LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio Why it matters: There is an annual Dia de los Muertos celebration put on by the Chicana-owned Avenue 50 Studio gallery recurring jazz performances put on by the record label Leaving Records and regular clothes swaps and art shows there is a battle between the past and present The backstory: La Tierra de la Culebra was founded in the early 1990s as a response to the uprising that was spurred by the beating of Rodney Kidney by L.A Artist Tricia Ward received a grant by Los Angeles’s Department of Cultural Affairs to create a healing space She wanted to create a park where she would not only showcase her sculptural work but give the community a place to experience nature for more on how the park came to be and what it's future looks like Tucked away amid houses and a block away from coffee shops there's a little sanctuary dotted with native plants and soft light that filters through a canopy of leaves It’s a tiny art park called La Tierra de la Culebra There is an annual Dia de los Muertos celebration put on by the Chicana-owned Avenue 50 Studio gallery La Tierra de la Culebra was founded in the early 1990s as a response to the uprising that was spurred by the beating of Rodney Kidney by L.A Highland Park was a mostly Latino neighborhood And there was some initial skepticism of what Ward was doing in the park who lived down the street from the park and was a teenager at the time So what are you trying to do in this community?'” But Barazza started changing his tune once he got involved in programming in the park which included indigenous drumming and folkloric dance He credits Ward with helping him establish his drumming career and says he’s played with acts like Carlos Santana and Los Caifanes Ward decided to sell the land the park occupied to the city of Los Angeles Ward says she thought that if the city owned the park it wouldn’t be developed into housing and could stay as a public good in perpetuity even after Ward was no longer around to care for it She dealt with a series of personal losses through which she hired people to operate the park After two decades of taking care of the park Ward’s stewardship started to wither and the park entered a period of neglect Ward went to see how the park was doing — and realized that someone else had stepped in to program and maintain the park It turns out a ragtag group of neighbors had started to do basic maintenance tasks like take out trash Most of these neighbors had moved in during the “gentrification wave” — a period that began in the aughts after the addition of a Metro line stop in Highland Park led to a revitalization plan that saw the influx of high-end coffee shops bars and restaurants that popped up on the main drags of the neighborhood — Figueroa Street and York Avenue When Ward saw the park and how it was being maintained instead of feeling relief that it hadn't been abandoned She didn’t like the landscaping; there were parts of the park she had designed that were dismantled and she thought the programming wasn’t inclusive to the community for which she had initially built it Today if you go to the park there’s a high likelihood you will see David Lasky an enthusiastic neighbor who has taken it upon himself to be the park’s gardener The La Culebra Action League already has a calendar of events through September 2025 up on its website a clothing swap and Day of the Dead celebration The district La Culebra is in is overseen by Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez Her office stated that the department that could most accurately characterize how the park’s stewardship is managed is the Department of Parks and Recreation which did not respond to multiple requests for comment Ward is still committed to fighting against what she sees as the erasure of her work and the original intent of the park it seems the informal governance of the park will continue continues to be a haven for local residents Here’s what you need to know about visiting the island of Culebra Carley Rojas Avila is a bilingual travel writer as she lived and worked in four different countries in that region Carley founded the digital travel publications Loosely Local and Home to Havana Essdras M Suarez/The Boston Globe via Getty Images By: 5:00 am on April 17 Plans have been filed for a three-story apartment infill at 100 Culebra Terrace in San Francisco’s affluent Russian Hill neighborhood The preliminary application looks to bring two dwellings to a vacant lot just three blocks from the Fort Mason neighborhood Marmol Radziner is responsible for the application on behalf of the property owner The 32-foot-tall complex will yield around 2,730 square feet across three floors The ground level will contain a two-car garage and storage for two bicycles The second and third floors will each be occupied by full-floor residences the third-floor apartment will include an outdoor balcony and terrace Marmol Radziner is a Los Angeles-founded firm established in 1989 Illustrations show that the structure will be wrapped in a charcoal grey wood-siding facade and wood soffits The south lot line will include a three-story open-air stairwell connecting to the two dwellings 100 Culebra Terrace vertical cross-section The 0.04-acre property is located on a small terrace off Chestnut Street located between Larkin Street and Polk Street City records show the property sold in April 2022 for $1.725 million The estimated cost and timeline for construction have yet to be established Subscribe to YIMBY’s daily e-mail Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates Like YIMBY on Facebook Follow YIMBY’s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews ga('send', 'event', ‘Robert ‘Becker, 'Impression', 'https://sfyimby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/desktop-ad.jpg', { nonInteraction: true }); ADVERTISEMENT ga('send', 'event', 'SF YIMBY', 'Impression', 'https://sfyimby.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/sfyimbyadnews.jpg', { nonInteraction: true }); ga('send', 'event', 'SF YIMBY', 'Impression', 'https://sfyimby.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/sf-yimby-dot-com-graphic.jpg', { nonInteraction: true }); Follow on Instagram © COPYRIGHT New York YIMBY LLC Home » Woman Injured in San Antonio Car Accident at Alamo Ranch and Culebra A woman in the white sedan was injured in the accident and was taken to the hospital for treatment Woman Injured in San Antonio Car Accident at Alamo Ranch and Culebra – At least one person was injured in a collision involving a San Antonio Police Department officer on Friday night at the intersection of Alamo Ranch and Culebra An officer was responding to a collision in the area when the officer’s vehicle began to hydroplane on the wet pavement and crashed into the back of a white sedan The sedan then crashed into a black sedan that was stopped at a red light More details about the accident were not released An investigation into the accident is ongoing Contact our Houston personal injury attorney today please click the “REMOVE ARTICLE” button below and the article will be removed Removal of an article is usually done within several hours after receipt of the removal request Both drivers and a passenger in the 4Runner were... read more Toddler Killed in Harris County Pedestrian Accident on Waverly... read more One Injured in Wichita Falls Motorcycle Accident on Southwest... read more Carlos Salazar and Michael Charles Elkins killed in two-car... read more Derrick Coleman Killed in Grimes County Two-Vehicle Crash on... read more Luis Chavez Injured in NE El Paso Two-Vehicle Crash... read more Man Killed in San Antonio Pedestrian Accident on Interstate... read more Juan Lopez and Luis Zamora Killed, Laura Archuleta Critically... read more The incident took place on Highway 84 and FM... read more The deadly rear-end collision happened at about 4:45 p.m.... read more In addition to helping personal injury clients within the City of Houston we also assist clients who reside in West Houston and Southwest Houston We also serve clients residing in North Houston Joel A Gordon & Associates - Accident Lawyer SAN ANTONIO - Ahead of a new