{"id":47200,"date":"2026-05-20T07:53:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T11:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insagrado.sagrado.edu\/?p=47200"},"modified":"2026-05-20T07:53:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T11:53:41","slug":"voices-of-el-cano-roberto-rivera-garcia-a-teacher-committed-to-his-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insagrado.sagrado.edu\/en\/voices-of-el-cano-roberto-rivera-garcia-a-teacher-committed-to-his-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Voices of el Ca\u00f1o | Roberto Rivera Garc\u00eda: A Teacher Committed to His Community"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Alex O. Calder\u00f3n Cruz<\/strong>
Journalism Student<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At three in the afternoon, on a street in Barrio Obrero, a door opens and children begin to arrive. Some come with worn-out backpacks, still wearing their school uniforms, and many carrying stories too heavy to fit inside a classroom. Inside, they are not welcomed by a school, but by a home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf someone walks in here, that\u2019s what they see\u2026 a home that embraces you,\u201d says Roberto Rivera Garc\u00eda as he watches the afternoon activity at La Casita de Amigos de Jes\u00fas<\/em>. For the children, it is not a community center. It is their little home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roberto never truly left Barrio Obrero behind. Although he now lives in Lo\u00edza, he insists on returning almost every day, as if the neighborhood keeps calling him back to his roots. \u201cI\u2019m never going to abandon my roots. These are my roots. I grew up here, I was born here, and I feel happy here.\u201d His story begins on those very same streets. He grew up in a household where material needs were never lacking \u2014 his father even built the first concrete house in the area \u2014 but deeper absences remained. His father struggled with alcoholism, and although there was always food on the table, he didn’t always have a truly present father. That absence left a mark on him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what taught me not to be that way,\u201d he says. Today, Roberto is the father of two grown children and a teacher who overflows with the affection and love he himself once lacked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before becoming an educator, he considered becoming a pharmacist. It was a practical decision, guided by financial stability. But after immersing himself in the world of science, he realized that was not where he belonged. \u201cI\u2019m an active person, always moving around\u2026 my thing is working with people.\u201d He found his calling in education, and he has never let go of that path since. For Roberto, being a teacher does not end when the classroom door closes. At Facundo Bueso School, where he works, he transformed the walls into a museum: 24 murals designed by him and painted alongside his students. His classroom looks unlike any other, filled with beautiful and colorful murals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At one point, they wanted to paint over them. His response was clear: if they touched his murals, he would chain himself to the school gate and make a \u201cscene.\u201d It was not just a threat. He wrote to the Secretary of Education, defended his space, and succeeded in protecting the artwork. \u201cThat belongs to the students,\u201d he insists. Roberto defends what is his, his students often included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

La Casita de Amigos de Jes\u00fas<\/em> was born out of an unexpected opportunity. The property belonged to Hogar Crea and was being auctioned off. It eventually ended up in the hands of his nonprofit organization. Over time, Roberto and his wife \u2014 who is also a teacher \u2014 transformed it into something greater. From Monday through Wednesday starting at three in the afternoon, the place fills with life. There are not only tutoring sessions. There are snacks, theater classes, music, dance, and art. There is literacy education for adults who never learned how to read. There are also young people who come to complete community service hours and end up finding a sense of purpose. There is faith as well: children prepare there for First Communion, but more importantly, people are shaped and nurtured there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The children who arrive come from difficult circumstances: extreme poverty, unstable homes, deteriorating housing conditions. Roberto describes them without embellishment: mold-covered walls, exposed roofs, deep deprivation. But inside the Casita, something changes. They feel safe, they feel seen, they feel at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the experiences that impacted him the most happened after Hurricane Maria. A family with four children lost everything. Their wooden home could not withstand the storm. Roberto and his wife did not hesitate. They welcomed the family into their own home for eight months. \u201cThe government didn\u2019t help at all,\u201d he recalls. It was the school, the church, and even a supermarket that contributed to rebuilding the family\u2019s roof. More than any other story, that one defines his vocation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But not everything is sacrifice. Roberto also lives through art. He teaches theater, sings with the Puerto Rico National Choir, spent more than 20 years in the choir of Interamerican University, and currently sings with the Cantera Choir. He has no free time. Or rather, his free time is spent doing what he loves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every year, the Casita produces a musical: Jesus Christ Superstar<\/em>, The Life of Saint John Bosco<\/em>, Dominic Savio<\/em>. The children act, sing, and transform themselves. Through those productions, they also help fund the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s how we make it work,\u201d he says. Everything they do is voluntary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saint John Bosco, the priest who dedicated his life to young people, was the spark that ignited this project. Roberto found in him a model for living \u2014 one based on total selflessness. Despite the hardships, Roberto does not speak of Barrio Obrero as a lost place. He describes it with a single word: \u201cParadise.