Orlando Fernández De La Crúz, a.k.a. "Aquaman Boricua" (born 1971), is a long-distance swimmer and the first Puerto Rican swimmer to cross the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medi ...

Early life and education

Orlando Fernández De La Crúz was born in

Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico Santurce (, from the Basque ''Santurtzi'' which means Saint George) is a barrio or district in the municipality of San Juan. Its population in 2020 was 69,469. It is also the biggest and most populated of all the barrios in the capital city wi ...

. There he received his primary and secondary education. Fernández learned to swim when he was four years old at the swimming pools of el Escambrón and Sheraton hotels in San Juan. He learned to surf by the age of ten. In 1996, he earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from the

Universidad Metropolitana The Metropolitan University ( es, Universidad Metropolitana) (Unimet) is a Venezuelan university founded in 1970 by a group of entrepreneurs led by Eugenio Mendoza Goiticoa in the terrains donated by the businessman Pius Schlageter, father of ...

Career

Fernández holds various records in long distance swimming, among them the long swimming records of 20 kilometers at

Key West, Florida Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Isla ...

, and 25 kilometers in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. Fernández was inspired and motivated to represent his country in international swimming events by his

long-distance swimming Long-distance swimming is distinguished from ordinary swimming in that the distances involved are longer than are typically swum in pool competitions. When a given swim calls more on endurance than on outright speed, it is the more likely to be co ...

coach Marcos Díaz, a native of the Dominican Republic. When he decided to attempt the crossing of the

, he requested and received the help and training of Pedro Díaz. Díaz coached Fernández on the physical training required before and after the crossing of the strait. In 2008, Fernández swam 12 hours straight during his participation in "100 x 35", a TV program directed by

Julián Gil Julián Elías Gil Beltrán (born 13 June 1970) is an Argentine-Puerto Rican actor, model, businessman and TV host. Personal life Although Julián Gil was born in Argentina, he lived some time in Venezuela as well. He grew up in Puerto Rico an ...

. On May 19, 2011, Fernández departed from Cadiz, Spain, and swam the Strait for three hours and 57 minutes covering a distance of 18 kilometers in 65°F waters. He reached Point Cires, Morocco, accomplishing his lifelong dream and becoming the first Puerto Rican ever to do so. Among other sports he practices are

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

(of which he also an instructor), spinning,

paddleboarding Paddleboarding is a water sport in which participants are propelled by a swimming motion using their arms while lying or kneeling on a paddleboard or surfboard in the ocean or other body of water. This article refers to traditional prone or kneeli ...

and

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

. He also serves as a motivational speaker at public schools and private enterprises. Fernandez plans on swimming from

Vieques Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island and municipality of Puerto Rico, in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands. Vieques is part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, ...

Palmas del Mar Palmas del Mar is a beach resort community consisting of a country club, golf courses, tennis, a beach club, residences and a hotel. It is located in the municipality of Humacao, Puerto Rico, on the southeast corner of the island. Features Set i ...

Humacao Humacao () is a city and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the eastern coast of the island, north of Yabucoa; south of Naguabo; east of Las Piedras; and west of Vieques Passage. Humacao is spread over 12 barrios and Humacao Pueblo (the ...

, in a benefit drive to help the Children with Cancer Foundation.

Recognition

On September 4, 2011, the Cruce a Nado Internacional de la Bahía de Ponce, an international swimming competition, was dedicated to Fernández in recognition of his accomplishments. The dedication took place at the ''Parque Enrique González'' (also known as the Malecón) in Playa de Ponce.

Personal life

Fernández currently resides in

Hato Rey Hato Rey is a former barrio located in the northwest part of the dissolved municipality of Río Piedras. It now stretches over three barrios, of the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico: Urban landscape Its name means "king's cattle farm" ( ...

, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, Orlando 1971 births Living people Sportspeople from San Juan, Puerto Rico Charity fundraisers (people) Puerto Rican male swimmers Male long-distance swimmers

Early life and education

Career

Recognition

Personal life

See also

References