Famous Puerto Ricans: O
Browse by last name.
6 people
Tommy Olivencia
Legendary salsa bandleader and composer whose orchestra launched the careers of many celebrated Puerto Rican singers.
Francisco Manuel Oller y Cestero
Renowned painter and one of Puerto Rico's most important visual artists. Associated with the Impressionist movement, he studied in Europe and helped bring international recognition to Puerto Rican art.
Francisco Oller
Born June 17, 1833 in Bayamón. Died May 17, 1917 in San Juan. Puerto Rico's greatest 19th-century painter. Greatly influenced by the European art world, Oller studied in Spain and Paris, although it meant abandoning his wife and children for 11 years. Following such painters as Picasso and Cezanne, Oller became the first Latin American impressionist, adapting their obsession with light and color to tropical skies. He was also a realistic painter of landscapes and still lifes in Puerto Rico, brilliant capturing the local flora. His best-known work "El Velorio" (The Wake) (1893), which was shown at the Paris Salon in 1895.
José "Piculín" Ortiz
Widely regarded as one of Puerto Rico's greatest basketball players, José "Piculín" Ortiz represented Puerto Rico in multiple Olympic Games and enjoyed a successful professional career both on the island and internationally.
Juan José Osuna
Born in Caguas on June 24, 1884, Dr. Juan José Osuna became one of Puerto Rico's most influential educators and historians of education. After earning degrees in Pennsylvania and a doctorate from Columbia University, he returned to Puerto Rico and helped professionalize teacher education. He served as Dean of the University of Puerto Rico's School of Education from 1928 to 1945 and was acting president of the University of Puerto Rico from 1939 to 1940. His landmark book, A History of Education in Puerto Rico (1949), remains an important reference on the island's educational history. He died on June 19, 1950, in Arlington, Virginia. Schools and university buildings throughout Puerto Rico bear his name.
Jorge Otero Barreto
Highly decorated U.S. Army soldier and Vietnam War veteran whose military service earned numerous decorations for valor. He became one of Vega Baja's best-known military figures.
