Name: Gabriel Negron Torres
Age: 11
Hometown: Vieques, Puerto Rico, United States
Family: His mother is a stay-at-home mom; his father is a security guard. Â He has three brothers and two sisters.
Languages: Spanish and English
Hobbies: Steel band drumming for the municipal band of Vieques, PlayStation, Nintendo, basketball.
Favorite food: Arepas (a pancake-like fried bread made of corn, Â found in different varieties throughout Latin America.)
Person most admired: Michael Jordan
What would you like other kids to know about life in Vieques? Kids in Vieques, P.R. love being outside, playing sports, and video games. Â We’re glad to have our island back from the U.S. Navy. But they left a lot of contamination in the soil and waters around us.
VIEQUES AT A GLANCE
Population: 9,300
Location: Vieques is an island  off the coast of Puerto Rico, in the northeastern Caribbean Sea.
Government: Vieques is part of Puerto Rico, which is a commonwealth of the United States.
History: The U.S. Navy used Vieques for bombing practice up until 2003. Large protests by the local residents and their supporters demanded that the Navy stop their bombings. Since then, workers have been using metal detectors to find unexploded bombs that are scattered across 8,900 acres of land. The Environmental Protection Agency says that these bombs have dangerous chemicals. Puerto Rico’s health department has done studies showing a rise in cancer, liver diseases and hypertension. Many people are working to get the U.S. Navy to pay to clean up the mess.
LEARN A LITTLE SPANISH
Baloncesto: Basketball
Comida: Food
Salud: Health
Isla: Island
