Luis Lloréns Torres (May 14, 1876 – June 16, 1944), was a Puerto Rican

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

, and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He was an advocate for the independence of Puerto Rico.

Early years

Llorens Torres was born in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico. His parents, Luis Aurelio del Carmen Llorens and Marcelina Soledad de Torres, were the wealthy owners of a coffee plantation. In Collores (a

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city delimited by functional (e.g. residential, comm ...

of Juana Diaz), Llorens Torres was always in contact with nature, which accounts for the love that he felt for nature and country. He always stated that he was proud to come from Collores barrio. His poem made the barrio one of the most well-known of the island of Puerto Rico. His Catalan grandfather, Josep de Llorens i Robles, immigrated from Figueres,

province of Girona The Province of Girona ( ; ) is a Provinces of Spain, province in the northeastern part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. It is bordered on the northwest by the province of Lleida, on the southwest ...

, Spain. Llorens Torres went to school in Mayagüez and Maricao. He went to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

after he finished his secondary studies on the island and studied at the University of Barcelona where he began his studies. He then proceeded to study Philosophy and Letters at the

University of Granada The University of Granada (, UGR) is a public university located in the city of Granada, Spain, and founded in 1531 by Emperor Charles V. With more than 60,000 students, it is the fourth largest university in Spain. Apart from the city of Granad ...

where he obtained both a Doctorate degree and a law degree. In Spain he published his first book of poetic verses "Al Pie de la Alhambra", which was dedicated to the woman who would eventually become his wife, Carmen Rivero.

Political career

Llorens Torres returned to Puerto Rico in 1901, married, and moved to Ponce where he established his own law firm ( Nemesio Canales later joined his firm) and collaborated with the newspaper ''Lienzos del Solar''. During this time he wrote some of his best works. He also met numerous poets like Julia de Burgos. When Llorens Torres returned to Puerto Rico he found a political situation completely different than from the one that he had left. Puerto Rico had been invaded by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

during the Puerto Rico Campaign of the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

in 1898. This motivated Llorens Torres to join the political Union Party of Puerto Rico. The ideal of independence for the island. He transmitted his beliefs to the public through his poem "El Patito Feo" (The Ugly Duckling). He became a member of the Puerto Rican legislature and was named to the Camara of Delegates from 1908 to 1910 representing the municipality of Ponce. On February 8, 1912, together with Rosendo Matienzo Cintrón and Manuel Zeno Gandía, he wrote a manifesto which stated that it was time for Puerto Rico to have its independence. That year Llorens Torres, Rosendo Matienzo Cintrón, Manuel Zeno Gandía, Eugenio Benítez Castaño, and Pedro Franceschi founded the Independence party which was the first party in the history of the island to exclusively want Puerto Rican independence. Eugenio Benítez Castaño was named president of the short lived political party. In 1913, Llorens Torres co-founded with Nemesio Canales ''La Revista de Las Antillas...'', a literary publication.

''Grito de Lares''

Llorens Torres' historical drama, ''El Grito de Lares (The Cry of Lares)'', deals with the attempted overthrow of the Spanish government on the island with the intention of establishing the island as a

sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

. In the book, he describes the flag of the revolt created by Mariana Bracetti. The flag was divided in the middle by a white cross, the two lower corners were red and the two upper corners were blue. A white star was placed in the upper left blue corner.The Women from Puerto Rico
''Mariana Bracetti''
According to Llorens Torres, the white cross on the ''Grito de Lares'' flag stands for the yearning for homeland redemption, the red squares, the blood poured by the heroes of the rebellion, and the white star in the blue solitude square, stands for liberty and freedom.

Works

Among his works are décimas and poems: * , 1899 poem * , newspaper founded in 1913 * , magazine * , magazine * , (Collores) 1940 décima / poem * , (Song of the Antilles) 1913 poem * , 1914 book * Distant Song, 1926 poem * , (Creole Life), 1935 poem

Death

Llorens Torres died in Santurce, a

of San Juan, Puerto Rico. He defended the ideal of Puerto Rican independence until the day he died and was buried at the Puerto Rico Memorial Cemetery in Carolina, Puerto Rico.

Legacy

The Government of Puerto Rico has honored the memory of Luis Llorens Torres by naming a public housing project ( Residencial Luis Lloréns Torres) in Santurce after him. Among the other things that were named after him are an avenue in San Juan, a high school in Juana Diaz, and a children's academy in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. There is a bust of him in front of the high school named after him and there is a statue of Luis Llorens Torres, sculpted by the Puerto Rican sculptor

Tomás Batista Tomás Batista (born December 7, 1935) is a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican sculptor. He is the creator of some of Puerto Rico's most notable monuments. Early years Batista (birth name: Tomás Batista Encarnación) was born and raised in Luquillo, ...

, in the "Plazita Famosa" of Juana Diaz.

References

External links

Biografias y Vidas

Poemas de Luis Lloréns Torres
{{DEFAULTSORT:Llorens Torres, Luis 1876 births 1944 deaths University of Barcelona alumni University of Granada alumni Puerto Rican journalists Puerto Rican dramatists and playwrights Puerto Rican poets Puerto Rican male writers Puerto Rican nationalists Puerto Rican people of Catalan descent Politicians from Ponce People from Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican independence activists American male non-fiction writers