01x17 - Superior Salvador

[bunniefuu]

[narrator] At Marvel,
our stories and our superheroes

are inspired by real-life heroes.

So, the editors of some
of our best-known comics

have come together
to work on a special project:

to find and tell the stories
of kids doing the extraordinary,

helping communities near and far,
and changing the world.

These are the kids who will inspire
our stories for years to come.

[Salvador] My neighbors, my people,
my community needed help,

and they needed it now.

[Salvador Sr.]
He comes out of his way to help others.

Small acts of kindness go a long way.

[narrator] Salvador is already a hero.

Now, we bring his story to the world
with the surprise of a lifetime:

making him into a Marvel superhero,

immortalized in his very own comic,

as a member of Marvel's Hero Project.

They're everyday kids...

who have accomplished the amazing.

Now, their true stories...

will reveal the heroes that live among us.

This is Marvel's Hero project.

We've seen characters
who are heroes when they're born.

But we've also seen characters who are
forged out of their circumstance

where something happens to them.
Salvador is this kid in Puerto Rico

-who, after Hurricane Maria hits in 2017,
-[Sana] Mm.

...looks out into the darkness
and he sees all these other people

in Puerto Rico who need help

and decides to run and help them.

Doctor Strange is
a really great example of that.

He's a guy who was a super smart surgeon.

Seems like he was fine where he was.

He thought he was helping people, but then
this disaster with the car accident.

And so he saw more of the world

and he realized that
he wasn't really helping people,

because he wasn't really connecting
with them.

-[Stephen] Yeah. Yeah.
-And so kind of like Salvador's confidence

in just going out and trying to solve
a problem, there's Doctor Strange.

And in order to, like,
help the people around him,

he can call on the power of the Vishanti.

-I'm also thinking of Iron Fist here.
-[Sana] Okay.

You know, Danny Rand is a guy
with resources as well.

And through his circumstances,

he had that moment where

-he looked out and saw darkness.
-[Stephen] Mm-hmm.

And decided to roll up his sleeves
and get his hands dirty.

And bring literal light via the Iron...
the power of the Iron Fist.

A lot of our young heroes are, sort of,
bringing light into the world.

But he's actually doing it.

The darkness that Salvador lived in has,
you know, over time,

found light
because of the work that he did.

And that's why I think
this one's gonna be just a treat

to bring him into the Marvel Universe
and into the Hero Project.

[Salvador] All my life
I've always wanted to help other people.

But I had never been compelled
by that immediacy, that emergency.

But with Maria, there were lives at stake.

[in Spanish]

[in Spanish]

[in Spanish]

[Salvador]
I could not wait a second longer.

My neighbors, my people, my community
needed help and they needed it now.

I grew up in Condado, which is
a residential neighborhood in San Juan.

It's right at the coast.

It's very lively
and it's always in motion.

There's always something happening.

I love going to the beach with my friends,
and just, like, hanging out and chilling.

Chilling, that's the word.

Salvador has always been privileged,
in terms of resources.

And I think that's what has driven
his empathy.

Understanding the importance
of being grounded,

of having perspective on being privileged,

but the fact that you cannot have
everything you want.

[Salvador] We should think about
what the other people feel

and what other people go through
and then be, "Wow, I'm thankful for this.

I am thankful for being able
to go to school.

I'm thankful for being able
to have the beach next to me.

I'm thankful for having
a family that supports me."

[male newscaster]
Hurricane Maria slamming Puerto Rico.

Fears of massive flooding to come.

September 19th,
that day school had canceled classes.

They were like,
"Everyone, stay in your home, get ready."

My two grandparents and my mom,
we had everything we felt we needed.

This is just the beginning.

Wake up around 1:00 or 2:00
in the morning.

I put my feet on the ground,
I hear "sloosh."

And I was like, "Wait, this is not right."

And then I notice that the floor's,
like, flooded, four inches of water.

And I was like, "Whoa."

Outside, imagine a blow-dryer
stuck right on your ear.

The rain slapping the shutters,
you hear "Bam, bam, bam."

Just... [imitates wind noise]

It sounds like the water is mad at us
and is trying to come into my house.