collector/distributor opening on Loop 1604 temporary ramps will be closed for construction the Loop 1604 entrance ramp from westbound State Highway 151 as well as the Culebra Road exit ramp from northbound Loop 1604 will be permanently closed A new collector/distributor road on northbound Loop 1604 at the State Highway 151 interchange will be open by 12 p.m The openings also include a new temporary entrance ramp to northbound Loop 1604 before Culebra Road will also be open by 12 p.m and will be in place until the flyover ramp connecting Westbound SH 151 and Northbound Loop 1604 is complete in the Summer of 2025 Detours will be posted at the closure sites Travelers are encouraged to plan for additional travel time or find an alternate route The Coast Guard is keeping watch on an effort to refloat a large yacht that went aground over the holidays off Culebra watchstanders at Sector San Juan received a report from a Coast Guard boat unit reporting that an 80-foot yacht - the Runaway - had run hard aground on a reef near Ensenada Honda a large bay on the island's south side and there were four people and two dogs aboard A Coast Guard response boat arrived on scene and provided the skipper with a dewatering pump to attempt to control flooding aboard the yacht While two of the yacht's crew remained with their vessel to coordinate salvage efforts the Coast Guard boat crew transported two passengers to safety in St the owner has completed the removal of about 160 gallons of fuel and lubricant The fuel was donated to a local fishing village in Culebra "Now that the bulk of petroleum products on board this vessel has been successfully removed the priority is to have the vessel removed from the reef as soon as it is safely possible," said Lt Coast Guard Sector San Juan Chief of Incident Management The Runaway's hull was penetrated on the port quarter during the grounding and poses no immediate threat to the rest of the vessel The responders have anchored the wreck fore and aft to prevent further movement on the reef.  The affected reef area is home to three species of endangered coral NOAA is involved in the salvage response and has provided the salvor with best practices to avoid harm Puerto Rico’s Department of Natural and Environmental Resources personnel have conducted an initial assessment of the reef and is helping review the salvage plan.  The response is the second time in a year that the Coast Guard has responded to a yacht grounding on a reef off Culebra 2024 the catamaran sailing yacht Obsession went aground off Flamenco Beach a popular vacation destination on the island One pontoon was flooded and the crew could not refloat their own vessel The Coast Guard took over the response and tapped the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF) to finance a cleanup SAN ANTONIO – Drivers on the far West Side will have to contend with some construction work this weekend The work at the intersection of FM 417 (Culebra Road) and SH 211 will begin on Jan Crews will begin doing a full construction of the southern end of FM 471 and widening SH 211 at the intersection Traffic north and south on SH 211 will be affected The closure will fully block southbound access on 211 from the FM 471 intersection to Potranco Road Drivers are asked to use Talley Road and Loop 1604 as detours to get around the construction All lanes are expected to reopen by early Monday morning Copyright 2025 by KSAT - All rights reserved RJ Marquez is the traffic anchor/reporter for KSAT’s Good Morning San Antonio He also fills in as a news anchor and has covered stories from breaking news and Fiesta to Spurs championships and high school sports He is proud to serve our viewers and be a part of the culture and community that makes San Antonio great Email Newsletters KSAT RSS Feeds Contests and Rules Contact Us KSAT Internships Careers at KSAT Closed Captioning / Audio Description Public File Current EEO Report Terms of Use Privacy Policy Do Not Sell My Info FCC Applications Copyright © 2025 KSAT.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group SEARCHThe global authority in superyachting The 24.9-metre Azimut motor yacht Runaway remains inactive following her grounding off the coast of Culebra, Puerto Rico last year (30 December 2024). According to eyewitnesses, the incident was caused by a collision with a reef, breaching the stern and causing Runaway to take on water. The two guests were transported to Saint Thomas, US Virgin Islands, while the two crew remained to monitor flooding and coordinate recovery efforts with the owner and Coast Guard. The salvage is actively underway, with approximately 160 gallons of fuel and lubricant removed from the yacht and donated to a local fishing village. The Coast Guard is now preparing to refloat and recover the hull. The reef is the habitat of sea turtles, manatees and three species of endangered coral. As a result, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been invited as a consultant for the salvage to reduce any further damage to the "surrounding sensitive marine environment". "Once the vessel is successfully refloated, it will be moved north to calmer water and a sand bottom area in Bahia Linda in Culebra, where the necessary patchwork will be completed," read a statement from the Coast Guard. "Then, the vessel will be towed to a destination where full repairs can be completed." BOAT International will update the story as it progresses. Latest news, brokerage headlines and yacht exclusives, every weekday SubscribeSign up to our newslettersSign up to BOAT International email newsletters to get the latest superyacht news Boat International Media Ltd © 2008 - 2025 Content presented under the "BOAT Presents" logo is an advertising feature and Boat International Limited has been paid to include this content A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States A small lock or https:// means you’ve safely connected to a .gov website Share sensitive information only on official Healthy coral reefs are amongst the most biologically diverse and economically valuable ecosystems on Earth a Marine Habitat Restoration Specialist with NOAA’s Restoration Center and Rob Ferguson a watershed management specialist with NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program to learn about how NOAA works alongside local partners on the island of Culebra to protect and restore the coral reef ecosystems and reduce the impacts of pollution Aerial view of the island of Culebra in Puerto Rico Listen to our latest podcast Located about 17 miles off the north east coast of Puerto Rico In case this question comes up during a trivia competition Culebra in Spanish means “serpent.” Known for its pristine beaches and crystal blue waters this idyllic paradise is also home to coral reef ecosystems coral in some nearshore locations of Culebra declined by 30 percent Research suggests that the decline in coral may be associated with increased land-based sources of pollution resulting from recent coastal development NOAA and their partners have spent the last decade addressing the pollution threats on Culebra a Marine Habitat Restoration Specialist with NOAA’s Restoration Center Her work focuses on reducing the negative impact that pollution poses for coral reef habitats and the organisms it supports His work consists of providing technical assistance to minimize and mitigate the impacts of pollution to nearshore habitats throughout the nation’s seven coral jurisdictions in the Pacific and Atlantic/Caribbean Regions Marissa for the opportunity for Lisa and I to meet with you today to discuss about our watershed restoration and planning work on Culebra HOST - Just a word of warning that we recorded this over the internet so the audio quality may be a bit spotty in places could you both give us the 30,000 foot view of why the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program is working to protect the coral reef habitats ROB - Healthy coral reefs are amongst the most biologically diverse and other important goods and services to people around the world more than 60 percent of the world's reefs are under threat from local stressors like fishing and more specifically which we’re