<p>Abstract</p>
<p>The study of happiness has been researched from different disciplines and diverse angles. However, the most common way to study happiness and well-being has been using scales that do not allow to access the comments or descriptions of the participants, reducing our comprehension of this phenomenon to numbers. A two-phase descriptive qualitative study was conducted before and after hurricane Maria hit our country. Information was gathered from 61 participants using in depth interviews, focus groups and photo analysis. The category <em>The importance of the relationship with God and religion in the happiness of Puerto Ricans </em>emerged in different ways in both phases of our research.</p>