Bam, bam, bam.

I don't remember exactly what time
when the TV just, like...

[imitates TV failing]

It went all black.

I would look out the window
and see that darkness.

Pitch-black.

And it was just
a very overwhelming feeling.

It just felt scary.

When you're in darkness,
you're more vulnerable.

And there's a big, physical factor
to the absence of light as well.

You had people in the dark from, like,


Someone can fall, someone can trip.
And you have no first responders.

During this experience, luckily,
we had a generator that was running.

But I was feeling all these emotions

and all these things going around
in my head.

[Marta]
Yes, we were in a privileged position.

The fact that we had electricity

didn't mean that
we were just gonna overuse it.

So my rule was: only one room, it's lit.
The rest has to be dark.

We had to think about the thousands
of people that did not even have a home.

It was a couple of days later,
right after the hurricane,

Salvador looking out the window, he said,
"How can I help the people?"

[Salvador]
I was feeling this overload of emotions,

and I couldn't stop but think about people
who lost their homes,

who couldn't be in contact
with their family members.

I knew that I had to act.

I thought of light and hope.

Light and Hope for Puerto Rico.

[Salvador, Sr.]
He comes out of his way to help others.

We've tried to instill in Salvador that
small acts of kindness go a long way.

[Salvador] When I created Light and Hope,

I wanted to distribute light and
washing machines to the people in need.

Light was something that was
evidently missing from all of our lives.

We had no electric power.

And people who were wearing
the same clothes they were wearing

when the hurricane struck,

you know, it was the only thing
they had left.

They'd be carrying that burden with them.

And they'd be carrying those emotions
along with them everywhere they went.

My initiative was really about

people beginning to imagine
things would be better for them

and there would be a brighter future.

I had the idea, but now the question is,
where are you going to get the money?

And the easiest thing I thought of
was crowdfunding.

How can I reach people
that are not on the island?

Internet, I don't have Internet.

Texts were taking 30 minutes,
an hour sometimes, to send and receive it.

I could barely make phone calls.
Communication was extremely hard.

Being that I didn't have any internet,

I had to find a way
to get the campaign live.

So I was able to contact one of
my mom's friends who lives in the States.

So I would type in my computer what
I wanted to be on the crowdfunding page,

and then I would send that information
to her over in a text.

And she was able to take that information
and publish it on the site.

Six days after the storm,
the generosity page was up.

The first day, the page raised $6,000.

Second day, the page had raised 14.

So at the end,
the total that was raised was $160,000.

Press played a big role.

Teen Vogue and CNN
covered it right after it launched.

[woman on phone speaking Spanish]

[Salvador]
Because internet was a huge problem,

we couldn't start making purchases
until October.

For his project, he called a lot of people
and he negotiated prices.

So he does his own transactions
over the phone.

"Hello. This is Salvador Gomez."

So he sounds like an adult
and some people actually buy it.

"I am from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
And I just wanna buy a solar lamp.

But they cannot take six months
to get here,

because people need them now."

Getting the lamps and the washing machines
here was extremely hard.

There were a lot of challenges,
but there was never a time

where I felt the need was lost
or that I wanted to stop.

What do we do now?

[Miguel] My phone rang.

"Hey, somebody needs help bringing
special cargo to help Puerto Rico."

And they connect me with Salvador.

The problem was,
there was no communication.

Basically it took, like, five weeks
to get the containers.

But guess what?

The ports were overloaded.

There was a backlog of opening containers.

[Miguel] The bridge were closed.
The highways were closed.

First it was worrying about them
not being able to get here.

Then it was "they were here,"

but I was so close yet so far
from getting a hold of them.

[Miguel] So we were, every day,
we come back and forth, back and forth,

until we get that done.

Something that takes two or three weeks,
it took us double that time.

[Salvador] Once we got the supplies in,

me and my friends would go out
every weekend.

He asked me if I wanted to go distribute
the washing machines and the lights,

and I said "yes" instantly.

He said that we were
some of the privileged ones.

He wanted to help everyone he could.

[Salvador] You know,
I didn't want to just donate the money

and give it to an organization.

