Manuel Fernández Juncos (December 11, 1846 – August 18, 1928) was a Spanish-born, Puerto Rican

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

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 ...

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

and

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...

who wrote the official lyrics to La Borinqueña,

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

's official anthem.

Early years

Fernández Juncos was born in Tresmonte, a section of

Ribadesella Ribadesella () is a small municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. Known for its location on the Cantabrian Sea, at the outlet of the River Sella, Ribadesella is a town that forms part of the Picos de Eur ...

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

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 ...

. Orphaned at an early age, he arrived in Puerto Rico in 1858 aboard a Spanish vessel. Fernández-Juncos became a Puerto Rican by adopting the island as his country and where he was to spend the rest of his life.El Nuevo Dia
Manuel Fernandez Juncos School
Fernández Juncos met Dr.

José Gualberto Padilla José Gualberto Padilla (July 12, 1829 – May 26, 1896), also known as ''El Caribe'', was a physician, poet, journalist, politician, and advocate for Puerto Rico's independence. He suffered imprisonment and constant persecution by the Spanish Cr ...

, a poet known as "El Caribe" who inspired him towards a literary vocation."Manuel Fernandez Juncos - Masonic Hero of Puerto Rico"; by: Eduardo Camareno, Jr., 32°
/ref> He first wrote for ''El Progreso'' (''Progress''), a newspaper founded by José Julián Acosta. He also wrote for the ''Porvenir'' and ''El Clamor del País'' newspapers. Fernández Juncos founded many newspapers with liberal tendencies. Among them, one was called ''El Buscapie''. It promoted a socialist agenda, including the idea that every child should be entitled to a free education. It quickly became the most widely read Puerto Rican paper of its time. He also founded the ''Revista Puertorriqueña'' (''The Puerto Rican Magazine''). As a writer, Fernández Juncos studied and wrote about the roots of the Puerto Ricans as a people. Among his most notable works were: ''Tipos y Caracteres'', ''Libro Cuarto de Lectura'', and ''Canciones Escolares'' (which he co-wrote with Virgilio Dávila and Braulio Dueño Colon). "El Buscapie" was the only newspaper in the island to criticize the local government. In 1893, he founded the

Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

Patria No. 61 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was also the Lodge's first Worshipful Master.

Political activist

Fernández Juncos joined the

Autonomist Party The Autonomist Party (; ) was an Italian-Dalmatianist political party in the Dalmatian political scene, that existed for around 70 years of the 19th century and until World War I. Its goal was to maintain the autonomy of the Kingdom of Dalmati ...

founded by

Román Baldorioty de Castro Román Baldorioty de Castro (23 February 1822 – 30 September 1889) was a leading Puerto Rican Abolitionism, abolitionist and spokesman for the right to self-determination of Puerto Rico. In 1870, he was elected as a deputy in the Cortes Ge ...

and became its secretary. Shortly after, when Puerto Rico was granted its

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...

from Spain, Fernández Juncos was elected and became the first Secretary of State. However, in less than a year Puerto Rico was 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

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 ...

and its government abolished. He founded the Puerto Rican Red Cross, which continues today to give humanitarian help to those in need. The

Americanization Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of the American culture and economy on other countries outside the United States, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, technology ...

process of Puerto Rico by the invaders included the establishment of English to be used in the local schools and the government. As such it was required that books written in English be used. Fernández Juncos, believed that it would not be beneficial to the common person in Puerto Rico who spoke only Spanish. He thereby took upon himself the task of adopting, translating, and writing the books to be used in the schools. Fernández-Juncos later founded the "Casa Manuel Fernández Juncos" for orphaned children in San Juan.

"La Borinqueña"

Fernández Juncos wrote the current lyrics to " La Borinqueña", which originally was a danza written by Francisco Ramírez in 1860 (sometimes credited to Félix Astol Artés in 1867). The original lyrics to the anthem, written by Lola Rodríguez de Tió in 1868, were deemed by the public as too subversive for public use. A public contest to provide new lyrics to the tune was held in 1903, with Fernández Juncos as its winner (this explains why the

native is credited for writing the lines ''"The land of Borinquen / where I was born"''). "La Borinqueña" became the official anthem of the

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

in 1952. ;Official Anthem of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico — "La Boriqueña"

Legacy

Manuel Fernández Juncos died on August 18, 1928, in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

, Puerto Rico. Was buried at the Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery In San Juan, Puerto Rico. The government of Puerto Rico has honored his memory by naming three schools in the cities of Mayagüez, Juana Diaz, and Cabo Rojo and a commercial avenue in San Juan after him. A

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

Post Office in

Santurce, Puerto Rico Santurce (, meaning Saint George from Basque language, Basque ''Santurtzi'') is the largest and most populated Barrios of San Juan, Puerto Rico, barrio of the Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, the cap ...

, was named the Fernandez Juncos Post Office.

References

External links