going to talk about today That number jumps to 75 percent when local threats to reefs are combined with the threat of thermal stress from a changing climate 22 species of coral are now listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act it is more important now than ever to address and reverse those threats impacting coral reef ecosystems NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program is leading efforts to study and conserve these precious resources for current and future generations we work with local communities to protect and restore coastal habitats to boost fish populations HOST - I understand that threats to coral reefs can vary in size and they can also come from different sources like natural or manmade threats What exactly are these threats and which ones are NOAA primarily focusing on Unpaved roads on the island are significant sources of sediment pollution to nearshore seagrass and coral reef habitats man made threats are typically the ones that are most easily managed and subsequently a priority for NOAA’s coral reef managers man made threats range from land-based sources of pollution to unsustainable recreational use - which would include unsustainable fishing practices as well as physical impacts from things like vessel groundings What are land-based sources of pollution and how do they impact the coral reefs LISA - Land-based sources of pollution consist of a range of substances that can have adverse impacts to coastal habitats like coral reefs So this range of pollutants can be something as seemingly benign as sediment in large quantities to chemicals found in industrial waste sites These pollutants can result in many coral reef impacts from construction sites or unpaved roads which can smother coral reefs and prevent new corals from growing Or nutrients from fertilizer or undertreated sewage which can fuel algal blooms which block out light needed for coral reefs to thrive or even worse result in low oxygen levels why is it important to protect coral reef habitats in Culebra Healthy nearshore habitats are critical to Culebra for two key reasons the first being that tourism is simply the economic backbone to the island’s economy Tourists come to walk the white sandy beaches coral reefs and other nearshore habitats like mangroves help armor the island by dissipating wave energy during major storm events like Hurricane Irma and Maria in 2017 along with stabilizing shorelines that are constantly being eroded due to a rise in sea level it is imperative to the residents along with the visitors that we protect Culebra’s nearshore resources could you also talk a little bit about how Culebra came to be a conservation priority for NOAA and the other federal and territorial agencies HOST - So Rob had just mentioned the term Habitat Focus Area Could you explain a little bit more about that and its importance NOAA developed a framework to enhance internal and external collaborations to more effectively address the growing challenge of coastal and marine habitat loss and degradation NOAA identified targeted geographic regions throughout the nation where they could focus their investments and collaborations with partners to provide measurable benefits to coastal and marine habitats and the resources and communities that depend on those habitats These targeted places are known as NOAA’s Habitat Focus Areas or HFAs Puerto Rico’s Northeast Marine Corridor and Culebra Island were selected as the Caribbean region’s Habitat Focus Area This geographic region includes the north east corner of Puerto Rico and extends across a chain of islands known as Arrecifes de Cordillera to the easternmost point of Culebra This location was chosen due to the high value ecosystems that support tourism and commercial fisheries and the partnership opportunities that this location provided HOST - Who are some of the other partners that NOAA is working with in Culebra to implement projects LISA - Culebra is a unique community in that its residents are particularly passionate about ecological conservation They actively work together to advance coral reef protection and restoration efforts we have been fortunate to build off of existing local conservation groups like CORALations and Sociedad Ambiente Marino to develop and advance efforts to reduce pollution to coral reef habitats In our efforts to reduce land-based sources of pollution specifically we have partnered closely with Horsley Witten Group and Protectores de Cuencas to develop and implement cost-effective watershed restoration projects to reduce pollutant threats on Culebra not only have they been key to the technical success of our work but Protectores de Cuencas in particular has been integral to developing the relationships and partnerships needed to build local capacity for watershed protection moving forward Protectores de Cuencas has forged relationships with U.S Puerto Rico’s Department of Natural and Environmental Resources Puerto Rico’s Aqueduct and Sewer Authority and residents to enhance restoration outcomes and provide maintenance of the projects to assure long-term success of our investments HOST - Why did NOAA choose the island of Culebra to be a focus for LBSP management LISA - Culebra was selected as a focus for our pollution management work because of two primary reasons has some of the highest quality coral reef habitat in the jurisdiction itself Second is the fact that the watershed itself is relatively small so we felt that within NOAA that with a modest level of funding we could provide meaningful reductions in land based sources of pollution could you explain a little bit more about how NOAA is working to combat LBSP to nearshore habitats NOAA working alongside a 501C3 non profit organization Protectores de Cuencas which translates in English to watershed protectors assess pollutant threats on the Island of Culebra These threats ranged from sediments derived from unpaved roads and coastal development to nutrients from failing septic systems and insufficient stormwater treatment This information was then used to identify and prioritize opportunities for watershed restoration to reduce pollutant sources within the watershed the restoration plan identified over 21 actions that can be taken throughout the island to reduce pollution sources and improve community stewardship of coastal resources NOAA and its partners prioritized funding of those actions they felt like they could provide meaningful progress towards reducing pollutant sources in the watershed These actions include stabilizing bare soils and unpaved roads stabilizing and reducing impacts to the coastal zone enhancing stormwater treatment in areas prone to pollution as well as working with Puerto Rico’s Aqueduct and Sewage Authority to design and implement tertiary treatment at the waste water treatment plant HOST - You had identified unpaved roads as threat Could you explain why stabilizing them is important HOST - Does NOAA work with the inhabitants of Culebra to promote education and stewardship of the coral reefs LISA - Since the people living in a watershed are intricately linked to the creation of pollutant sources it is important to fund projects that increase people’s awareness of the threats that they may introduce to coral reefs and provide them information of how to reduce those threats to protect corals To build community stewardship of coral reefs and build community capacity for protecting those reefs we utilize multiple approaches including things like developing guidance manuals and standards for the unpaved roads hiring local residents to enhance local capacity for building and maintaining these projects but also through siting projects in highly visible areas to provide passive opportunities for education and outreach connect with ocean experts to explore questions about the ocean environment Coral Reef Conservation Program How does land-based pollution threaten coral reefs? How to cite this article Adapted from their previous techno-opera Atlacoya La Culebra is a live performance (55’) conceived by WangShui and Alberto Bustamante as a closing ritual for the Biennale Arte 2024 Set within WangShui’s chamber-like installation which