]
[Zac] Thank you, guys.
You want me to sign your case?
Sweet. Rock and roll.
[Zac] Who was it that said,
"You haven't lived until you've milked a
goat and drank it straight from the teat"?
Oh, that's right.
See you guys!
[Zac] Nobody.
[waves crashing]
The tourism industry is another
important part of Puerto Rico's economy
that is still suffering
from the hurricane.
Seated majestically on the beach,
the historic Caribe Hilton
was the jewel of the Caribbean
when it opened in 1949.
- [man] Everything was destroyed. Yeah.
- [Darin] Destroyed.
[Zac] While the hotel's general manager,
Pablo Torres,
oversees the $100 million
reconstruction project,
he still seems haunted by the memory
of the tragic storm.
The 150-mile-per-hour winds took a hefty
toll on this beautiful, aging hotel.
[Darin] I look out here now
and I see we have a good wind.
It's already choppy. And I can't imagine
having 160-mile-an-hour winds.
Like, what What was
- What was that like?
- I tell you, in my career,
I've been in nine hurricanes
- Nine?
- Yes.
And, um
like Maria,
I've never seen something like that.
I mean, it was it was scary to see.
We actually had, like, 600 guests and
- [Darin] Wow.
- probably like 80
80 team members
that were supporting us, and they
How did you manage that?
How did you manage getting in the food?
Our team are the real heroes.
I mean, I still remember the last guest.
They were leaving, you know?
All the guests are safe, and we are done.
And I wanted to go inside the bus
and just say, you know,
"Safe traveling,
thank you for being here
and for your patience and everything."
And I couldn't hold it.
I started crying like a little baby.
[Zac] A year after the storm,
even major corporate hotels like this one
are still only in the rebuilding stage.
- I mean, this is gonna be beautiful.
- Yeah.
The true heroes, I think,
of all this mess,
is all the people that were behind,
trying to support the local communities,
and trying to lift everyone up.
So, that's an inspiration for me.
[Zac] A lot of what we heard
from local Puerto Ricans
is that the magic was that the people
really came together
and helped one another in those ways.
It's unfortunate, though, right?
Because
- [Darin] It has to be this
- [Pablo] We as a human family,
you know, in this planet,
we're supposed to do it every day,
but we're human, right?
[Zac] One business owner in Old San Juan
had the foresight
to build toward the future,
five years before Hurricane Maria
hit the island.
After a 20-year career
at the Caribe Hilton,
ending as the Environmental
Sustainability Manager,
Eddie Ramirez took his vision
of eco-friendly tourism
from the 650-room Hilton
to his own five-room bed-and-breakfast,
aptly named Casa Sol.
[Eddie] So we have here
a total of 30 solar panels.
We have another six in the back.
Our neighbor next door has another 20,
which, during the storm,
we connected all 50 together.
And we were able to produce
double the energy.
- So you guys interlinked and made
- Yeah, a micro-grid.
And now, our neighbor just installed
another 30 himself, so
we're gonna have them all set,
so we can actually connect them
in case of another emergency
and we can supply
to all our neighbors' extension cords.
Hey, and you also do
some significant rain catchment.
We do rain catchment.
A good rain can probably do
300, 400 gallons.
So what you consume in a day, a good
rainfall can just replace it right away.
We're, like, at this safe haven
for people in this
in the storm,
and also now just for pure sustainability.
- Doing the right thing.
- Yeah. That's it.
- That's awesome.
- Doing the right thing.
[Zac] A safe haven is exactly
what Casa Sol became.
We met members of the community who
survived the aftermath of the hurricane
thanks partly to the clean water
and solar power provided by Casa Sol.
Casa Sol was founded as a sustainable,
environmental bed-and-breakfast.
It's our way of life, you know?
We just think sustainability is
the way to go.
You know, Mother Earth is saying,
"Save me." We
She needs help.
Little did we know that, five years later,
you know, we would have these
two hurricanes come through,
and they would come extremely handy.
Our community, La Perla,
which got hit very hard,
we not only were able to keep in business,
but we were able to help
the community firsthand.
Providing water,
electricity to charge batteries.
Made ice in our freezers.
Saved insulin for our neighbors.
Provide them drinking water.
- [Darin] Just on your own.
- Yes, on our own,
we helped as much as we can. Because
it wasn't fair or just, you know?
A lot of people were suffering.
It was the right thing to do.
So, what was that like for you guys?
[speaking Spanish] Waking up one day,
things that worked before
nothing was working.
It was like starting at zero.
[speaking Spanish]
The most important part that I can share
is that they had the opportunity to leave,
and they stayed.
Are you surprised at all
that you were the kind of main place
to do that in this area,
that more people
didn't take more precaution?
Very.
Very. We were, I would say,
probably the only one in all San Juan.
- The only one in all of San Juan?
- [Eddie] I think the only ones.
[Zac] That's incredible.
[speaking Spanish]
He was saying that he woke up,
and he was like, "Well, where I live,
there's a lot of elderly people
that really need their coffee." Uh
So what he did was he got on his bike
and he started to spot what coffee shops,
what ATMs were functioning.
He would come back, and he would post that
for everybody to see.
He became kind of the community,
uh newspaper.
- Newspaper.
- Yeah.
That's smart. You actually put up signs.
[speaking Spanish]
He's like emergency coffee service.
[all laughing]
That's amazing. You're a legend.
I'm gonna give you a high five for that.
Yeah, seriously.
[Zac] It's hard to imagine living in
a world where your daily routine items,
basic creature comforts
like a cup of coffee,
have all been wiped out.
I absolutely love how everyone
in this community worked together
to keep their lives as normal as possible.
[Zac] Personally,
I'm blown away on so many levels.
I think it's very brave what you did,
and courageous,
and kind of crazy, but it worked.
Yeah.
[Eddie] There's no way
we can be successful
if the community is not successful.
[Zac] Thank you so much for fostering
this kind of love and care
into what you do,
because you've created,
- now, a feeling that's in this room
- One big happy family.
Yeah, it's beautiful.
So much respect and admiration.
You guys are angels.
- Thank you!
- Thank you very much, guys. Seriously.
[Darin] Yeah!
Thank you very much, man, seriously.
That was
[Zac] Rai invited us to the marina
to see how another part of
the Puerto Rican community is healing
and reinventing itself.
We're headed across the bay
to a small coastal municipality
called Cataño.
