This is a list of notable Ponceños, people from Ponce, Puerto Rico. Listed here are people who were either born in Ponce or who were not born in Ponce, but who are or were longtime residents of the city – the so-called adopted sons and daughters of Ponce, and known in Spanish as "Ponceñistas". Ponce has also been the birthplace and the place of residence of many Puerto Ricans who became notable elsewhere. The following lists many of them as well. The list is arranged alphabetically by area of notability.
List of notable Ponceños by area of notability The list is divided into categories and in some cases sub-categories which best describe the field for which the subject is most noted. For individuals notable in more than one field (such as "Luis A. Ferré" who is notable as a former "governor" and as an "industrialist") the entry is made under the field for which the individual is most noted.
: Top – Actors, actresses, comedians and directors, Architects, Authors, playwrights and poets, Beauty queens and fashion models, Business people and industrialists, Civil rights and/or political activists, Clergy, Composers, contemporary singers, musicians and opera, Criminals and outlaws, Diplomats, Educators, Governors, Historians, Journalists, Judges, law enforcement and firefighters, Military, Physicians, scientists and inventors, Politicians, Sportspeople, Visual Artists.
Actors, actresses, comedians, directors and entertainers Marisol Calero, actressFilms: Under Suspicion, and "El último de los amantes" (the Spanish language version of The Last of the Red Hot Lovers). Míriam Colón, actress Founder of New York City's Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre María-Elena Laas, actressFilms: The Hot Chick, and Suffering Man's Charity, among others. Walter Mercado, astrologer, dancer, telenovela actor, writer Mario Montez, female impersonator/actorA Warhol superstar. Tommy Muñiz, television producer comedian and actorPioneer in Puerto Rico television. Starred in the movie "Lo que le Pasó a Santiago", directed by Jacobo Morales, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Lymari Nadal, actress Film: American Gangster; TV: Battlestar Galactica Elín Ortíz, actor, producer, comedian and screenwriter.For many years interpreted "Relíquia", mocking political corruption in Puerto Rico. Jeimy Osorio, actress.Film: Una Maid en Manhattan, "Porque el amor manda", "Santa Diabla"; TV: Celia. Gilluis Pérez, actor. TV: Nicky Jam: El Ganador. Luis Raúl, actor, comedian and TV host Acted in many telenovelas. Hosted "Anda Pa'l Cara" and "Pa' Que Te Lo Goces" Esther Sandoval, actress.Starred in "Ante La Ley", Puerto Rico's first telenovela. Marta Romero, actress and singerOne of the pioneers of telenovelas in Puerto Rico Teófilo Torres, actor and film directorFilm: "Dios los cría", the Spanish language version of ...And God Created Them, among others. Carmen Nydia Velázquez, comedian and singer Fictional role in the comedic duet "Susa y Epifanio" Rosita Velázquez, actress, comedian and singer, grew up in Ponce. Juan Emilio Viguié, film producerPioneer film producer. Made the first commercially successful films in the island, including "Romance Tropical", the first Puerto Rican film with sound. Marco Zunino, actorStarred in the musicals Jesucristo Superstar, Cabaret, Rent and Amor sin barreras (West Side Story).
Architects Pedro Adolfo de Castro y Besosa, architectA graduate of an American architecture university, he designed masterpieces such as Castillo Serrallés and Casa de España. Juan Bertoli Calderoni, architectDesigner of Teatro La Perla Maruja Fuentes, industrial and environmental designer Timoteo Luberza, architectDesigned Plaza del Mercado Isabel II Andrés Mignucci, urbanist.Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. Winner of the Henry Klumb Award 2012. Francisco Porrata-Doría, architectDesigned the Ponce Cathedral, Banco de Ponce building, and Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceño building. Blas Silva, architectCreator of the Ponce Creole architectural style. Designed the Casa de la Masacre, Font-Ubides House, and the Subira House, among others. Alfredo Wiechers Pieretti, architectDesigned many buildings now in the NRHP including Casa Wiechers-Villaronga, today the Museo de la Arquitectura Ponceña.
Authors, playwrights and poets César Andreu Iglesias, labor organizer, journalist, novelist, and short-story writer.Co-founder of Claridad. President of the Puerto Rican Communist Party, and recipient of the 1960 Award for Excellence in Journalism from the Puerto Rican Institute of Literature. Rosario Ferré, fiction writer, poet, essayist and biographerAward: Liberatur Prix Award, Frankfurt Book Fair. Félix Franco-Oppenheimer, poet and writerHis works include "Contornos", "Imagen y visión edénica de Puerto Rico", and "Antología poética". Pedro J. Labarthe, poet, journalist, essayist, and novelist.Documented the experience of Puerto Rican migration to New York. Major writings: The Son of Two Nations: The Private Life of a Columbia Student, among others. Emilio J. Pasarell, short-story writer, novelist, and essayist. He was also an accomplished historian.Best known for his "Origenes y desarrollo de la aficcion teatral en Puerto Rico" (Origins and development of theater in Puerto Rico). Pedro Pietri, poet, playwrightCo-founder of the Nuyorican Poets Café. Magaly Quiñones, poet Ed Vega, novelist and short-story writer. Major awards: PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award (2004) and Washington Post Book of the Year Award (2004). Iris Zavala, author, scholar, and poet. Major Awards: Medal of Honor, ICP; Gold Medal, AP; and Pen Club Award.
