2nd Annual Rincón International Film Festival

A lot has changed since I first moved to Rincón over 7 1/2 years ago. With each passing year, life in this small town gets a little richer with art, food, music and culture.

The 2009 Rincón International Film Festival is taking place this week in Rincón, PR. 60 films were selected from over 350 submissions and are being screened around Rincón from April 28 - May 3.

Salva Tres Palmas - The Film is being shown on Sunday, May 3 at 7pm in Rincón's town plaza. This screening is free and open to the public.

As many of you know, I have spent over seven years collaborating with our good friend SuperChad Nelsen on the Salva Tres Palmas campaign. With the adoption of the Tres Palmas Management Plan and the formation of a Management Board comprised of locals that will govern the management of the Reserve, our work is drawing to a conclusion. Consequently last summer we offered an internship to a journalism graduate student to describe the community effort in her own words and images.

Salva Tres Palmas tells the story of the Surfrider Foundation campaign and the resulting environmental victory that gave life to the Tres Palmas Marine Reserve, the first marine reserve on the main island of Puerto Rico. Tres Palmas has earned a global reputation for its "giant" surfing waves and for possessing one of the healthiest Elkhorn coral reef colonies throughout the Caribbean. This coral is of vital ecological importance to the shores of Rincón, the health of the sea and the species that inhabit it.

If you can't join us on Sunday, May 3rd at the Plaza, you can watch the film on-line here.

Enjoy the film and post your comments. We want to hear what you think...

The Film Festival is being sponsored in part by the Tourism Association of Rincón and Porta del Sol along with a variety of local merchants including the Secret Garden Art Gallery, the Shipwreck Bar & Grill, and Uncharted Studios.