After seeing the destruction
the storm has caused to the land
and people of Puerto Rico,
I can't help but wonder
what effect the hurricane had
on the coast and surrounding waters.
[ducks quacking]
One cause Darin and I are always into
is saving the ocean.
Rai started the Conservación ConCiencia,
a nonprofit organization that works
to protect the ecosystem
and maintain sustainability
and economic livelihood
for the surrounding fisheries.
[Darin] So, what was the change
from after Maria hit?
The hurricane itself caused such an impact
on the sea floor,
a lot of the soft corals kind of
were ripped out from the ground.
And that's loss of habitat
for many species that use soft corals
in these areas, sea grasses as well.
It's their home.
[Zac] Nothing to catch.
An entire segment of the fishing industry
wiped out,
and a major local resource
of food completely eliminated.
How can this lost food source be restored,
but in a sustainable way?
One of the good things about Puerto Rico
is that, in Puerto Rican waters,
industrial fishing is pretty much banned.
You can't longliners,
they cannot fish in Puerto Rican waters.
I wish everyone did that.
[Rai] This is something that has been
beneficial for the environment,
and also for commercial fishermen
in Puerto Rico.
After Maria,
it's also an issue of food security.
Are they fishing for other things,
or what's the plan?
So, the first thing that we did
was getting fishermen their gear,
so that they can start fishing again.
Second thing that we did was
we removed derelict fishing gear.
So we've been diving in the water
throughout Puerto Rico,
- finding these lost gear.
- [Darin] Cleaning up trash in the water?
- [Rai] Cleaning trash that's killing fish.
- [Darin] Right.
This is one of our main partners.
Rodolfo Abrams.
- He is a fisherman from here in Cataño.
- Hey, cómo estás?
Are you low-key like
one of the best fisherman in town?
- Ah
- [Zac] Yeah? Are you being
Is he being humble?
Is he the best fisherman around?
[Rai] He's one of the best.
[Zac] Rodolfo specializes
in catching fish,
those that live in water away from shore
but not on the bottom.
So he uses just a single rod and reel
or spear.
This guy uses a spear!
[Zac] It's really authentic fishing, man.
It's unreal.
[Rai] It's authentic, it's artisanal.
And we want that type of fishing
to continue throughout Puerto Rico.
It fetches a good price.
And it's something that needs
very little management
- to actually be sustainable.
- One-hundred percent.
- So what did you catch today?
- Mahis.
[Zac] Mahi?
- Wow.
- [Rai] Beautiful.
[Darin] That's a successful day.
Holy cow, look at that thing.
[Zac] Whoa, what is that?
[Rai laughing]
- [Rai] That's a big male mahi.
- [Zac] Qué es este?
- [Zac] That's a mahi?
- It's a bull.
- [Darin] Wow.
- [Zac] That's what a mahi looks like, man.
Wow.
That's a big fish.
[Rai] One of the things that we're doing
is connecting fishermen
with restaurant owners and chefs.
- [Zac] Speaking of chefs
- Martin.
- Martin, nice to meet you.
- How are you?
- Hola, soy Zac.
- Nice to meet you.
[Rai] Martin has launched
an incredible application
to connect producers with restaurants.
[Zac] An app for local fishermen
to connect their daily catches
with the local chefs.
It's like Tinder for fish.
Ooh, swipe right for that fish.
- [Darin] It's as fresh as it comes.
- Yeah, the freshest.
All right!
It's beneficial for the consumer,
who's getting local fresh catch.
It's beneficial for the restaurant,
and it's beneficial for the fishermen.
And the money stays in the island.
- And the money stays in Puerto Rico.
- The economy
I mean, that's a great step
in the right direction.
What are you planning on doing
with with this fish?
Ceviche, to eat it. Fresh and raw,
it's perfect. Let's make it.
All right! Sounds good.
Here's to that, man.
[both speaking Spanish]
KITCHEN
[Martin] With one fillet,
we are going to make the ceviche.
[woman speaking Spanish]
Shh.
[whispering] No one sees it yet.
- [Darin] There's a seed.
- [Zac] Look at that. There you go, chef.
[Zac] I'm still amazed by this process.
So, ceviche is both the name of the dish
and the food preparation method.
There's no heat,
and the fish isn't cooked.
Look at it, it's turning white.
[Zac] However,
the citric acid from the fruit
chemically transforms the amino acids
of the fish,
making it safe for human consumption.
My mouth's just watering
uncontrollably right now.
[Zac] It makes almost no sense.
[Zac] Micro cilantro.
[Zac] But it is delicious.
[Zac] Beautiful.
100% authentic, homegrown,
locally-sourced, Puerto Rican ceviche.
- [Zac] So we can dig in?
- Yeah.
- Well, you're gonna dig in, but
- Thank you, chef.
Yeah, you can sit this one out.
I'm gonna I can't help myself.
- Would you like to try some pineapple?
- [Darin] I'd love to try some pineapple.
- [Zac] Your eyes just got so big.
- [Darin] I smelled it over there.
[Zac] One of the coolest things
about this whole experience was seeing
that fish come out of the water,
then be transported here,
and see you turn it into this masterpiece.
- Yeah.
- This is unbelievable.
[Zac] So good.
- Great work, guys, thank you.
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you very much.
- Gracias.
[birds chirping]
[Zac] Our last stop was up in
the more rural part of San Juan
like, the jungle,
where Mayor Cruz had
one more rebuilding success story.
And also a glimpse into the future
of Puerto Rico.
[Carmen] So, there's this kid
that is literally genius,
his IQ is that high.
Jose is ten.
And he knows English perfectly,
he knows Spanish. He's learning German.
He takes classes at the university.
- He's nine or ten?
- Ten years old.
His parents, they lost everything.
[Zac] Jose was identified early on
as an exceptional child
with a natural thirst for knowledge.
His teachers brought him
to the attention of the mayor,
who connected his family to a non-profit
that builds homes for those in need.
You see that shack?
This is where they lived,
which got ripped apart by the hurricane.
And they rebuilt it with what was left.
They lived in very dire conditions.
A company started doing prefab houses
in Puerto Rico, so PVC and concrete.
- [Darin] So it's sustainable housing.
- It's sustainable.
And, on top of that,
it will run 100% on solar energy.
They're also gonna be harvesting the rain.
And if something else happens
their house has 600 points
of anchorage on the roof.