Beauty queens and fashion models Denise Quiñones, beauty queenMiss Puerto Rico 2001, Miss Universe 2001 Maripily Rivera, model Model, TV host and actress
Business people and industrialists Juan Bigas Moulins, businessmanPonce Servicios was named after him. Salvador de Vives, Mayor of Ponce and founder of Hacienda Buena VistaUnder his mayoral administration, the Ponce City Hall was built. Ramiro L. ColónFirst administrator of Cooperativa de Cafeteros de Puerto Rico, Café Rico. Antonio Luis Ferré, businessman and industrialistOwner of Ferré-Rangel media emporium. Luberza Oppenheimer, IsabelMadam of a notorious brothel. Francisco Parra Duperón, lawyerFounder of Puerto Rico's oldest law firm in continuous operation, Parra, del Valle & Limeres. José Miguel Rovira, industrialistFounder of Rovira Biscuits Corporation. Ermelindo Salazar, businessmanFounded the Ponce Chamber of Commerce. Was also president of Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceño, one of the largest and oldest in the Island. Félix Saurí Vivas, businessman and hacienda holderBuilt the third-oldest residence still standing in Ponce and which became Liceo Ponceño, Puerto Rico's first girls-only school, and later the Ponce Ramada Hotel. Juan Serrallés, businessman and hacienda holderFounder of Destilería Serrallés and "Don Q". Salvador Vassallo, industrialistFounder of Industrias Vassallo and subsidiaries. Luis Fortuño Janeiro, journalist and member of the Puerto Rico SenateFounder of Ïmprenta Fortuño.
Civic leaders Olimpio Otero Vergés, civic leader, merchant, attorneyInstrumental in the creation of the Parque de la Abolición, the building of road PR-123/PR-10, and the launching of 1883 Ponce Fair Valentín Tricoche, philanthropist and civic leaderDonated the money for the construction of Acueducto de Ponce and what would become Hospital Tricoche. Rafael Rivera Esbrí, civic leader and mayorA hero of 1898 "El Polvorín" fire.
Civil servants and public servants Enrique Campos del Toro, businessman, banker, law professor and civil servantServed in several Commonwealth governmental positions, some of which were appointed by the president of the United States. Carlos A. Chardón López, educator and civil servantChardón served twice as Puerto Rico's Secretary of Education Carlos Fernando Chardón, Secretary of State and Adjutant General of Puerto Rico. Antonio S. Lucchetti, engineer and public servantHeaded the launching of island-wide public electric service in Puerto Rico. Mariano Villaronga-Toro, educator and public servantThe first Commissioner of Public Instruction after the creation of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Displaced English as the language of instruction and replaced it with Spanish.
Civil rights and/or political activists Carlos Alberto Torres, political activistNationalist and political prisoner.
Clergy José Luis de Jesús, Creator of the "Creciendo en Gracia" sectSelf-proclaimed "Jesus Christ Man". Can be heard in 287 radio stations; founded a 24-hr TV network; has some 2 million followers in 35 countries. Isolina Ferré, Catholic nunRecipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Félix Lázaro Martínez, bishop of PonceEducator at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico Juan Fremiot Torres Oliver, bishop of PonceLongest-serving bishop for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ponce in Ponce, Puerto Rico, with 36 years of service.
Composers, contemporary singers, musicians and opera
Composers Julio C. Arteaga, composer of danzas, musician and teacher. Héctor Campos Parsi,Montalvo, José A. Héctor Campos Parsi His Life and Music: A Biographical Study with an Analysis of Four Selected Works. New York: New York School of Education, Health, Nursing and Arts Professions, 1992. Biography on Hector Campo-Parsi made by Jose Montalvo composer and writerWrote many compositions, including the incidental music for both A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare, and Dracula by Bram Stoker. Arístides Chavier Arévalo, pianist and composer.Chavier trained Luis A. Ferré as a concert-level pianist. Juan Morel Campos, composer of danzas.Founder of the Ponce Municipal Band. Wrote over 550 compositions before he died on stage at age 39. Juan Ríos Ovalle, composer of danzas, prolific musician and orchestra director. Manuel G. Tavárez, composerKnown as "The father of the Puerto Rican danza"
Musicians Carlos Alomar, guitarist, composer and arranger.Best known for his work with David Bowie, having played on more Bowie albums than any other musician. Julio Alvarado Tricoche, musician, composer, band director.Best known for "Lejos de Ti". Rubén Colón Tarrats, musician, composer, band director. Domingo Cruz "Cocolía", musician and orchestra director.Director of the ultracentenarian Ponce Municipal Band. Papo Lucca, multi-instrumentalist musician.Co-founder of La Sonora Ponceña, a salsa band. He also played the piano with The Fania All-Stars. Elías López Sobá, classical music pianist and educator.Co-director of the annual Casals Festival since 2010. Luis Osvaldo Pino Valdivieso, musician and band director. Librado Net, musician, educator and painter.First director of the Escuela Libre de Música de Ponce and mastermind behind the creation of Puerto Rico's Free Music School system. Elisa Tavárez, pianist
Contemporary singers PJ Sin Suela, rapper, composer, and doctor. Pedro-Juan Vázquez Bragan better known as PJ Sin Suela has been known for his music career and his compromise with social matters in Puerto Rico. Lorenzo S. Alvarado Santos, singer, composer, and guitarist.With Johnny Albino and Félix ("Ola") Martínez, made up Trío San Juan during the years 1949–1957. Among his best tunes was the 1956 bolero "Siete notas de amor". Cheo Feliciano, salsa singer. Lead singer for the "Joe Cuba Sextet" and later with the Fania All-Stars. Ruth Fernández, Contralto Bolero singer and singer of up tempo songs.Won numerous awards internationally during her lifetime. Was also elected to the Puerto Rico Senate. Héctor Lavoe, Salsa and Bolero singer.Credited with starting the salsa movement in the early 1970s in collaboration with The Fania All-Stars. "Lunna", Pop and Jazz singer.Director of the TV show "Objetivo Fama". Ednita Nazario, Pop and rock singer.Has recorded over 50 albums, DVDs, and compilations.