In a Caribbean cave, where light barely enters and silence seems absolute, Dr. Adolfo Rodríguez Velázquez observes, searching for movement, patterns, life. But his work doesn't end when he leaves that space. For him, that's where it truly begins: when it's time to explain what he saw.
“What I like most is educating the public; for me, that means combining science, understanding it, and translating it into knowledge,” he said.
This idea of translating—of taking something complex and making it accessible—has marked his entire career.
Dr. Rodríguez Velázquez is a biologist by training and a communicator by vocation. He graduated with honors in Biology and Communications from the University of Sagrado Corazón and completed a doctorate in Biology at the University of Puerto Rico, where he researched the Puerto Rican racer snake (Borikenophis portoricensis), a species essential to the island's ecosystems.
But when he talks about what he does, he doesn't resort to technical language. He prefers something simpler:
“I communicate science in a simple way... without the academic part, in a relaxed way, so people can understand it.”
This way of seeing science has deep roots.
“I am from rural part in the town of Las Piedras,” he said. He grew up in Collores, surrounded by nature, walking through the mountains from a young age. This constant contact with the environment not only sparked his curiosity but also defined his perspective.
“I identify with non-charismatic species, those that people don't usually like and often generate fear,” he explained.
This affinity, far from being casual, became a line of work: understanding not only the species, but also how people perceive them, why a snake can provoke rejection, where those fears originate, and how they influence their conservation.
The question of how to communicate all of this came early.
“If I'm a documentary filmmaker, I can bring this knowledge to other people,” he recalls thinking while going to school. At that moment, he still wasn't clear on the path, but he had the intention: to connect science with people.
That impulse led him to explore filmmaking, to complete a minor in ecology, and, eventually, to build a career where research and communication advance together.
“I want to educate and communicate, for other people to know about science. But also to inspire: for someone to see me and, for a moment, think ‘if he could do it, I can too’”
That idea has a personal background.
“I didn't have a specific role model; there are no scientists in my family. The path wasn't easy; it was an uphill battle,” he recounted.
Without direct role models, he had to make his own way, understanding the field little by little, trying, making mistakes, persisting.
Today, precisely for that reason, he seeks to become the role model he never had.
His career has taken him to different ecosystems: from Puerto Rico to the Peruvian Amazon and South Africa. He has worked with sharks, amphibians, and reptiles, and currently researches subterranean systems like caves and caverns, as well as the impact of human activities in coastal zones and protected areas.
He also studies how invasive species affect native ones and how human perceptions influence that entire process.
“I'm interested in understanding why in Puerto Rico we are so afraid of snakes… where that comes from,” he explained.
Because for him, conservation is not just about protecting habitats, but about transforming the way we think about them.
Field experience remains one of the most significant parts of his work. “Being there… that's exciting. That never stops being special,” he said.
That excitement is the same one he tries to convey outside the field. As a columnist for El Nuevo Día, he has addressed topics that connect science with daily life, debunking myths and bringing knowledge closer to diverse audiences. His communication work has earned him various opportunities and recognitions, including the AAAS Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellowship, a highly competitive program in the United States that selects scientists to train in journalism and public communication.
Currently, as an assistant professor at the University of Puerto Rico, he combines research with teaching. There he trains students and, above all, shows them that science is not an alien space.
Because if there's one thing he wants to make clear, it's this: “What we have must be conserved and preserved, even what isn't attractive. It doesn't matter if the little animal is 'ugly,' 'weird'... it is still an important part of what represents us as a cultural identity.”
He mentioned the Puerto Rican crested toad, an endangered species that has recently gained public visibility thanks to Bad Bunny's album “Debí tirar más fotos.” He recognizes the value of discussing the topic more, of educating. But he also warns that many other species remain at risk without receiving attention.
“In Puerto Rico, there are species that exist nowhere else… we know very little about them. And at any moment they could be lost.”
That's why he insists on communicating. On explaining. On translating. Because his story is not just that of a scientist, but of someone who, without clear role models, decided to forge his own path. And who today seeks for others, upon seeing him, to understand that this path can also be theirs.
