There have been and there are many talented Puerto Ricans

There have been and there are many talented Puerto Ricans And, of course, there has been and are in the island many talented and famous people. Some of these great are: Juan Morrell Campos (1857-1896), a great composer of danzas (dances); Pablo Casals, a cellist, composer, and conductor; pianist Jesus Maria Sanroma; Alejandro Tapia, dramatist, novelist, and poet; Eugenio Maria de Hostos y Bonilla, essayist, philosopher, and jurist; Jose Gautier Benitez, poet; Luis Llorens Torres, poet, essayist, and journalist; Luis Pales Matos, poet and essayist; Evaristo Ribera Chevremont, poet; Tomas Blanco Geigel, essayist, historian, and prose stylist; Enrique Laguerre, novelist, critic, essayist, and playwright; and Rafael Hernandez, whose music is known throughout the world. And, Antonia C. Novello, M.D., U.S. Surgeon General; Enrique Mendez, M.D., Deputy Surgeon General, U.S. Army and Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs); Jose Campache, “the most gifted of Latin American rococo artists;” Roberto Clemente, baseball’s premier defense outfielder; Angel Tomas Cordero, Jr., who won six Triple Crown races; Jose Vicente Ferrer, actor, director, and producer; Rita Moreno, who received and Oscar in West Side Story, and numerous other awards such as a Tony, and a Grammy; Francisco Oller, the first Latin American impressionist, who is best known for his El Velorio (“The Wake”); Tito Puente, famous for his great Tito Puentes Orchestra, and a great definer of Latin jazz; Jose Feliciano, who is acclaimed as “the greatest living guitarist;” Chita Rivera (Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero) a great actress, who also received a Tony Award for best actress in Kiss of the Spider Woman; Juan “Chichi” Rodriguez, who is considered one of the top ten gulf players in the professional gulf circuit; Edwin Torres, jurist and novelist, who wrote, Carlito’s Way; and, of course, there was Pedro Albizu Campos, who was considered a terrorist by his enemies and critics but a hero to the island’s nationalists. And, the list of notable Puerto Rican personalities goes on and on. Briefly, mention may be made of a few more: Ricky Martin; Jimmy Smits, Sammie Davis, Jr., Gigi Fernandez; Arturo Schomberg; Geraldo Rivera; Sally Jessy Raphael; Jon Seda; Freddie Prinze; Liz Torres; Rosie Perez; Esai Morales; Hector Elizondo; Miguel Ferrer; Benifico Del Toro; Alex Colon; Michael De Lorenzo; Miriam Colon; Raul Julia; and Jennifer Lopez.