I wanted to be on the ground myself.

The first time
I was able to do a distribution

was the first week of December
in the town of Loíza.

Loíza's a coastal town
ten minutes from my house.

But it's completely different.

Houses that are extremely vulnerable,
extremely high poverty rate.

So they were already
a very vulnerable community.

[Maria] Saturdays or Sundays,
we would just leave early.

I was the driver,
so I only stay in the car.

[Salvador]
We got to each house and it'd be like,

"Hi, I'm Salvador.
I'm Light and Hope for Puerto Rico,

and we are going to be giving you
some solar lamps today."

We gave this old lady one of the big lamps
and she really appreciated it.

She started crying to Salvador.

"Oh wow. I can finally see at night.

I can walk to my bathroom
without falling."

[Maria] The smile on their faces.
They were everything.

Just seeing how happy they were.

[Salvador] Hello.

[in Spanish]

[in Spanish]

[in Spanish]

[in Spanish]

[in Spanish]

[in Spanish]

[boy laughs]

[in Spanish]

[in Spanish]

[Salvador] I was finishing
this distribution up in Loíza,

and I tell my mom, like, "Mom, you know,
we're done here in Loíza,

but there's also need elsewhere."

Morovis is a town on top of the mountains.

Forty-minute drive from San Juan.

We got to Morovis
three months after the hurricane.

There was still debris everywhere,
and trash,

and most houses with tarps.
With the blue FEMA tarps.

It looked like a w*r zone.

[in Spanish]

[in Spanish]

[in Spanish]

[Salvador] The best thing that we can do
is to have compassion.

And one of the biggest things
that impacted me

when I went to all these towns was,

even though they'd faced hell,
people had kept their hope up.

[Iris in Spanish]

[in Spanish]

[in Spanish]

[in Spanish]

[in Spanish]

[in Spanish]

[in Spanish]

[in Spanish]

[in Spanish]

[Salvador] So at the end,
we visited 16 different towns.

And we were able to reach
over 3,000 families.

[Marta] Every time we finish the process
in a town, he says,

"Mom, this makes me so happy.
I feel so joyful."

And I realized that this was creating
a big change

and a great experience on him.

[Salvador] All this work,
it just makes you think about, you know,

how all the things around us
that we sometimes take for granted,

and we sometimes ignore,

really put us in a beneficial position
to be able to help others.

And then I think that using those things,
instead of ignoring them,

is the best thing that I can do.

One part is wanting to make a difference.

But the other part is doing
what you want to accomplish.

And I feel like if we really wanna
accomplish something,

we have to go straight to it.

-How are you guys?
-[Salvador's friend] Oh, my God.

[David S.] Salva was always mature
and wise beyond his years.

Very special young man. One of a kind.

[children] Salva! Salva! Salva!

[Maria] Seeing what Salvador has done

makes the Puerto Ricans
so proud of their heritage.

You just wanna go out and scream,
"I'm from Puerto Rico, this is who I am.

Look what has come out of my island."

[Marta] All the work he did,
all the people he saw,

the hugs that he received, the kisses,
the blessings really humbled him.

[Salvador Sr.]
I think it surpassed his expectations,

and he wants to do something that impacts
a much bigger number of people.

If there's anything my life
post-Maria has taught me

it's that young people can do anything.

What gave me hope then, and still today,
is our ability to create change.

To learn that with small actions
we can create inspiration, aspiration,

and healing in the suffering of others.

I was so thrilled with the success
of Light and Hope

that I wanted to keep on going.

So my new initiative is to raise money
to purchase and install

smart energy systems to
firefighting stations across Puerto Rico.

So in the event
of another natural disaster,

they will be able
to maintain communication

and respond immediately to people in need.

[in Spanish]

[in Spanish]

[in Spanish]

[in Spanish]

[Salvador] You know, Puerto Rico
had all the odds against our favor,

and we still came out for the better.

That perseverance, that compassion
that people had to help each other,

helped me expand on my perspective
and meet my goals.

After Light and Hope,

it's taught me that if we put in the work,
success will follow.

[Stephen] Salvador's story is so heroic
because it's all about

-bringing light into the darkness.
-[Kathleen] Right.