features their Cathexis paintings exploring the serpent as a cipher for knowledge the performance echoes the story of the Tlaloc monolith her voice moving fluidly through Indigenous Mexican music traditions weaving time and space with the frequency of love Contact us Press Office Subscribe to the Newsletter and get the latest info on our programmes and initiatives Subscribe February 10, 2024JPEG and 242 species of reef fish on Puerto Rico’s 3,370 square kilometers (1,300 square miles) of reef Signs of Culebra’s ecosystems are visible in this Landsat 8 image, captured by the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on February 10 dry forests (dark green) blanket the hilly terrain and spectacular sandy beaches (tan) line Culebra’s north shore Deeper (dark blue) waters surround the island and nearby cays while shallower (light blue) waters line the shores and lagoons The green areas in shallow water are likely coral reefs though seagrass meadows and seaweed patches can look similar “You can absolutely see patch reefs east of Culebra in this image,” said Juan Torres-Pérez a research scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center “But know that many of its reefs are located near the shore and are not easy to distinguish in Landsat imagery depending on the depth of the water and the type of coral.” 2023JPEG Reefs around the world face a variety of environmental threats, including coastal development, overfishing, disease, tourism, and increasingly warm and acidic waters corals require clear water within a narrow temperature range that’s free of pollution and sunlight-blocking sediment Since the start of the bleaching event in February 2023, widespread bleaching has occurred in 62 countries and territories worldwide While bleaching conditions were more widespread during a past event from 2014 to 2017 the current event has been particularly intense in the Atlantic Ocean 99.7 percent of tropical reef areas in the Atlantic Ocean have experienced bleaching-level heat stress In many parts of the Caribbean Sea, including the waters around Culebra, a marine heat wave persisted for several weeks in summer 2023 “Culebra’s reefs were affected by the heat with several major reef-building species bleaching or dying,” Torres-Pérez said “There is even more concern about this summer since sea surface temperatures are starting out higher than they were last summer.” Torres-Pérez and other NASA scientists will have opportunities to check on some of Culebra’s reefs in the coming weeks and months. Culebra is one of the field sites of NASA’s OCEANOS program which brings oceanography and marine field research opportunities to graduating high school seniors and first-generation undergraduate students in Puerto Rico OCEANOS, which stands for Ocean Community Engagement and Awareness using NASA Earth Observations and Science for Hispanic/Latino Students, is a month-long summer internship program that trains participants in remote sensing image analysis and field techniques in ocean science In addition to studying coral reef ecology and conservation students build their own bio-optic field instruments Torres-Pérez is the project’s principal investigator NASA Earth Observatory image by Wanmei Liang, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey Photograph courtesy of Sociedad Ambiente Marino View this area in EO Explorer The remote archipelago is flanked by extensive coral reef areas but these hubs of biodiversity face a summer of sweltering water temperatures Studying corals from above could help scientists understand how these critical ecosystems will weather a changing climate a word that has special meaning for cigar smokers Chinese New Year will ring in the upcoming Year of the Snake on the Chinese zodiac calendar cigar companies are beginning to announce new releases for the Year of the Snake Plasencia is the first to incorporate a culebra as part of its release Each box of the Plasencia El Año de la Culebra Edición Limitada 2025 includes two types of cigars: eight of the cigars are 7 x 40 lanceros while two of the cigars are twisted into a culebra Most culebras are made with three cigars twisted together though this isn’t the first to use the two-cigar concept but two are twisted together at the factory before being packaged the cigars are made entirely of Nicaraguan tobacco The MSRP is set at $490 per box of 10 or $49 per cigar “‘El Año de la Culebra Edición Limitada 2025 is a tribute to the Chinese Lunar Year Featuring elegant Lanceros and the unique Culebra each cigar reflects the artistry and precision of our master rollers,’ said Nestor Andrés Plasencia in a press release A representative from Plasencia did not immediately return an email from halfwheel seeking comment on the report This is the fifth consecutive year that Plasencia has made a cigar for the Chinese zodiac calendar 2024) — Added information and images from the press release I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros 2024) –The planned transformation of a major portion of Culebra Rd in Council District 6 has received an $8 million boost The City of San Antonio received the award from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant Program from the U.S “This is great news for the people who drive and walk along Culebra,” said District 6 Councilmember Melissa Cabello Havrda whose district contains more than 60 percent of the road “Culebra is one of the most dangerous streets in the city and making the road safer has been a top priority.” from an automobile-dominated thoroughfare to a safer The funding will advance preliminary planning and environmental analysis that will lead to a final design “Thanks to the City staff who worked on securing this grant,” the Councilmember said “Their effort and the dedication of the Culebra Rd neighborhoods that have advocated for these road upgrades will benefit District 6 for generations to come.” District 6 Website Gonzalez Convention Center is open at 100% occupancy as of May 17 As our number one priority is the health and safety of our guests we will continue with many protocols established over the last year to ensure our facility is clean and safe for your return Please contact your sales or event manager to address any questions or concerns you may have The Office of Military & Veteran Affairs and Government Affairs Department have moved Vital Record Services will be closed on Friday Above the Fold Tracing sounds and symbols from across the Americas the 55-minute performance channels the aesthetic flows within WangShui’s Arsenale installation In the Artigliere gallery of the Arsenale for this year’s Venice Biennale the New York–based artist WangShui staged an installation featuring three paintings on aluminum and the netted LED-video sculpture Lipid Muse (2024) Their Cathexis paintings use pigment from red beetles and trace the aesthetic flows between Asia The result is by turns moody and enchanting WangShui unwinds the symbology of serpents as representations of knowledge WangShui connected with DJ and creative director of Mexican music label NAAFI Alberto Bustamante and curator Sam Ozer to conceive a performance as a “closing ritual” for the biennial exhibition centering the deity of Coatlicue who is associated with the underworld and is frequently depicted with serpents The singer La Bruja de Texcoco becomes a serpent herself her voice synthesizing unknowable pre-Colombian musical traditions with Western classical music and electronic beats composed in collaboration with Bustamante and musician Lauro Robles artist and healer Little Owl and artist and DJ Debit adapted the music they created for the Lipid Muse installation into a live ceremonial prelude Everyone was dressed in costumes by Mexican artist and designer Bárbara Sánchez-Kane and Debit DJedd with masks and accessories from Kuboraum and founder of TONO Festival Sam Ozer joins WangShui and Little Owl for an intimate exploration of La Culebra Sam Ozer: There are so many forms this project has taken and in every iteration it has grown with collaborators and references across geographies and artistic genres First there was research between Alberto and Lauro about Mexican deities which led