[Zac] What that means is
that the roof is built to withstand
up to 200-mile-per-hour winds,
so when the next hurricane comes through,
this house won't need one of those
blue tarps that we saw earlier.
Permanent solutions, not Band-Aids.
Not just rebuilding, but reinventing.
- [Darin] This is the first time that
- That they're gonna go. Yeah.
- I have the keys.
- I can't imagine.
- [Darin] Wow.
- Man, let's do this.
- [Carmen speaking Spanish]
- [woman speaking Spanish]
[Carmen] This is Jose.
[Zac] Jose happily shows us
his family's current living situation,
having no idea how drastically
that's about to change.
[Jose] Welcome to my house.
[Darin] During the hurricane
you were here?
- [Jose] Yes.
- [cock crowing]
[Jose] We were happy in this place,
but when the hurricane stopped,
we were we go outside
and we see the house.
The house is destroyed.
And before the hurricane, I got 74 books.
But then, after the hurricane,
I got only eight.
So the hurricane blew away
most of your books?
- Yeah.
- [Zac] Wow, about what?
About astronomy
Um
geometry, math
- [Zac] Really? Ten years old?
- Yeah.
- [Zac] Wow, man
- You want to go into the new house?
- Yeah.
- Take your sister.
Let's check it out.
[Zac] This is more than a house.
For this family,
it's a chance at a new beginning.
As hard as they work,
it still would have taken years for Jose's
family to have built a home like this.
It's an honor to get to see it
for the first time through their eyes.
[all] tres, dos, uno.
[Carmen] Welcome home.
- [all cheering]
- Wow!
Diantre!
[Jose speaking Spanish]
He's so fired up. [Zac laughs]
[Carmen] "Diantre" is like "Golly-gee!"
[Carmen] Ta-daa!
- [Darin] Hey, this is your room.
- [Jose] This is cool.
Bookshelves.
You need a whole room for your books.
That's the most excited he's been,
looking like, "Whoa."
- [Zac] Yeah.
- What do you wanna be when you grow up?
- [Jose] An astronomer.
- Oh, really?
- NASA and then
- [Darin] He's going for NASA.
[Zac laughing]
[Carmen] Let's go see
the rest of the house.
- So this is your new kitchen.
- [Jose] It looks, like, fancy!
[Jose] This is from Operation Blessing.
[Darin] If you keep your hydration up,
your brain retains more information.
So every day, when you wake up,
first thing to do, grab some fresh water
'cause you'll be smarter
and you'll be able to read more books.
[Darin] Deal?
All right.
[Carmen speaking Spanish]
[woman speaking Spanish]
[Carmen] They're super happy.
[Zac] For Jose and his family,
this new pad is a palace.
I'm reminded that
in our world of consumption,
we don't need much to be truly happy.
[Carmen] My goal is to have
every house in this one road solar.
I know it's not enough nearly enough.
You help one person, you help
everyone he touches.
- [keys jingling]
- [girl giggling]
- This is your house.
- Thank you.
- [Darin] Hey
- [Carmen laughing]
- [Darin] Welcome to your new home.
- All right.
Progress feels good.
[Zac] All of these hurricane stories have
the same common thread:
the component to recovery is people
coming together for the common good.
[salsa music]
[Zac] The process of rebuilding
and repairing has come a long way,
but there's still so much more to do.
One thing's for sure: Puerto Rico's future
looks better than ever.
But the climate is changing,
and I can't ignore that fact.
It affects my choices every single day.
And while small efforts are being made
to slow the effects,
large-scale weather disasters
like hurricanes, floods, and fires
are becoming the new norm.
And, sooner or later,
we'll all be affected.
San Juan can serve as a model
for the rest of the world
in that we need to start rethinking
how we consume everything,
from our food to our power.
Striving for sustainability
is easier said than done,
and I know I have a long way to go.
But I feel grateful for the small lessons
that I've learned
on this beautiful island.
I'm really proud that
I got to sign my name on that wall.
But Puerto Rico left
a way bigger mark on me.
After the hell that you've been through
What could I even say? ♪
[wind howling]
[Zac Efron] Imagine a huge disaster hit.
[birds squawking]
It destroyed everything
that you depended on.
[man] Marker!
[Zac] Where would you go?
What are you gonna eat?
[Zac] Very lemony.
[woman] It's also a pesticide.
[coughing]
[Zac] What would you drink?
Is this your signal to drink the milk?
[laughing]
[bleating]
[Zac] What are you going to do for power?
So we have here a total of 30 solar panels
that we can supply
to all our neighbors' extension cords.
[Zac] How would you survive?
To find out, we're going to visit
a small island in the Caribbean.
This island is a brilliant case study
for sustainability
because it's such a microcosm.
Food, water and energy are all
the main staples for modern life
and here all three
are under constant threat
due to increased hurricane activity
caused by global climate change.
We're here to learn from the survivors
- [woman laughing]
- [Zac] Thank you.
[Zac] and to see how everyone
is planning for the future.
This is Puerto Rico.
[Zac] That's why I got started
in all this.
I was like, "What's enough?"
I felt like I was just on a
- [man] Treadmill.
- Yeah, I was on the treadmill.
It was like, "What am I doing?"
[Zac] Let me start at the beginning.
A few years ago, I met Darin.
- I can't feel my feet or my hands.
- I'm proud of you, bro.
Yeah.
[Zac] He's a guru of healthy living
and superfoods.
Yes, great. Thank you so much.
Really appreciate it.
[Zac] You could say he wrote the book
on the subject. Literally.
[Darin] A healthy lifestyle,
solid principles.
[Zac] Darin and I are traveling
around the world
to find some new perspectives
on some very old problems.
[Darin] That's Mother Earth, bro.
[Zac] Searching for healthy, sustainable
living solutions for the planet
[Zac] Wow.
and all who live on it.
Woo-hoo!
Ignore the crazy white guy.
- [Zac] And hey, you gotta eat too, right?
- [Darin] You don't have to eat it.
- How does it move like that?
- [woman] Oh, my God.
[Zac] It's time to get Down to Earth.
[theme music]
Trippy.
[Zac] As we start our journey
here in the port of Old San Juan,
we are instantly hit with the warm
salt air and a fresh feeling of
Check, check.
what are we getting ourselves into?
Whoa, dude. This setup's money.
Look at that!
[Latin music plays]
- Oh, my God, so great!
