Famous Puerto Ricans

Puerto Rico is a beautiful island in the Caribbean. It is a terrirtory of the United States; so all Puerto Ricans are US citizens. In the United States we see Puerto Ricans everyday, however we may not realize that they are Puerto Rican. There are many many famous Puerto Ricans. They range from athletes to singers and actors. Here are a few famous Puerto Ricans.

There are quite a few Puerto Rican athletes in baseball. Hiram Bithorn was the first Puerto Rican to play in Major League Baseball. He is from Santurce, Puerto Rico and began his baseball career with the Chicago Cubs in 1942. Yadier Molina is a catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. He recently became quite popular when he hit a homerun in the top of the ninth inning in a game against the New York Mets. The homerun gave the Cardinals a 3-1 lead, and ultimately a victory over the Mets and entrance into the World Series. In the World Series, Luis Olmo was the first Puerto Rican to hit a homerun. Olmo is also the first Puerto Rican to ever play in the World Series, which was in 1949 against the Yankees. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1943 – 1945 and 1949 and the Boston Braves from 1950 – 1951.

Other famous Puerto Rican athletes include Carlos Delgado of the New York Mets and Roberto Clemente. Clemente played for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1955 – 1972. He is also a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Another famous Puerto Rican athlete is Wilfredo Gomez, who is a member of the Boxing Hall of Fame.

There are numerous actors and actresses that are of Puerto Rican descent. Here are just a few of them:
Rosario Dawson, Michael DeLorenzo, Hector Elizando, John Leguizamo, Erik Estrada, Rosie Perez, Chita Rivera, and Jimmy Smits.

Television is also home for several Puerto Ricans. They include Elizabeth Vargas, who was a co-anchor for “ABC World News Tonight”. Other Puerto Ricans in television are Denisse Oller and Jorge Ramos. Both are Emmy winning news anchors in New York City.

Dr. Rafael Bras is from San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was served at MIT as a chair of Civil Engineering. He is also very knowledgeable and distinguished in the studies of global warming and hydrometeorology. Dr. Nitza Cintron is also from San Juan. Cintron works for NASA as a scientist. Dr. Fernando Rodriguez Vargas is a dentist who is credited with linking a bacteria to tooth cavities. He was born Adjuntas, Puerto Rico.

Puerto Ricans have also been active in politics. Maurice Ferre was a mayor in Miami, Florida. Fernando Ferrer was a borough president in the Bronx. Dr. Antonia Novello served as the U.S. Surgeon General during the George H. W. Bush administration.

Another famous Puerto Rican is Maria Holly, the wife of Buddy Holly.