\u201d For him, the neighborhood is not poverty; it is community. \u201cWhen a storm comes, everyone comes together. If something is needed, people show up. There\u2019s camaraderie.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He acknowledges the problems \u2014 drugs, poverty, inequality \u2014 but also points to something he believes the media ignores. \u201cThe press only shows the bad things. They never talk about the professionals who come out of here.\u201d That narrative, he says, has unfairly stigmatized the neighborhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding the dredging of the Mart\u00edn Pe\u00f1a Canal, his position is clear: it is necessary. \u201cIt\u2019s fair,\u201d he says. He knows there will be displacement, that not everyone will agree, but he also understands that without intervention, poverty will remain stagnant. It is a complex perspective, free of romanticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roberto looks toward the future with hope. He imagines a Barrio Obrero with less crime, less poverty, and more opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He dreams of seeing young people thrive, play sports, and grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And above all, he dreams of continuity. He hopes that one day, the very same children from the Casita will continue the mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once, while preparing for surgery, a nurse approached him. \u201cI know you,\u201d she said. Then she looked at the doctors and said, \u201cTake good care of him\u2026 thanks to that teacher, I became a nurse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That moment, more than any formal recognition, summarizes his legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Barrio Obrero, where many see abandonment, Roberto Rivera Garc\u00eda has built a home. One where education is not merely teaching. It is refuge, dignity, and love. And every day, at three in the afternoon, he opens its doors once again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a former school student myself, I am deeply moved by everything Roberto Rivera Garc\u00eda does for his students and the children in his community. More teachers with the level of commitment and vocation that he and his wife possess are greatly needed. Today, with the challenges posed by technology, the lack of values taught at home, and peer pressure, teachers like them can make the difference between a student guided toward opportunities and one who loses their way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the limitations of the system or the lack of government support, the story of Roberto Rivera Garc\u00eda demonstrates how individual commitment can profoundly impact a community. His example compels us to rethink the role of educators in society and to recognize that, in many cases, change begins with a single person willing to serve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s Note<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journalistic profile is the result of in-service learning experiences carried out as part of the course <\/em>PER 223: Narrative Journalism<\/em><\/strong>, taught by Professor Mariliana Torres Pag\u00e1n in collaboration with Sagrado\u2019s <\/em>Community Engagement Program<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, the <\/em>Barrio Obrero Oeste se Reinventa<\/em><\/strong> Foundation, and the <\/em>Ca\u00f1o Mart\u00edn Pe\u00f1a Enlace Project<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Alex O. Calder\u00f3n CruzJournalism Student At three in the afternoon, on a street in Barrio Obrero, a door opens and children begin to arrive. Some come with worn-out backpacks, still wearing their school uniforms, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":47196,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3672,5435,3696,3695],"tags":[5366,5311,3731,5018,5454,5110],"class_list":["post-47200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communications","category-community-outreach","category-english-en","category-featured","tag-barrio-obrero","tag-ferre-rangel-school-of-communication","tag-sagrado-en","tag-sagrado-corazon-university","tag-service-led-education","tag-universidad-del-sagrado-corazon-3"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insagrado.sagrado.edu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insagrado.sagrado.edu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insagrado.sagrado.edu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insagrado.sagrado.edu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insagrado.sagrado.edu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47200"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/insagrado.sagrado.edu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47200\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47205,"href":"https:\/\/insagrado.sagrado.edu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47200\/revisions\/47205"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insagrado.sagrado.edu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insagrado.sagrado.edu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insagrado.sagrado.edu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insagrado.sagrado.edu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}