them to work with artist Pepx Romero and to create Atlacoya a techno-opera we presented in Mexico City for TONO Festival 2023 a performance ritual for the 60th Biennale de Arte finissage This recent premiere responded to Shui’s installation Lipid Muse [2024] and included a performance prelude by Delia and Little Owl who created the sound component of Shui’s installation Can we speak about this process of transformation and regeneration across the work WangShui: My original project in Venice was all about love How rigorously we must cultivate love within ourselves so that we can be better conduits and amplifiers of it He created an expansive platform for all these underground sounds from Latin America and disseminated them all over the world and in the spirit of the greater exhibition it felt so important to join forces and offer my installation in the arsenale as another resonator for that mission Alberto Bustamante: In the early days of NAAFI I remember something that Lauro said that really stuck with me which is that when you gather people in a kind of ecstasy and you communicate ideas when you’re having fun and not really intellectualizing more people have their guard down and they’re more willing to incorporate new ideas Lauro Robles: It’s easier to influence people in a subliminal way through festivity this [project] is a rhizomatic love poem between friends and people you admire Delia Beatriz: I think what we’re trying to do is to break through all limitations and create a sensorial revelation it actually felt like we were working together all along can you speak about your research for this piece Alberto: The earliest precedent to La Culebra is when Lauro and I were invited to perform at Cumbre Tajín and we had the idea of revising the Mexica pantheon of deities we relocated the NAAFI studio to Azcapotzalco a place that has this very heavy significance to the historical moment when the Tenochtitlan conquest happened we were doing a lot of psychedelic hiking to different volcanoes around the basin of Texcoco or the Mexico City valley this cosmovision of the Tiemperos is very present Lauro told me he had taken a master class from the Institute of Aesthetic Research at UNAM how can we approach these subjects not from an archeological One thing she spoke about was the Tlaloc monolith which sits outside of the anthropology museum in Mexico City where we learn that the Monolith is not actually Tlaloc or the male representation of the [Aztec] god of water and rain So this idea that this stone was female at the beginning and then the state decided to turn it into a male representation Lauro: We wanted to tell a story beyond that documentary because that documentary was the articulation of political historical fact that through time makes [this narrative] real The museum is this positive story that solidifies a narrative but it leaves no space for imagination or evocation and poetry in reading the cultures through their art The state created this whole operation which not only included moving the stone from Coatlichán to the city but also a set of propaganda which included parading the stone around Zócalo in Mexico City Alberto: You have to think about the Coatlichán people who were contesting the government’s desire to take away their stone because it was an active site of worship the tiemperos and graniceros or the good and bad brujos who relate to Tlaloc and control the weather and we started conceptualizing a performance The idea was that the stone one night wakes up in the middle of the sidewalk And they then perform a psychedelic peyote ceremony where they start a de-identification quest the stone visits the different deities of the Mexica pantheon They first go to the king poet Nezahualcoyotl who was the last monarch or tlatoani of the Texcoco city-estate And he had a very ecological or sustainable sensitivity which is the eco-existentialist relationship between the self Alberto: Xochipilli is another one of the characters He was called the prince of flowers and is this stone monolith that also comes from the same region as Tlaloc/Chalchiuhtlicue He has psychedelic plants or medicines that are endemic to this region of the world engraved on his body He is considered the patron of the arts—dance What’s funny is when we thought about the character of Coatlicue or the dame of the underworld who was associated with snakes we conceptualized it thinking about Bárbara Sánchez-Kane We wanted her to be a fashion designer and the underworld to be a showroom it’s a mere coincidence that Shui’s installation and paintings feature all of these serpent motifs rather than Bruja again personifying the duality of Chalchiuhtlicue/Tlaloc we thought she could now personify Coatlicue and also respond to the serpents in Shui’s paintings There are all of these synergies that have shaped the work to be what it is And this is where it gets sort of like magic that the coincidence aligned with the themes that we were thinking Lauro: And then we also considered this speech the last Aztec emperor gave by the side of Hernán Cortés accepting the Spanish conquest He basically says we’re not going to believe in our gods or traditions anymore And that has to do with Mexicanity in the 20th century and how the night of the 500 years is taught because that speech was given in what is now the Plaza de las Tres Culturas which is also where the state repressed the students in the ’68 protests Alberto: The performance has all of these historical ties and references that the audience doesn’t really need to know the piece also incorporates a wide range of musical references—including pre-Columbian practices and contemporary electronic sound production Can you speak more about this layering process I began to realize that in Mexican music you don’t read and that Mexican music is not learned in school but by traveling and meeting traditional Mexican musicians I am an interpreter of Mexican music who started out as an academy musician Traditional Mexican music is a reflection of the baroque music that was in fashion in the 1600s and of European instruments that were brought to Mexico A Mexican jarana jarocha is a version of a Spanish baroque guitar and a Mexican arpa jarocha is like a camac harp that I played here in Venice all kinds of instruments that come from nature that exist from pre-Columbian times that I use—but there is no record of how to play them there is no record of what pre-Columbian music was like But that’s the nice thing: that I can give it as much openness as I want That’s where all my processes come from to make an interpretation of how it could have sounded The music comes from the imaginary that the three of us have of coinciding on how we can reinterpret our identity as Mexicans from our experiences because it is something that we use from the past but also from the knowledge of music here [in Europe] I also use Latin American instruments from Peru I’m removing my label of being someone who only makes Mexican music and integrating everything I want Lauro: The Mexicanity or the concept of being from there solely or the idea of what happened before the Spanish came dissipates when you think about what Bruja said about baroque music of how instruments were coming in from Europe and how the tuning is super important for how the traditional music passes through generations I think reimagining academic or classical pieces is also disruptive and reconsiders the meaning of those songs I’ve actually focused on the tuning of Maya wind instruments even those relationships need to be questioned so everything is fictional in a certain sense because we’ve never had recordings of how any of the music sounded And I was particularly interested in the relationship between pitches being a whole system of thought that we only have access to some of All of this legacy that we can only approach through fragments how did your research inform the La Culebra performance prelude and for the sound installation Delia: My process was guided by conversations with Shui and has three main elements: Little Owl’s voice and interpretations; ocean sounds which were a combination of Little Owl’s ocean drum which I then synthesized with some