- [chuckling]
Nice to meet you! Happy birthday.
[Zac] Here in Old San Juan,
there's music and art everywhere.
You could feel the rich history
in every step you take.
Some of the streets are lined with
the original cobblestones from the 1800s.
That's old.
- [Darin] Dude!
- [Zac] Whoa!
- [Darin] Look at that!
- [Zac] Sick.
Do you guys see this?
Just look at that!
[Zac] There's a lot to do
and our stay is short,
so we're splitting up.
While Darin scouts for some
of the local food sources
through area co-ops, markets,
and restaurants,
I'm headed a little inland
to meet somebody
who has recently become a familiar face
in the story of Puerto Rico.
Look, you can't visit Puerto Rico now
without realizing
what was going on here
almost a year ago to the day.
And that brings me to why I'm here,
standing all alone in this stadium:
Hurricane Maria.
[woman] Hi, there.
- [woman] How are you?
- Madam Mayor.
[Zac] This is Carmen Yulin Cruz,
the polarizing and controversial mayor
of the city of San Juan.
And unknown to most of the world
until the spotlight of the hurricane
shined upon her
as she fought for federal attention
to this U.S. territory's disaster.
We have a very different view
from September 20th.
I'm kind of in here, like,
feeling the vibe.
I saw some of the photos.
[shouts in Spanish]
[Carmen] The world thinks of Maria,
but we had Irma 15 days before. So
[Zac] The calm before the storm,
but it's a storm before the storm.
We had no electricity at that point.
- Still from Irma?
- Still from Irma.
[Carmen] Just imagine
you have 685 people sleeping here.
For about three days,
nobody could get out.
So it was really rough.
And where were you during this?
Just over there. Through those doors.
That's where myself and my staff stayed.
We lived here for three months.
We will never be the same.
We'll never be the
I'm not the same person
that I was on September 20th.
I saw things that nobody should see
- [Zac] Mm-hmm.
- in times of "peace."
This we call the Wall of Hope.
[Zac] Oh, wow.
So, everybody that's come here to help,
or that has cared enough
to come to see us signs.
Fat Joe signed over here,
Spike Lee signed, uh
- [Zac] "Brooklyn in da house, Spike Lee."
- [Carmen] Yeah.
- Bernie Sanders signed somewhere else.
- Really?
This is from the unions.
The unions were extraordinary.
The AFL-CIO brought 327 workers, so
We want you to sign.
- Me? Really? [laughs]
- Yes.
- Oh, my gosh.
- So you have to sign.
I think you can
If you want, you can sign over here.
Um
A lot of these people here contributed
in a major way to the effort.
Are you sure you want me
to sign the wall?
I do, and I'll tell you why.
- It's good to keep the word out
- [Zac] Absolutely.
first of all about climate change
and that it really,
- uh, impacts people's lives.
- Mm-hmm.
And secondly, about the need
that we still have in Puerto Rico
of some major transformation.
And your voice is an important voice,
so it's gonna help us all over the world.
Well, thank you.
I will take that and your message
as far as I possibly can,
'cause that is the truth.
- Climate change is 100% real.
- So, here you go.
Oh, right there.
[Zac] This more than just
writing my name on a wall.
I realize that this is a promise,
and one that I intend to keep.
I wanna give back to Puerto Rico.
I wanna be worthy of this honor
and earn my spot here.
[chuckling] Only question is,
how am I gonna do that?
[Carmen] You're an official advocate
for the Puerto Rican people.
[Zac] I'm very proud of that.
We're going to one of the communities
in Encanta, which is called Cantera.
They spent 14 days
with water up to their hip.
- Oh, my God.
- This was underwater.
- [Zac] Wow.
- The devastation was so unparalleled.
[Carmen] This has never been about
the rebuilding of buildings.
It's been about the rebuilding
and transformation of human lives.
[Zac] I think that message resonates now
more than ever.
[Carmen] It does.
You know, governments sometimes fail,
but people find a way to help each other.
[Carmen] Let me show you something.
You see all those blue roofs?
- [Zac] Yes.
- [Carmen] Those are just tarps.
So that means
that if another hurricane hits,
they'll be totally exposed.
[Zac] Wow.
And
you know, there's
There's this issue about the deaths.
The number of dead.
We heard the other day
the total was adjusted.
Initially, it was 64
because they'd only counted
the people that died as a direct result
of the storm hitting.
But a Harvard study puts it
more around 4,645.
- [Zac] Really?
- So, thousands of people died.
SOS
WE NEED WATER / FOOD!
[Zac] It wasn't just the actual hurricane
that did the most damage,
but rather the lack of a recovery effort
that really raised the death toll.
In a way, it can be looked at
as a man-made disaster
just as much as it can a natural one.
[Carmen] The lessons learned here
should be really taken to heart,
so that it doesn't happen
anywhere in the world now.
- You're on the same level.
- We are.
I'm happy we're talking right now,
because I think
Puerto Rico to me represents
a microcosm of the whole world,
on a certain scale.
I mean, what's gonna happen
when this hits New York City?
Mm-hmm. Because, you know,
global warming is real.
- Hurricanes are gonna happen.
- Absolutely.
I say,
"Let's not rebuild, let's transform."
[Zac] The more devastation I see,
the harder it is for me to believe
that this is a U.S. territory.
Somehow I just feel negligent.
Seems like everyone that we meet here
is caught
between trying to survive day by day,
while at the very same time
preparing for an imminent storm.
[speaking Spanish]
Zac, Maria.
Hola, Maria.
[Zac] Mayor Cruz has worked hard to change
the way people live in Puerto Rico
by rethinking her community's
traditional infrastructure.
[speaking Spanish]
[Zac] The local government has been
fighting to restore the electrical grid
with a more weather-resistant model
[Maria speaking Spanish]
[Carmen kisses]
[Zac] adding solar solutions
wherever possible
and building community shelters
for the most vulnerable areas.
[Carmen] So this is her house, really.
But she had to move to this house.
The pastor in our church did the roof.
[speaking Spanish] This to me is
a paradise, because I've seen worse cases.
[Zac] Seeing her level of gratitude,
considering all that she has lost
and gone through, is humbling.
Maria and her husband
are practically camping
directly across from a pile of rubble
that was once their home
where they raised their four children.
[Zac inhales deeply]
[Carmen] It's Hugo, it's Georges,
it's Irma, it's Maria. I mean, how much
how much can people take
of losing and losing and losing?
