Tito Kayak
Encyclopedia
Jayuya, Puerto Rico
Jayuya is a 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 18 wards and Jayuya Pueblo...
and founder of the Puerto Rican
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
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."
Navy-Vieques protests
Kayak first gained notoriety when a group of Vieques natives and other Puerto RicansPuerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
, including Kayak, began protesting and squatting on U.S. Navy bombing zones, after the 1999 death of Puerto Rican civilian and Vieques native David Sanes
David Sanes
David Sanes Rodríguez 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...
, who was killed during a U.S. Naval bombing exercise.
U.S. Navy in bombing in Scotland
In March, 2000, Tito Kayak and other Puerto Rican activists and fishermen traveled to ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
to try to halt bombing along the coast of northern Scotland. The US Navy was scheduled to use the Cape Wrath bombing range in Scotland because it could no longer bomb Vieques, in Puerto Rico, due to the protests there.
Statue of Liberty arrest
On November 5, 2000, Tito Kayak and five other Vieques activists stepped onto the top deck of the Statue of LibertyStatue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in protest and Kayak then placed a Puerto Rican flag
Flag of Puerto Rico
The flags of Puerto Rico represent and symbolize the island and people of Puerto Rico. The most commonly used flags of Puerto Rico are the current flag, which represents the people of the commonwealth of Puerto Rico; municipal flags, which represent the different regions of the island; political...
on the statue's crown.
Carolina apartment complex protest
On March 15, 2005, Kayak returned to activist action, when he chained himself to a vehicle after invading a Marriott HotelMarriott International
Marriott International, Inc. is a worldwide operator and franchisor of a broad portfolio of hotels and related lodging facilities. Founded by J. Willard Marriott, the company is now led by son J.W. Marriott, Jr...
property in a Carolina, Puerto Rico beach to protest against the building of an apartment complex.
United Nations arrest
On June 13, 2005, Kayak was arrested inside the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
headquarters in New York City after he tried to switch the United Nations
Flag of the United Nations
The flag of the United Nations was adopted on October 20, 1947, and consists of the official emblem of the United Nations in white on a blue background. The emblem's design is described as:...
flag with the Puerto Rican one, while the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization
Special Committee on Decolonization
The Special Committee on Decolonization was created in 1961 by the General Assembly of the United Nations with the purpose of monitoring implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples...
discussed the political status of Puerto Rico
Political status of Puerto Rico
The current political status of Puerto Rico is the result of various political activities both within the United States and Puerto Rican governments. The basic question regarding this issue is whether Puerto Rico should remain a U.S. territory, become a U.S...
.
Arrest in Israel for Palestine cause
On April 20, 2007, Kayak was arrested in IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
after he climbed a surveillance tower near Israel's West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
separation barrier and planted a Palestinian flag in support of Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. 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 Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
, Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
and the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
".
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 RicoSan Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, and remained perched on the crane for one week. In a daring escape, Tito 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. Instead he swam across to the other shore. When he was spotted by the police helicopters, supporters jumped into the water confusing the police further and finally guaranteeing Tito's getaway.
Commemorating David Sanes' death
On April 14, 2009, Tito Kayak arrived at the former bombing range of ViequesVieques, Puerto Rico
Vieques , in full Isla de Vieques, is an island–municipality of Puerto Rico in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands...
, a restricted area operated by the Federal Fish and Wildlife
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...
, and painted a sign saying "Bieke or Death. The Struggle Continues" ("Bieke" was a reference to Vieques) on the former navy Operation Post (OP). He did this in memory of the David Sanes
David Sanes
David Sanes Rodríguez 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...
who died 10 years before by a Navy Bomb while on duty at the OP.
2010-2011 University of Puerto Rico strike
On January 25, 2011, Puerto Rican police officers arrested a number of protesters who, using Civil DisobedienceCivil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
, attempted to bar entry and exit from the University of Puerto Rico's Río Piedras campus. One of them, who wore a hood, was found out to be Tito Kayak.