Puerto Rico has valuable natural resources, but many observers hold that the people of Puerto Rico are the island’s most valuable natural resource of all.
Here are just a few of the notable Americans from Puerto Rico or of Puerto Rican heritage:
- Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor
- Rita Moreno, one of just 15 EGOT winners in history. EGOT stands for Emmy, Tony, Grammy, and Oscar, the four major performing arts awards. Moreno actually won two Emmys… not to mention the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Eight more Puerto Ricans have won the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
- Seven current or recent members of Congress, including Nydia Velazquez, José E. Serrano, Darren Soto, Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and until January of this year, Raúl Labrador and Luis Gutierrez.
- Five Miss Universe winners: Marisol Malaret(1970), Deborah Carthy Deu (1985), Dayanara Torres (1993), Denise Quiñone (2001) and Zuleyka River (2006)
- Five Baseball Hall of Fame inductees: Roberto Clemente (1973), Orlando Cepeda (1999), Roberto Alomar (2011), Iván Rodríguez and Edgar Martínez (2019). Rodriguez is also a member of Puerto Rico’s shadow delegation to the U.S. Congress.
- Lin-Manuel Miranda has won a Pulitzer Prize, three Tony Awards, three Grammys, an Emmy, and two Olivier Awards. He has also been nominated for an Academy Award.
- Dozens more award-winning performing artists, from Calle 13 and Daddy Yankee to Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin, including three Academy Award winners
- Astronaut Joseph Acaba, plus at least 70 more NASA scientists
- Olympic athletes Tony Ramos, Monica Puig, and at least two dozen more
- Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Director of the Hayden Planetarium
Puerto Rico compares favorably with the States in the number of military men and women who have served in the U.S. armed forces, as well.
Puerto Rico’s educated, bilingual work force will be an important element of the Island’s economic recovery.
