Thousands March in Cabo Rojo Against Esencia Megaproject, Answering Bad Bunny's On-Screen Call

Hours after Bad Bunny's Aug. 22 closing-night message flashed "ESENCIA NO VA. MAÑANA 2:00 PM. MARCHA CABO ROJO" across the Hiram Bithorn stadium screens — triggering a stadium-wide chant of "¡Esencia no va!" — the Coalición Defiende a Cabo Rojo (DaCR) led a national march and public hearing dubbed "Cabo Rojo es nuestro – Marcha a la vista" on Aug. 23. Hundreds of demonstrators, including planners, scientists, and educators, gathered at the intersection of Highways 100 and 308, marching with Puerto Rican flags and arriving by bicycle and tractor, stopping periodically along the route to discuss the roughly $2 billion Proyecto Esencia luxury resort's threats to housing access, ecological reserves, and the region's water supply, before concluding at the Dr. Ramón Emeterio Betances public plaza. Opposition organizers argued the project's siting was approved "a espaldas del pueblo y sin vistas públicas" (behind the public's back, without public hearings) and would benefit only a handful of investors. It was DaCR's second major mobilization against Esencia after a March 28, 2026 march in Old San Juan, but the first amplified directly from Bad Bunny's own stage.