They were 15 and 17 years old, they were in the lobby of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki, and instead of admiring the sand sculpture decorating the space, they decided to destroy it. Security cameras captured everything: one of them jumped over the glass barrier, threw objects at the figures, hit them with a pillow, and smashed the face and head of the pieces with her own hands. The other, meanwhile, recorded every second on her phone.
The incident occurred in August 2019 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Both minors, residents of Oahu, were arrested and faced charges of property damage and trespassing. But the consequences did not end there: the Royal Hawaiian had to pay for a specialized artist to fly in from Florida to restore the artwork that the teenagers reduced to rubble in a matter of minutes.
What is most infuriating is not just the destruction, but the coldness with which it was carried out and documented. It was not an accident or an impulsive act without a record — it was premeditated, filmed, and almost celebrated. A work that someone built with artisanal precision, erased by someone who did not even have to bear the real cost of what she did.