I mean This is clearly debris,
remnants of the house.
Why is this still here?
[Carmen] Since her husband is disabled,
she couldn't get it all out.
[Zac] She literally had to do that
by herself?
- They all did. We all did.
- [Zac] OK.
We picked up 283 million pounds.
- 283 million pounds of debris?
- [Carmen] In four months.
- In San Juan, two hundred
- [Zac] In San Juan alone?
Alone.
[Zac] It would be my honor and pleasure
to help you move some of this out.
We can go organize,
and I can grab some of my crew members.
Would she like that?
- Good? Sí?
- Sí!
OK, good. All right, good. [laughing]
[Zac] No foundation, no red tape,
no waiting.
[chuckles] I just need Darin
- [Zac] He's here!
- [cheering]
the crew, and a pickup truck.
- Hey.
- [Maria speaking Spanish]
[Zac] One of the best ways to get out
of your own head is to help others.
Darin lives for this kind of
call to action.
[Zac] First things first,
let's clean up this debris. Ready?
- Nails right there.
- Oh, yeah.
[Zac] Gnarly.
[laughing]
[Carmen] Just imagine doing this
street after street after street,
- community after community.
- [Zac] I can't.
Yeah? Oh, nice.
[Zac speaking Spanish, laughing]
- There's no more room in the truck.
- [laughter]
She said that she's happy
because you kept your word.
[Zac] Say it's our pleasure.
- Gracias, amigo.
- Gracias.
- [man laughing]
- [Maria speaking Spanish]
Thank you so much.
- Gracias.
- Gracias a ustedes.
[Zac] Sometimes we don't realize
how even our smallest efforts
can make a tremendous difference.
Our work here today was just a dent,
but now my eyes are opened to how
I don't know,
how big this problem really is.
One of the basic necessities of life
is a roof over our heads.
But we also need sustenance.
Puerto Rico imports
about 85% of their food.
After the hurricane,
that number grew even higher,
as many of the farms and their crops
were wiped out completely.
Hey, hey, hey.
[Zac] Humanitarian, bestselling author,
award-winning chef,
and Michelin-starred restaurateur
are just a few of the things
that describe Chef Jose Andrés.
[Jose speaking Spanish]
[Zac] Shortly after the storm,
Chef Andrés stepped in
when the system had failed.
He and members of his organization,
World Central Kitchen,
worked tirelessly
in all available kitchens,
all over the island,
to serve 150,000 meals a day.
To date, Chef Andrés
and his 19,000 volunteers
have served 3.6 million meals,
reaching every single municipality
in Puerto Rico.
But serving meals was just the beginning.
World Central Kitchen is investing
in Puerto Rico's future
by building grants
to help their local farmers.
[Zac] I'm very excited
to hear about all this.
[Darin] Yeah, and what they're doing now
to ensure the betterment of the community
and create sustainable food.
[Zac] As the climate changes,
so must Puerto Rico,
and that's especially true
of the farming community.
- Whoa.
- [Darin] Look at that.
[Zac] Frutos del Guacabo is
a 50-farm cooperative
run by husband-and-wife team
Effron Robles and Angeline Martinez.
Also there to meet us was Griselle Via,
from World Central Kitchen.
So everything that I'm gonna show you
has two or three purposes
'cause it has to be as sustainable
as possible.
For example, we're so close to the water,
so we have to use passion fruit
to cover up.
So passion fruit is acting as a little bit
of a barrier to the wind.
This is amaranth,
and we use it for pest control.
You're gonna see it all over the farm.
[Darin] The bugs go after that?
[Effron] We don't use any pesticides
in this facility,
so we have to use nature.
Besides that, it's a very helpful grain.
[Zac] What does it compare to? Quinoa?
- [Effron] It's like quinoa, yeah.
- Wow!
There's great protein value to it,
and antioxidants.
The fact that it has these other benefits
to the farm is fantastic.
[Effron] And this is passion fruit.
- [Darin] Look at that. You want some?
- [Zac] Absolutely.
- [Zac] Have you always been a farmer?
- No, actually I'm a mechanic
and my wife is a chemist,
but we understand how to follow a process,
and that's the key.
[Zac] Wait, how recent was that switch?
Were you a mechanic how many years ago?
- I'm still a mechanic.
- You're still [laughing]
[Zac] Passionate farmers like Effron
are changing the way that Puerto Rico
produce and distribute food in big ways,
using multi-purpose crops
in a chemical-free, natural environment.
This is amazing stuff.
This central distribution co-op works
as a middle man,
connecting similar farms
with Puerto Rico's restaurants,
markets, and consumers.
[Darin] So what was the inspiration
of going hydroponic?
[Effron] You can control it
a little better, I would say.
It's relatively cheap to do.
It's something that you can do
in a very limited space.
If a storm comes,
you can move it around, you know.
[Zac] It makes complete sense.
- What is this one?
- [Effron] That's lemon basil.
[Zac] Very lemony.
- So cool.
- [Griselle] It's also a pesticide.
- [coughing]
- [Darin laughs]
Sorry, I didn't Yeah.
[all laughing]
[Zac] All of these methods are being
taught to the young farmers of tomorrow
to ensure a better level of sustainability
for the future of Puerto Rico.
[Effron] Well, you know,
we have to educate everybody.
It's imperative to do,
so we have no choice.
[Zac] That's amazing.
[Effron] And we gather probably
from about 80 farms.
[Zac] Is this where they come to see
what you guys can make?
[Effron] Yeah. We work on a co-op base.
We try to make the economy
as fair as possible for all ends.
Your philosophy is blowing my mind
right now.
I wish that this was the way
everything works.
It's really amazing.
It's back to the basics, man.
[Zac] The basics.
I mean, why complicate it?
Of course, this farm also has livestock,
like goats, which produce milk
that they then use to make cheese.
So now we're gonna have a goat
coming this way,
and we're gonna milk it, all right?
[speaking Spanish]
We're gonna what?
- [Effron] So that's your new baby, there.
- [Zac] Whoa!
- [goat bleating]
- [Effron] Meet Chimby.
- Oh, my gosh.
- She's full.
[Zac laughing]
[Zac] I've always wanted I've always
Not "wanted" Never mind.
I'm kind of curious to see how this works.
[Effron] Sit down next to him,
so you're
Yeah, Darin, you sit this one out.