And the way he delivers hope.
The way he delivers optimism.

Yeah, this story's so much
about contrast, right?

We start the story in darkness
with the actual hurricane.

Salvador's sort of drenched in darkness.

Which is different than we've done
in the other stories.

-[Kathleen] Absolutely, yeah.
-Right?

Salvador's a little bit older,

so we could go slightly more mature
with the general tone of the story.

And also, we're starting
at the darkest point of his life.

I think they got it perfectly,

the way they slowly introduce
the concept of light

and to bring that back
to the entire island.

We found out that flight was, like,

-Salvador's dream superpower.
-Favorite power, yeah.

So it's a great way to honor him,

but also he's being lifted up
by the inspiration he's taken

from the people of his city
in Puerto Rico.

Where we see Salvador
has already flown over,

these are the parts of the city
and of the island

where he's already brought
his solar lights.

He's brought lights back to these parts.

You really get a sense
of how Salvador is inspiring us

and the people of Puerto Rico,

but also how the people of Puerto Rico
have lifted him up.

So I'm excited for him to see his comic,

and to find out what it feels like
to be a part of the Marvel Universe

and a huge part
of the Marvel Hero Project.

So now I am commanded
to read you something.

"Dear Salvador, light and hope.

Those two words are so appropriate
for both what you do and who you are.

You light up a room,
not just by bringing solar power lights,

but by your very presence.

You bring hope
with your dedication to others

and your commitment to stand by
your fellow Puerto Ricans

until they are back on their feet.

Your tireless dedication to helping
Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria

makes you an inspiration
to everyone around you.

Salvador, we believe that you embody
the characteristics of a Marvel superhero.

Like Spider-Man, Miles Morales,

who has always looked to lift up
his own community,

you have used your power of compassion
to bring light to Puerto Rico.

We at Marvel want to light up your world.

We are making you a founding member
of an elite team of heroes just like you.

A group of extraordinary young people

whose activism and humanity
inspire us all.

Welcome to the Marvel Hero Project."

"We have a surprise for you."

Ooh.

"When you open this box,
you'll find a custom-made jacket.

Once you put it on, the world will know
you're a Marvel superhero.

To show how much we value
the work that you have done,

and continue to do,

we are making a donation in your honor

to an organization that supports
natural disaster recovery efforts

in Puerto Rico in the amount of $10,000.

That's not all!

Now, pull out the final item in your box."

Oh.

[Marta chuckling]

-Oh, my God.
-[Marta] Yes.

"The mighty Marvel Bullpen
has worked overtime

to create an instant collector's item.

A comic book in which you are the star.

We hope you see yourself as a superhero
just as we at Marvel do.

Welcome to the Marvel Hero Project.
Your friends at Marvel."

[all applaud]

[Salvador chuckles]

[Salvador Sr. in Spanish]

-[in Spanish].
-[Salvador] Gracias.

Oh.

Wow.

One of Salvador's dreams
has always been to fly.

So all of a sudden
at the very end he's flying.

I like it. I like it a lot.
I'm actually, like, fanboying right now.

Because I've always liked Marvel.
So this is, like...

I never thought I would be
on a cover of a Marvel comic,

-which is pretty crazy.
-You are.

It's a testament to the impact
that we can have on others.

And how our actions, and our choices,
and what we do

really, really reaches people.

The last one's the coolest one

-where you're flying away.
-[Maria] The one where he's flying off.

-Looks like Iron Man, kinda. Pssh.
-[Maria chuckles]

It's amazing.
You're a hero to all of Puerto Rico.

Very, very proud of you, boy. Huh?

[Marta] I feel super, super proud.
I think it's extraordinary.

He puts so much effort and energy
on this process, on helping others.

We repeat the word "amazing,"
but it doesn't cease to amaze us.

-Oh.
-I like how you look with the solar lamp,

because you look like a superhero
with a solar lamp.

[Salvador] It's not only inspiring for me
to see myself as a superhero, right?

But it's the fact that others
can be inspired by my work

and see me as a superhero
to them and to their communities.

That's the most important part,
is how my example can inspire others.