Alberto de Jesús Mercado (born 1958), better known as Tito Kayak, is an activist from
Jayuya, Puerto Rico
Jayuya (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the mountainous center region of the island, north of Ponce; east of Utuado; and west of Ciales. Jayuya is spread over 10 barrios and Jayuya Pueblo (the downtown and administr ...
, and founder of the
Puerto Rican environmental group,
Amig@s Del Mar. The organization utilizes a dual approach, which they call "manatiburón (manatee/shark)", which Kayak describes as a combination of "peaceful and simple ways to fulfill our environmental ideals" (like the manatee), and the more “revolutionary approach" (like the shark), which is "only used when we are prohibited from working peacefully towards our goals of improving the environment." Kayak is best known for his activism against the damaging environmental effect of the
U.S. Navy presence on Vieques.
[Puerto Rico’s Tito Kayak Under Arrest in Israel](_blank)
Retrieved July 22, 2009.
Protest involvement
Raising of Puerto Rican flag at Statue of Liberty
On November 5, 2000, Tito Kayak and five other
Vieques
Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island and municipality of Puerto Rico, in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands. Vieques is part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, ...
activists stepped onto the top deck of the
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in protest and Kayak then placed a
Puerto Rican flag
The flag of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Bandera de Puerto Rico) represents and symbolizes Puerto Rico and its people.
The origins of the current flag of Puerto Rico, adopted by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 1952, can be traced to 1868, whe ...
on the statue's crown.
Carolina apartment complex protest
On March 15, 2005, Kayak chained himself to a vehicle after entering a
Marriott Hotel
Marriott Hotels & Resorts is Marriott International's brand of full-service hotels and resorts based in Bethesda, Maryland. As of June 30, 2020, there were 582 hotels and resorts with 205,053 rooms operating under the brand, in addition to 160 ...
property on a Carolina, Puerto Rico, beach to protest against the building of an apartment complex. "Like many other Puerto Ricans, they were concerned about the Courtyard Marriott Hotel’s plan to expand in an area contiguous to the terrestrial marine zone and located on a beach area used by families and workers for recreation. If the construction were allowed to continue, it would have had a substantial negative impact on the environment and make the public beach inaccessible, to non-hotel guests."
Raising of Puerto Rican flag at the United Nations
On June 13, 2005, Kayak was arrested inside the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
headquarters in New York City after he attempted to switch the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
flag with the Puerto Rican one, while the United Nations
Special Committee on Decolonization
The United Nations Special Committee on the Situation with Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, or the Special Committee on Decolonization (C-24), is a committee of ...
discussed the
political status of Puerto Rico
The political status of Puerto Rico is that of an unincorporated territory of the United States. As such, the island of Puerto Rico is neither a sovereign nation nor a U.S. state. Because of that ambiguity, the territory, as a polity, lacks ce ...
. He was subsequently (October 11, 2013) found not guilty by a Manhattan Criminal Court judge of the filed State charge but was fined $500 for trespassing.
Arrest in Israel while in support of the Palestine cause
On April 20, 2007, Kayak was arrested in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
[Puerto Rico’s Tito Kayak Under Arrest in Israel](_blank)
Retrieved July 22, 2009. after he climbed a surveillance tower near Israel's
West Bank
The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
separation barrier and planted a
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
flag in support of
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
. Kayak spent about five hours in the tower, before climbing down. After his arrest, Kayak stated that "All I did was to express my identification with the villagers against the wall which is believed to be evil and illegal by the whole world and many leaders like
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...
,
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
and the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
".
San Juan's Paseo Caribe crane case
On November 14, 2007, Kayak climbed the construction cranes at the Paseo Caribe project in
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...
, and remained perched on the crane for one week. In a daring escape, Kayak rappelled down from the crane and unto a red kayak in the water below while police officers were kept at bay by his supporters. Tito Kayak then rowed himself under a bridge whose clearance was too low for the police powerboats and switched out of the kayak, so when the kayak was apprehended he was no longer on board. Meanwhile, he swam across to the other shore. When he was spotted by the police helicopters, supporters jumped into the water further confusing the police and facilitating Kayak's final getaway.