Go ahead.
- Yeah, you're good.
- OK, cool.
[Darin] Oh, how convenient for Darin
to be a vegan at a moment like this.
- Any chance that I'm going to hurt her?
- [man] No.
- [Zac] OK.
- [man] You wanna pinch them,
and then you're gonna squeeze
with this other finger.
Whoa. Wait,
just let me see it one more time.
The technique there, the finesse.
All right. [laughing]
- [Zac] Here?
- [man] These two fingers first.
- [Zac] There?
- [man] Yeah.
Wow. Oh, first try! [laughing]
- [Darin] You're doing great.
- Can we do this?
[Zac] No, it still feels really weird.
I'm not gonna lie. Oh, man.
Hey, Zac, so this is, like,
direct out of the source, buddy.
Aren't you feeling
a little low on protein right now?
[Zac] Why?
Is this your signal to drink the milk?
- It is my signal. Yeah.
- Is that what you're hinting at right now?
No, I'm just saying, drink the milk.
So, hold on, wait. You can't really
just drink this milk, can you?
Yeah, you can drink it.
The goat's one of the animals
that the milk comes pasteurized.
This is straight pasteurized milk.
- You can drink it.
- [Griselle] You can.
- So I can drink this right out of here.
- Yes.
Drink it! Drink it! [Griselle laughs]
- It doesn't taste any different.
- YOLO.
- [Darin] See? She likes that.
- Oh, man.
[clears throat]
[all laughing]
It's goat milk.
It's goat You can There's a
In your nose
- Yeah.
- The nose of it's a goat.
- It's more in the nose than in the mouth.
- Yeah.
- Yeah, the goat is.
- Yeah.
So it feels like you're drinking a goat
as opposed to just milk.
It smells like
[all laughing]
It tastes
Dude, come on. You gotta try this.
[Darin] I'm definitely
That's all you, buddy.
I mean, it's good.
If you don't breathe through your nose,
it's really good.
- [laughter]
- [goat bleating]
[Zac] It's just a little It's warm.
So, like, and seeing it come out
is pretty visceral.
I'm gonna put it down.
- [man] OK.
- Cool. Yeah. Rock and roll, man.
- Wow.
- Now you're connected.
[Zac laughing]
- [Darin] You shared a moment.
- [Zac] Thank you for that. Cool!
Yo, thank you.
That was a new experience.
[kisses]
[bleating]
[Zac] Thank you, guys.
You want me to sign your case?
Sweet. Rock and roll.
[Zac] Who was it that said,
"You haven't lived until you've milked a
goat and drank it straight from the teat"?
Oh, that's right.
See you guys!
[Zac] Nobody.
[waves crashing]
The tourism industry is another
important part of Puerto Rico's economy
that is still suffering
from the hurricane.
Seated majestically on the beach,
the historic Caribe Hilton
was the jewel of the Caribbean
when it opened in 1949.
- [man] Everything was destroyed. Yeah.
- [Darin] Destroyed.
[Zac] While the hotel's general manager,
Pablo Torres,
oversees the $100 million
reconstruction project,
he still seems haunted by the memory
of the tragic storm.
The 150-mile-per-hour winds took a hefty
toll on this beautiful, aging hotel.
[Darin] I look out here now
and I see we have a good wind.
It's already choppy. And I can't imagine
having 160-mile-an-hour winds.
Like, what What was
- What was that like?
- I tell you, in my career,
I've been in nine hurricanes
- Nine?
- Yes.
And, um
like Maria,
I've never seen something like that.
I mean, it was it was scary to see.
We actually had, like, 600 guests and
- [Darin] Wow.
- probably like 80
80 team members
that were supporting us, and they
How did you manage that?
How did you manage getting in the food?
Our team are the real heroes.
I mean, I still remember the last guest.
They were leaving, you know?
All the guests are safe, and we are done.
And I wanted to go inside the bus
and just say, you know,
"Safe traveling,
thank you for being here
and for your patience and everything."
And I couldn't hold it.
I started crying like a little baby.
[Zac] A year after the storm,
even major corporate hotels like this one
are still only in the rebuilding stage.
- I mean, this is gonna be beautiful.
- Yeah.
The true heroes, I think,
of all this mess,
is all the people that were behind,
trying to support the local communities,
and trying to lift everyone up.
So, that's an inspiration for me.
[Zac] A lot of what we heard
from local Puerto Ricans
is that the magic was that the people
really came together
and helped one another in those ways.
It's unfortunate, though, right?
Because
- [Darin] It has to be this
- [Pablo] We as a human family,
you know, in this planet,
we're supposed to do it every day,
but we're human, right?
[Zac] One business owner in Old San Juan
had the foresight
to build toward the future,
five years before Hurricane Maria
hit the island.
After a 20-year career
at the Caribe Hilton,
ending as the Environmental
Sustainability Manager,
Eddie Ramirez took his vision
of eco-friendly tourism
from the 650-room Hilton
to his own five-room bed-and-breakfast,
aptly named Casa Sol.
[Eddie] So we have here
a total of 30 solar panels.
We have another six in the back.
Our neighbor next door has another 20,
which, during the storm,
we connected all 50 together.
And we were able to produce
double the energy.
- So you guys interlinked and made
- Yeah, a micro-grid.
And now, our neighbor just installed
another 30 himself, so
we're gonna have them all set,
so we can actually connect them
in case of another emergency
and we can supply
to all our neighbors' extension cords.
Hey, and you also do
some significant rain catchment.
We do rain catchment.
A good rain can probably do
300, 400 gallons.
So what you consume in a day, a good
rainfall can just replace it right away.
We're, like, at this safe haven
for people in this
in the storm,
and also now just for pure sustainability.
- Doing the right thing.
- Yeah. That's it.
- That's awesome.
- Doing the right thing.
[Zac] A safe haven is exactly
what Casa Sol became.
We met members of the community who
survived the aftermath of the hurricane
thanks partly to the clean water
and solar power provided by Casa Sol.
Casa Sol was founded as a sustainable,
environmental bed-and-breakfast.
It's our way of life, you know?
We just think sustainability is
the way to go.
You know, Mother Earth is saying,
"Save me." We
She needs help.
Little did we know that, five years later,
you know, we would have these
two hurricanes come through,
and they would come extremely handy.
Our community, La Perla,
which got hit very hard,
we not only were able to keep in business,
but we were able to help
the community firsthand.
