| February 2 |
Día de la Candelaria - This festivity
officially finalizes the end of Christmas for Catholics. In Puerto
Rico the festivities include a procession where the statue of the
"Virgen de la Candelaria" is carried on the shoulders. Others follow
with lit candles until they reach a church where a Mass is celebrated.
In the evening the festivities continue with a giant bonfire and singing. |
| February 17,
1904 |
Born - Luis A. Ferré, a successful
businessman, art patron, and former Governor of Puerto Rico, was born
in Ponce in 1904. He earned an Engineering degree from MIT in Boston,
went into the family business, made a fortune and later founded El
Museo de Arte in Ponce. Luis Ferré has attained the honored positions
of elder statesman and philanthropist. He is one of four Puerto Ricans
to have received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. |
| February 17,
1917 |
Born - Julia
de Burgos, the best-known female poet in Puerto Rico and one of the
best of Latino America, was born on February 17th, 1917 in Carolina,
Puerto Rico. De Burgos graduated from the University of Puerto Rico
as a teacher. She also studied in Havana and later moved to New York.
At age nineteen her first verses were published. Her best-known poem
is "Río Grande de Loíza". De Burgos published several books including;
Poemas Exactos de mí Misma, Poemas en Veinte Zurcos and Canción de
la Verdad Sencilla. She received several honors and homages, before
and after her death. De Burgos died on July 6, 1953 in New York. |
| February 18,
1898 |
Born - Don Luis Muñoz Marín,
poet, journalist, and politician. He was born in San Juan where he
died in 1980. Muñoz Marín founded the ELA or el Estado Libre Asociado
de Puerto Rico. He became the first elected governor of the island
in 1952. Don Luis studied journalism at Georgetown University in Washington
DC. He was the son of Don Luis Muñoz Rivera a popular and successful
politician. The U.S. Postal Service later honored Muñoz Marín, the
"father of modern Puerto Rico," with his own postage stamp. Read more
about this illustrious Boricua at http://www.elboricua.com/BKLuisMunozMarin.html |
| February 23, 1822 |
Born - Ramón Baldorioty
de Castro, politician and activist, died 1889. |
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