Luis Garcia is one of the original founders of the La Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge. Today he is the General Manager of Eco-Friendly Solutions Limited, a Belizean company that distributes biodegradable products in Belize, where single-use plastics are being phased out. Luis is well known in Belize as an advocate for environmental awareness and promoting sustainable practices to conserve the environment. The La Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge, the longest canoe race in Central America, had it’s humble beginnings from Luis’ own passion and love for the rivers and keeping them clean. The La Ruta Maya race was conceived along with the late great Richard Harrison as an idea to promote the launch of Vida Purified Water but more importantly, to highlight the importance of the rivers and to promote community involvement in keeping the rivers clean and healthy. Luis reminds us that from its inception, the focus of the La Ruta Maya race was to help keep the rivers clean which is why the race was always followed by a clean up crew. He tells us that some 80% or more of Belize’s population has some dependency on the Belize river and therefore it is vital to continue the tradition that he started so many years ago along with Richard Harrison and others who saw the importance of keeping the rivers clean and healthy.