Commemorating David Sanes' death
On April 14, 2009, during the anniversary celebrations of
David Sanes
David Sanes Rodríguez (1954 – 19 April 1999) was a native of Vieques, Puerto Rico whose death became a rallying point for those opposed to the U.S. military presence on and use of his home island for live-fire bombing practice. Sanes Rodríguez' ...
's death, Tito Kayak arrived at the former bombing range of
Vieques
Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island and municipality of Puerto Rico, in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands. Vieques is part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, ...
, a restricted area operated by the
Federal Fish and Wildlife
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
, and painted a sign saying "Bieke or Death. The Struggle Continues" ("Bieke" was a reference to Vieques) on the former navy Operation Post (OP). Sanes, a civilian Navy security guard, had died 10 years earlier victim of a U.S. Navy bomb while on duty at the Operation Post.
2010-2011 University of Puerto Rico strike activism
On January 25, 2011,
Puerto Rico Police
The Puerto Rico Police Department ( es, Policía de Puerto Rico), officially the Puerto Rico Police Bureau, is a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the entire Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a division of the Puerto Rico Department ...
officers arrested a number of protesters who, using
Civil Disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a government (or any other authority). By some definitions, civil disobedience has to be nonviolent to be called "civil". Hen ...
, attempted to bar entry and exit from the
University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus
The University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras; UPR-RP, or informally La IUPI) is a public land-grant research university in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the largest campus in the Univ ...
, during the
2010-2011 University of Puerto Rico strikes. One of the protesters, wearing a hood, was later found to be Tito Kayak.
2012 Oscar López Rivera incarceration
On 7 June 2012, Tito Kayak started a two-leg, lone high seas voyage from
Ciudad Bolivar
Ciudad () is the Spanish word for City
Ciudad may also refer to:
*La Ciudad (archaeological site), Hohokam ruins in Phoenix, Arizona
*La Ciudad, district of Durango City, Mexico
*''La ciudad'', novel by Mario Levrero 1970
*La Ciudad ''The City'' ...
, Venezuela to
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...
, and then from San Juan, Puerto Rico to
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, USA, to protest the U.S. incarceration of Puerto Rican political prisoner
Oscar López Rivera
Oscar López Rivera (born January 6, 1943) is a Puerto Rican activist and militant who was a member and suspected leader of the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional Puertorriqueña (FALN), a clandestine paramilitary organization devoted to ...
. López Rivera is said to be "among the longest held political prisoners in the history of Puerto Rico and in the world."
''“Oscar López Rivera, Entre la Tortura y la Resistencia”, by Luis Nieves Falcón.''
"Repeating Islands: News and commentary on Caribbean culture, literature, and the arts." 2 December 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
Legacy
An amendment to the Puerto Rico penal code (Article 208A) is largely attributed as a reaction to Tito Kayak’s protests against urban and commercial development and is commonly known as The Tito Kayak Law (even though there is no such declaration in the law itself).[''Dan golpe mortal a la ‘Ley Tito Kayak’.''](_blank)
La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 31. Issue 1530. 27 March 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2013. The Law attempted to criminalize activism at construction sites.
Law 149 of 2004 was amended by Law No. 158 of 2010, adding Article 208-A which made it a felony to enter, without authorization, a properly approved construction site for the purpose of temporarily or permanently obstructing work. It also penalized the occupation of the construction site's associated land or equipment. Although the legislative act makes no mention of the Tito Kayak name nor exists any such designation in the amendment proper, the legislation is commonly cited in the press as "Ley Tito Kayak" (Tito Kayak Law) and has entered the local lexicon as such.
In March 2013, Tito Kayak celebrated as the Law was declared unconstitutional by a Commonwealth of Puerto Rico judge sitting at the Ponce Superior Court.
See also
* List of Puerto Ricans
References
External links
International Solidarity Movement's article on Tito Kayak
News of Kayak arrested in Israel
Against The Wall in Bilin: 30 Marchers Wounded and an International Rounded Up
News of Kayak's Protest in Paseo Caribe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kayak, Tito
1958 births
Living people
People from Jayuya, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rican activists
Puerto Rican environmentalists
Forestry in Puerto Rico