Providing water,
electricity to charge batteries.
Made ice in our freezers.
Saved insulin for our neighbors.
Provide them drinking water.
- [Darin] Just on your own.
- Yes, on our own,
we helped as much as we can. Because
it wasn't fair or just, you know?
A lot of people were suffering.
It was the right thing to do.
So, what was that like for you guys?
[speaking Spanish] Waking up one day,
things that worked before
nothing was working.
It was like starting at zero.
[speaking Spanish]
The most important part that I can share
is that they had the opportunity to leave,
and they stayed.
Are you surprised at all
that you were the kind of main place
to do that in this area,
that more people
didn't take more precaution?
Very.
Very. We were, I would say,
probably the only one in all San Juan.
- The only one in all of San Juan?
- [Eddie] I think the only ones.
[Zac] That's incredible.
[speaking Spanish]
He was saying that he woke up,
and he was like, "Well, where I live,
there's a lot of elderly people
that really need their coffee." Uh
So what he did was he got on his bike
and he started to spot what coffee shops,
what ATMs were functioning.
He would come back, and he would post that
for everybody to see.
He became kind of the community,
uh newspaper.
- Newspaper.
- Yeah.
That's smart. You actually put up signs.
[speaking Spanish]
He's like emergency coffee service.
[all laughing]
That's amazing. You're a legend.
I'm gonna give you a high five for that.
Yeah, seriously.
[Zac] It's hard to imagine living in
a world where your daily routine items,
basic creature comforts
like a cup of coffee,
have all been wiped out.
I absolutely love how everyone
in this community worked together
to keep their lives as normal as possible.
[Zac] Personally,
I'm blown away on so many levels.
I think it's very brave what you did,
and courageous,
and kind of crazy, but it worked.
Yeah.
[Eddie] There's no way
we can be successful
if the community is not successful.
[Zac] Thank you so much for fostering
this kind of love and care
into what you do,
because you've created,
- now, a feeling that's in this room
- One big happy family.
Yeah, it's beautiful.
So much respect and admiration.
You guys are angels.
- Thank you!
- Thank you very much, guys. Seriously.
[Darin] Yeah!
Thank you very much, man, seriously.
That was
[Zac] Rai invited us to the marina
to see how another part of
the Puerto Rican community is healing
and reinventing itself.
We're headed across the bay
to a small coastal municipality
called Cataño.
After seeing the destruction
the storm has caused to the land
and people of Puerto Rico,
I can't help but wonder
what effect the hurricane had
on the coast and surrounding waters.
[ducks quacking]
One cause Darin and I are always into
is saving the ocean.
Rai started the Conservación ConCiencia,
a nonprofit organization that works
to protect the ecosystem
and maintain sustainability
and economic livelihood
for the surrounding fisheries.
[Darin] So, what was the change
from after Maria hit?
The hurricane itself caused such an impact
on the sea floor,
a lot of the soft corals kind of
were ripped out from the ground.
And that's loss of habitat
for many species that use soft corals
in these areas, sea grasses as well.
It's their home.
[Zac] Nothing to catch.
An entire segment of the fishing industry
wiped out,
and a major local resource
of food completely eliminated.
How can this lost food source be restored,
but in a sustainable way?
One of the good things about Puerto Rico
is that, in Puerto Rican waters,
industrial fishing is pretty much banned.
You can't longliners,
they cannot fish in Puerto Rican waters.
I wish everyone did that.
[Rai] This is something that has been
beneficial for the environment,
and also for commercial fishermen
in Puerto Rico.
After Maria,
it's also an issue of food security.
Are they fishing for other things,
or what's the plan?
So, the first thing that we did
was getting fishermen their gear,
so that they can start fishing again.
Second thing that we did was
we removed derelict fishing gear.
So we've been diving in the water
throughout Puerto Rico,
- finding these lost gear.
- [Darin] Cleaning up trash in the water?
- [Rai] Cleaning trash that's killing fish.
- [Darin] Right.
This is one of our main partners.
Rodolfo Abrams.
- He is a fisherman from here in Cataño.
- Hey, cómo estás?
Are you low-key like
one of the best fisherman in town?
- Ah
- [Zac] Yeah? Are you being
Is he being humble?
Is he the best fisherman around?
[Rai] He's one of the best.
[Zac] Rodolfo specializes
in catching fish,
those that live in water away from shore
but not on the bottom.
So he uses just a single rod and reel
or spear.
This guy uses a spear!
[Zac] It's really authentic fishing, man.
It's unreal.
[Rai] It's authentic, it's artisanal.
And we want that type of fishing
to continue throughout Puerto Rico.
It fetches a good price.
And it's something that needs
very little management
- to actually be sustainable.
- One-hundred percent.
- So what did you catch today?
- Mahis.
[Zac] Mahi?
- Wow.
- [Rai] Beautiful.
[Darin] That's a successful day.
Holy cow, look at that thing.
[Zac] Whoa, what is that?
[Rai laughing]
- [Rai] That's a big male mahi.
- [Zac] Qué es este?
- [Zac] That's a mahi?
- It's a bull.
- [Darin] Wow.
- [Zac] That's what a mahi looks like, man.
Wow.
That's a big fish.
[Rai] One of the things that we're doing
is connecting fishermen
with restaurant owners and chefs.
- [Zac] Speaking of chefs
- Martin.
- Martin, nice to meet you.
- How are you?
- Hola, soy Zac.
- Nice to meet you.
[Rai] Martin has launched
an incredible application
to connect producers with restaurants.
[Zac] An app for local fishermen
to connect their daily catches
with the local chefs.
It's like Tinder for fish.
Ooh, swipe right for that fish.
- [Darin] It's as fresh as it comes.
- Yeah, the freshest.
All right!
It's beneficial for the consumer,
who's getting local fresh catch.
It's beneficial for the restaurant,
and it's beneficial for the fishermen.
And the money stays in the island.
- And the money stays in Puerto Rico.
- The economy
I mean, that's a great step
in the right direction.
What are you planning on doing
with with this fish?
Ceviche, to eat it. Fresh and raw,
it's perfect. Let's make it.
All right! Sounds good.
Here's to that, man.
[both speaking Spanish]
KITCHEN
[Martin] With one fillet,
we are going to make the ceviche.
[woman speaking Spanish]
Shh.
[whispering] No one sees it yet.
- [Darin] There's a seed.