drums; and Shui’s breathing and snoring We recorded Shui’s breathing in an anechoic chamber which is a studio that’s designed to have no resonance and no echo This music which was composed for the installation became part of what we performed for the prelude we specifically highlighted the ocean drum Alberto: This is where a lot of elements overlap between the music that we developed together with Bruja and Lauro and the music you guys did together such as exploring historical reimagining and sci-fi They both have ritual and ceremonial aspects where you not only play music but also channel energy you were saying last night as a joke that Shui gathers all of their witches… I think that there is a metaphysical thing which is inherent to all music because it’s a process of managing frequencies Your body has to become something else in the process of playing music La Bruja de Texcoco: For me it is very important to keep myself centered before leaving a show as my body is always in action it is a process of generating me and literally putting my flesh in this it is putting my energy and transitioning to something else It really gives me a power that I don’t have in the street It was an expansive energy exchange that will shift frequencies and reverberate in the world and Little Owl are each such humble conduits I see them each as powerful prisms that bridge different dimensions of time They are some of the most powerful healers I have ever encountered I am so humbled by all of their work so it was a great honor to bring them together in Venice could we maybe expand on the different ceremonies and rituals that are part of your practice and how they are part of the music Little Owl: The first time I saw Shui’s work it was at the Guggenheim Museum and I didn’t even know the name of the artwork but immediately it hit me as a cosmic serpent a book written by an anthropologist about shamans who were able to access the existence of the DNA of all beings and the source of the universe So the cosmic serpent was basically a multi-dimensional state of the origin of the universe And when I saw Shui’s work I told them about this and they shared that that’s exactly what was in their mind Shui then invited me to make the musical piece to go with the installation They wanted me to open a portal of multi-dimensional energetic space so that we could bring people into that meditative state and some other rattles that are very earthy—it touches every part of your soul and opens up your consciousness The chant is the shamanic mantra that is channeled from the spirit of the jungle These shamanic songs carry a very specific vibrational frequency Delia: It was epic being in front of you and recording with you I didn’t have to add any foley or sound effects Everything was already encoded in the chant because of how you receive it through these historical or ancient traditions I usually had to make it really explicit; whereas here just having a whole track of Shui breathing was enough Alberto: Can we maybe dwell on this idea of how it is a gesture Shui calls it frequencies of love or a gesture of love or generosity There are people who are in tune with this ancestral knowledge either because of their heritage or where they come from There are others who have ritualistic access to this type of information from performing in ceremonies or taking sacred medicines; however there are so many people that have zero access to this ritual time and spaces or practices in this European context where the Biennale is happening can’t really find those magical spaces or these ritual spaces this performance and this piece and your music and the whole sum of these efforts give for a brief instant access to this type of sensibility or to this source Delia: I think that’s the benefit of working in the context of art versus or music It has a lot to do with the reception of an audience Sometimes shock can be an effective way to engage I think approaching this piece from love feels unique Alberto: I’m also curious about how many people get super protective about these practices and are like they’re not for everyone.’ Gatekeeping spiritual practices You can see how many people were in the audience last night People are gravitating toward the vibration as long as we’re at a higher vibrational frequency that people can resonate with The ritual itself can be any form or shape It’s that interconnectedness that opens up people’s hearts and connects us I find that a lot of young people nowadays are really more open They’re more in tune with all that this is And a lot of young people came to us after the show I really believe that the world is ready to reconnect to our ancestral wisdom No living being has any separation from us all I think that Mother Earth is calling that to come back to us Delia: I really do think it’s a matter of format We could have easily been reading a sermon about all these ideas in words but the way it’s received when it’s liquefied in the cosmic frequency of music changes the reception I do think it’s just somehow more receptive It’s almost like hacking through stuff that would have been blocked off either by gatekeepers or the audience themselves who might be afraid to receive something spiritual most people probably don’t even know what we’re chanting or the language we’re singing And people don’t even know what kind of ritual we’re performing I think people are just fascinated and I think that is the sincerity that we have when we create a ceremonial state and call the spirits of all seven directions It connects us to something vast and universal Music really is the language of the universe — something everybody can resonate with It doesn’t matter what we are doing as long as we’re in that vibrational frequency that carries unconditional love WangShui: I really wanted to bring together the brightest sounds of love that I have encountered in recent years and see what happens if we interpolate them To me this exhibition enacted a major global axis shift so it felt good to give it a final push Each of you had such a different frequency of love that you were beaming Everyone in the room felt it so deeply and will carry that with them into the future…what a gift The Culebra Reef Garden project, led by Peninsula Papagayo is celebrating its fifth anniversary of coral restoration efforts in Guanacaste the initiative has preserved over 10,000 coral fragments with the help of 125 dedicated volunteers working tirelessly to combat the global crisis of coral reef decline a key area for coral conservation in Costa Rica’s northern Pacific region saw its reef coverage plummet from 70% in the 1990s to a staggering 4% by 2019 Global predictions of coral extinction between 2040 and 2050 added urgency to the effort sparking the creation of this initiative to reverse the trend and ensure a sustainable future “Coral restoration in Culebra Bay reflects our commitment to the environment and sustainability whose efforts are critical to the health of our marine ecosystems and the well-being of the communities that depend on them,” said Susana Vicente Peninsula Papagayo’s Director of Sustainability The initiative began with planning workshops and training in coral restoration techniques followed by the installation of nurseries at Playa Jícaro creating a network of coral nurseries aimed at promoting ecological restoration the project has established more than 110 coral nurseries in Guanacaste These efforts have increased coral cover by 15–20% and boosted fish biomass and diversity by 50% revitalizing Costa Rica’s marine ecosystems The initiative focuses on four key coral species in Costa Rica’s northern Pacific region: Porites lobata Pocillopora elegans has shown the best growth and survival rates underscoring its importance in local restoration efforts “Coral reefs are vital to the balance of the oceans acting as carbon sinks and protecting our coasts from erosion This project is key to strengthening these ecosystems to ensure long-term benefits,” explained Juan José Alvarado the project has optimized coral growth by eliminating stressors and creating favorable conditions These efforts have tripled the annual growth rate facilitated successful