What brought you to New Paltz?
In 2014, my family moved here from Brooklyn. New Paltz was close to my grandma who lived in Marlboro. Also, New Paltz was politically liberal, like my extended family. My grandfather was part of The Young Lords, the Puerto Rican version of The Black Panthers.
What was it like for you when you first came here?
I was 13. I did not like it in school here. I just enjoyed only the art program. The first month I resided here there was a suicide. Again, in my junior year in New Paltz High School, there was another suicide. One time I took a girl to the nurse who pulled up her sleeves and revealed fresh self-inflicted cuts. My experience here was influenced by my contemporaries often grieving. Also, coming from the city I was much louder than my peers, much more comfortable with my gayness and non-binary identification. Also, I was Puerto Rican. I was different. That made it hard to adjust. After high school I decided to stay here because of the DIY underground music scene.
What does DIY stand for?
Do it yourself. We open up our residences to bands, charge between $5 and $7, pay the musicians to do what they love. It’s very difficult to make a living making art, so the DIY community provides that for young artists.
At only 19 you have contributed so much to enhance the life for young people here. Tell me about that.
I founded Millions Of Butterflies, a non-profit organization focused on addressing the needs of people, enabling them to focus without having to spend all their time surviving rather than thriving. We provide the New Paltz free food fridge, a 24-hour food pantry open to all. We run events, pay people, so they can continue to do what they love. We raised enough money to create 100 back- to-school packages with pens, pencils, notebooks, sketchbooks, watercolors — something fun their parents might not provide. It’s a job for me, all volunteer. To support myself I work part-time at The Bakery. Hopefully, we can receive some grant funding so I can work for Millions of Butterflies full-time.
Are you planning to stay here?
If I left, I would miss Snugs at 4 a.m. Everyone knows each other. When you walk in you get five-million hugs, hugs at Snugs. Before the free food fridge, they supplied free food. It’s like a real community there, a family. I am hoping to leave soon. The world is so much bigger than the one-mile strip from the Wallkill River to Tops. As I have gotten older and aged out, no longer part college life, it feels a bit constricting. I would also miss the nature, especially the bird sanctuary. I will leave, but I will always come back. My family is here. I have spent a lot of my life here. I will always feel welcome to return. I don’t intend to leave forever, but I do not want to live my whole life without experiencing the larger world.
Join the family! 