- [Zac] Look at that. There you go, chef.
[Zac] I'm still amazed by this process.
So, ceviche is both the name of the dish
and the food preparation method.
There's no heat,
and the fish isn't cooked.
Look at it, it's turning white.
[Zac] However,
the citric acid from the fruit
chemically transforms the amino acids
of the fish,
making it safe for human consumption.
My mouth's just watering
uncontrollably right now.
[Zac] It makes almost no sense.
[Zac] Micro cilantro.
[Zac] But it is delicious.
[Zac] Beautiful.
100% authentic, homegrown,
locally-sourced, Puerto Rican ceviche.
- [Zac] So we can dig in?
- Yeah.
- Well, you're gonna dig in, but
- Thank you, chef.
Yeah, you can sit this one out.
I'm gonna I can't help myself.
- Would you like to try some pineapple?
- [Darin] I'd love to try some pineapple.
- [Zac] Your eyes just got so big.
- [Darin] I smelled it over there.
[Zac] One of the coolest things
about this whole experience was seeing
that fish come out of the water,
then be transported here,
and see you turn it into this masterpiece.
- Yeah.
- This is unbelievable.
[Zac] So good.
- Great work, guys, thank you.
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you very much.
- Gracias.
[birds chirping]
[Zac] Our last stop was up in
the more rural part of San Juan
like, the jungle,
where Mayor Cruz had
one more rebuilding success story.
And also a glimpse into the future
of Puerto Rico.
[Carmen] So, there's this kid
that is literally genius,
his IQ is that high.
Jose is ten.
And he knows English perfectly,
he knows Spanish. He's learning German.
He takes classes at the university.
- He's nine or ten?
- Ten years old.
His parents, they lost everything.
[Zac] Jose was identified early on
as an exceptional child
with a natural thirst for knowledge.
His teachers brought him
to the attention of the mayor,
who connected his family to a non-profit
that builds homes for those in need.
You see that shack?
This is where they lived,
which got ripped apart by the hurricane.
And they rebuilt it with what was left.
They lived in very dire conditions.
A company started doing prefab houses
in Puerto Rico, so PVC and concrete.
- [Darin] So it's sustainable housing.
- It's sustainable.
And, on top of that,
it will run 100% on solar energy.
They're also gonna be harvesting the rain.
And if something else happens
their house has 600 points
of anchorage on the roof.
[Zac] What that means is
that the roof is built to withstand
up to 200-mile-per-hour winds,
so when the next hurricane comes through,
this house won't need one of those
blue tarps that we saw earlier.
Permanent solutions, not Band-Aids.
Not just rebuilding, but reinventing.
- [Darin] This is the first time that
- That they're gonna go. Yeah.
- I have the keys.
- I can't imagine.
- [Darin] Wow.
- Man, let's do this.
- [Carmen speaking Spanish]
- [woman speaking Spanish]
[Carmen] This is Jose.
[Zac] Jose happily shows us
his family's current living situation,
having no idea how drastically
that's about to change.
[Jose] Welcome to my house.
[Darin] During the hurricane
you were here?
- [Jose] Yes.
- [cock crowing]
[Jose] We were happy in this place,
but when the hurricane stopped,
we were we go outside
and we see the house.
The house is destroyed.
And before the hurricane, I got 74 books.
But then, after the hurricane,
I got only eight.
So the hurricane blew away
most of your books?
- Yeah.
- [Zac] Wow, about what?
About astronomy
Um
geometry, math
- [Zac] Really? Ten years old?
- Yeah.
- [Zac] Wow, man
- You want to go into the new house?
- Yeah.
- Take your sister.
Let's check it out.
[Zac] This is more than a house.
For this family,
it's a chance at a new beginning.
As hard as they work,
it still would have taken years for Jose's
family to have built a home like this.
It's an honor to get to see it
for the first time through their eyes.
[all] tres, dos, uno.
[Carmen] Welcome home.
- [all cheering]
- Wow!
Diantre!
[Jose speaking Spanish]
He's so fired up. [Zac laughs]
[Carmen] "Diantre" is like "Golly-gee!"
[Carmen] Ta-daa!
- [Darin] Hey, this is your room.
- [Jose] This is cool.
Bookshelves.
You need a whole room for your books.
That's the most excited he's been,
looking like, "Whoa."
- [Zac] Yeah.
- What do you wanna be when you grow up?
- [Jose] An astronomer.
- Oh, really?
- NASA and then
- [Darin] He's going for NASA.
[Zac laughing]
[Carmen] Let's go see
the rest of the house.
- So this is your new kitchen.
- [Jose] It looks, like, fancy!
[Jose] This is from Operation Blessing.
[Darin] If you keep your hydration up,
your brain retains more information.
So every day, when you wake up,
first thing to do, grab some fresh water
'cause you'll be smarter
and you'll be able to read more books.
[Darin] Deal?
All right.
[Carmen speaking Spanish]
[woman speaking Spanish]
[Carmen] They're super happy.
[Zac] For Jose and his family,
this new pad is a palace.
I'm reminded that
in our world of consumption,
we don't need much to be truly happy.
[Carmen] My goal is to have
every house in this one road solar.
I know it's not enough nearly enough.
You help one person, you help
everyone he touches.
- [keys jingling]
- [girl giggling]
- This is your house.
- Thank you.
- [Darin] Hey
- [Carmen laughing]
- [Darin] Welcome to your new home.
- All right.
Progress feels good.
[Zac] All of these hurricane stories have
the same common thread:
the component to recovery is people
coming together for the common good.
[salsa music]
[Zac] The process of rebuilding
and repairing has come a long way,
but there's still so much more to do.
One thing's for sure: Puerto Rico's future
looks better than ever.
But the climate is changing,
and I can't ignore that fact.
It affects my choices every single day.
And while small efforts are being made
to slow the effects,
large-scale weather disasters
like hurricanes, floods, and fires
are becoming the new norm.
And, sooner or later,
we'll all be affected.
San Juan can serve as a model
for the rest of the world
in that we need to start rethinking
how we consume everything,
from our food to our power.
Striving for sustainability
is easier said than done,
and I know I have a long way to go.
But I feel grateful for the small lessons
that I've learned
on this beautiful island.
I'm really proud that
I got to sign my name on that wall.
But Puerto Rico left
a way bigger mark on me.
After the hell that you've been through
What could I even say? ♪