coral transplantation and achieved an impressive survival rate of 83% The initiative is making significant strides in restoring Costa Rica’s coral reefs and safeguarding marine ecosystems for future generations This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Alex Gamez SAN ANTONIO – The new flyover ramp that connects State Highway 151 West to Loop 1604 North on the far West Side is now open but there has been confusion about how to navigate through the ramp and get to Culebra Road KSAT reached out to TxDOT for additional details to help drivers using the ramp near Alamo Ranch and Culebra The first exit ramp on Loop 1604 is Shaenfield Rd You can not currently use the flyover ramp to get to Culebra take the first exit ramp after Wiseman Blvd bridge and continue on the frontage road to Culebra Rd Option 1: Traveling west on the SH 151 frontage road intersection and enter Loop 1604 after the intersection Option 2: Traveling west on the SH 151 frontage road enter SH 151 main lanes at the entrance ramp after Westover Hills Blvd and take the second exit ramp after Wiseman Blvd entrance ramp is scheduled to open Saturday TxDOT added that while there is signage indicating the exit ramp provides access to the frontage road crews will be adding additional signage that indicates where drivers can access Culebra Rd from SH 151 Cover Page Legal HistorySports is containedThe San Juan Daily StarFeb 62 min readAfter a suspicious sample from a bird on a farm in Culebra tested positive on Jan an administrative order was issued the next day temporarily prohibiting the movement of poultry between Culebra and the main island The restriction was officially lifted last Saturday after tests carried out on backyard birds inside and outside the control zone did not detect any additional cases.By The Star Staff The island Agriculture Department announced Wednesday that the only case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) detected in Puerto Rico has been identified and contained in the offshore island municipality of Culebra Agriculture Secretary Josué Rivera Castro stressed that the rapid action of the government and citizen cooperation were key to stopping the advance of the virus “The case of bird flu identified in Culebra was an isolated case and was contained without affecting other regions of the country,” Rivera Castro said in a written statement “The immediate response of local and federal agencies including the Department of Health and the USDA [U.S following the instructions of Governor Jenniffer González were fundamental to this result,” he added the Department of Agriculture’s Veterinary Services Laboratory received a suspicious sample from a bird on a farm in the Frailes neighborhood of Culebra the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) confirmed the presence of the H5N1 virus leading to the issuance of an administrative order on Jan 9 temporarily prohibiting the movement of poultry between Culebra and the main island Tests carried out on backyard birds inside and outside the control zone did not detect any additional cases allowing the restriction to be officially lifted last Saturday once international eradication and epidemiological surveillance protocols were completed the island Agriculture Department received multiple reports of suspected cases in other municipalities all of which were handled by USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service teams and local staff Puerto Rico’s agriculture chief emphasized that a state of constant vigilance is being maintained to protect local agriculture and urged poultry farmers and citizens to report any unusual activity in domestic or wild birds to 1-866-536-7593 © 2025 The San Juan Daily Star - Puerto Rico The main threats are large hail, damaging wind gusts, and heavy rains with an isolated tornado also possible. FORECASTSHARE PHOTOS & VIDEOCity secures $8 million to revamp Culebra Road for safety upgradesby SBG San Antonio SAN ANTONIO -San Antonio has received a federal planning grant to update one of the city's most dangerous roads will soon undergo $8 million worth of infrastructure upgrades The project aims to enhance safety for drivers Planned improvements include protected sidewalks These enhancements are designed to create a safer and more accessible corridor for all users SAN ANTONIO - Authorities are searching for a truck driver who recently hit a runner on the West Side Police said the victim was running on the grassy shoulder along Culebra Road when they were hit by a white work truck with black tool boxes in the truck bed Investigators said the truck's passenger-side mirror hit the victim The truck driver never bothered to stop and help the runner Crime Stoppers is offering up to $5,000 for any information leading to the suspect's arrest by SBG San Antonio Staff Reports | Natali Castillo SAN ANTONIO - The woman who was struck and killed off of Northwest Loop 410 near Culebra has been identified The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as 21-year-old Jade Luna the accident started with an argument between Luna and her boyfriend while they were driving down Northwest Loop 410 shortly after midnight Luna exited the vehicle and as she was walking along Loop 410 she was struck by a vehicle She was pronounced dead at the scene by EMS The driver who struck Luna remained on scene and cooperated with police SearchHouse speaker & Culebra mayor join forces to revive ex-pharmaceutical factoryThe San Juan Daily StarMar 32 min readLegislative leader Johnny Méndez and Culebra mayor the executive director of the Public Buildings Authority and the secretary of the Department of Transportation and Public Works The Speaker of the House of Representatives is seeking to facilitate the transfer of the former Baxter factory to the municipal administration of Culebra which plans to create a warehouse area for products that travel to and from the Virgin Islands as well as a large parking area to alleviate traffic congestion in the urban area of the island municipality has a pressing need to obtain ownership of the old Baxter factory in order to promote a project to rebuild and develop a warehouse area that will allow Culebra to generate income by storing products that are then shipped to the Virgin Islands This proposal would create a recurring source of income for the Municipality and has our full support; that is why we want the transfer to be completed without delay,” said the President of the Lower House the legislative leader took to Culebra the Secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC) the Executive Director of the Port Authority the Executive Director of the Public Buildings Authority and the Secretary of the Department of Transportation and Public Works which is located in the Playa Sandina sector the Mayor signed an agreement with the Industrial Development Company to lease the land for the purpose of developing it the Senator and government officials toured the grounds of this factory to determine additional needs that can be incorporated into the development plan that the Municipality already has “I want to thank the President of the Chamber who has always been attentive to the needs of our island municipality the development of the land of the old Baxter factory is very important will serve as a large warehouse area that will allow the Municipality to generate income we seek to create an area of new businesses and a parking area since there is no longer space available in the traditional urban center This dramatic lack of spaces is impacting economic activity Stories you've missed since your last login: Recommended stories based on your interests: Water attorney Gregor MacGregor walks down from the hills behind La Morada the last of these such historic religious meeting houses with active membership in the state where a tall wire fence was constructed behind the property in 2021 on what is now the Cielo Vista Ranch The ranch is on the land known to locals as La Sierra and access gates have been built into the fence to allow the access of descendants of the original homesteaders of the area to access the land for collecting wood and grazing livestock though erosion from the fence is threatening La Morada A bill that will attempt to rein in the building of a fence near Culebra Peak in the San Luis Valley won approval from its first committee Monday House Bill 1023 is narrowly crafted to apply only to the Sangre de Cristo land grant a million acres awarded in 1844 by the Mexican government to Mexican colonists moving to the area The Colorado state government affirmed that grant in 1993 The bill requires applicants who intend to "install or substantially repair a contiguous fence of a certain size in the Sangre de Cristo land grant lands" to apply to the local government for that authority although that can be waived under an amendment added Monday which is between 16 and 26 miles long and eight feet high It is on the 77,000-acre ranch of Texas oilman William Harrison who has been entrenched in a legal battle with descendants of the original settlers for decades That legal fight goes back to the previous owner and some 70 years The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in favor of the descendants in 2002 and Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon introduced HB 1023 to the House Agriculture Bacon told the committee that the land grant at the heart of the dispute is unique in Colorado and has raised the question of whether the state can honor a community-based land grant for the past 40 years The courts recognized in 2002 that communal use was permitted as a "prescriptive easement," a legal term that implies a certain right of use when that use occurs over a long period of time—in this case Martinez said the fence has caused many problems such as erosion from heavy equipment and flash flooding and that it keeps wildlife herds separated because they can't clear the fence The community also has the right to use the land for hunting One of the big questions is how the legislation will impact the current fence Martinez said the owners never sought a permit for building it the owner plans to extend it by 90 miles to fence in about 100 head of bison for his ranch But witnesses said eight feet is excessive told the committee that the community is exasperated by the fence but has been told little can be done He noted that he held a town hall in the county of about 3,000 residents on a workday "It's not fair to call it a fence," Weiser said "It's a 20-mile wire grid," so large that elk and deer can't jump it This is not about limiting private property rights Joseph Quintana said the fence had been a "nightmare" for his community "It's impenetrable" to anything over three inches Quintana added that the fence has weaved through people's backyards and changed wildlife migration "The community is horrified and baffled," and the county has been forced to spend too much money to fight it He also noted that the fence may create risks for dealing with forest fires raised concerns about the fence proposed in the bill and its impacts on private property rights Weiser said this was not a normal property rights situation "The ranch owner does not have unfettered rights to the property." Weiser pointed out that there's also a nuisance exemption when something harms water and wildlife He added that this situation is one of a kind The bill was amended at the request of Colorado Parks and Wildlife to address fencing height: One amendment dictated the total distance between the ground and the lowest wire or rail to allow small animals to get under the fence HB 1023 passed on an 11-2 vote and now heads to the full House eight-foot fence on Culebra Peak in Costilla County a sore subject for residents who have enjoyed generations of hunting Email notifications are only sent once a day Colorado Politics is published both in print and online Our website features subscriber-only news stories daily designed for public policy arena professionals Member subscribers also receive the weekly print edition of our award-winning newspaper containing outstanding features and news stories Secure your subscription to Colorado’s premier political news journal You can be in the know right alongside Colorado’s political insiders Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: SearchHouse Speaker discusses expansion of Culebra airportThe San Juan Daily StarMar 42 min readThe runways at the Benjamín Rivera Noriega Regional Airport in Culebra underwent work at the end of February.By The Star Staff along with the Mayor of the island municipality held a meeting with Port Authority Director Norberto Negrón to explore building a series of new hangars for aircraft maintenance at the Benjamín Rivera Noriega Regional Airport “Our goal is to support the initiatives of the Mayor of Culebra who has expressed his desire to create a network of hangars for the maintenance of aircraft that fly to and from the Benjamín Rivera Noriega Regional Airport We believe this presents a valuable opportunity to further promote economic growth in this island municipality and we are committed to making this a reality,” explained Méndez which includes the municipalities of Río Grande the Culebra airport has received approximately 3,295 flights The officials did provide a cost for the work or its financing The Benjamín Rivera Noriega Airport underwent significant renovations including the first rehabilitation and reconditioning of landing and takeoff runways in over 30 years with a total investment of more than $4 million in federal funds “Our airport is an economic development hub with great potential Our proposal focuses on developing several hangars to facilitate the maintenance of aircraft using this airport facility we are eager to discuss the matter in more detail with the Executive Director of the Port Authority to establish a program that brings this vision to life,” said the Mayor of Culebra the Executive Director of the Port Authority expressed his willingness to work closely with the Mayor and the Speaker of the House to evaluate the proposal The discussion regarding the potential expansion of the hangar area of the Culebra airport brought a group of agency heads to the island municipality including the Secretary of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC) Sebastián Negrón; the Executive Director of the Public Buildings Authority Félix Lassalle; the Secretary of the Department of Transportation and Public Works The multimillion-dollar yacht that ran aground on a reef off Culebra Puerto Rico was lucky enough to survive Storm Ernesto unharmed and the salvor is mobilizing more equipment to lift it safely off the shoal - so long as the hurricane-season weather holds the catamaran sailing yacht Obsession (MMSI 378112381) went aground off Flamenco Beach a popular vacation destination on Culebra Island and the crew could not pump out and remove their own vessel Since the yacht contained an estimated 800-1,500 gallons of diesel and the reef is an environmentally sensitive area the Coast Guard assumed control of the response and tapped the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF) to finance a cleanup.  Salvor Resolve Marine was hired to defuel and remove the vessel Resolve's team pumped out the bulk of the fuel from the yacht by the end of July the responders believe that the vessel still represents a "substantial pollution threat" because of remaining oil products and hydraulic oil The access hatches for the rest of the petroleum aboard the vessel are submerged or inaccessible.  Tropical Storm Ernesto did not have an effect on the wreck site federal on-scene coordinator Chief Warrant Officer Jamie Testa said in a statement "Obsession remains aground and stable with no signs of external pollution,” Testa said.  Resolve is mobilizing a 400-tonne floating shearlegs barge out of the port of Baltimore and it plans to lift the vessel clear from the grounding site for removal - with a close eye on weather conditions The wreck's final destination has yet to be determined.  the $3 million yacht's owner told the Coast Guard that the salvage project would require "efforts which exceeded his capacity." Under the rules of the OSLTF the cost of a federally-organized response will normally be recouped from the responsible party typically the vessel's owner in a grounding casualty.