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 Crown in Puerto Rico because his patriotic verses, social criticism and political ideals were considered a threat to Spanish Colonial rule of the island.

Early years Padilla was born in San Juan, the capital city of Puerto Rico to José María Padilla Córdova and Trinidad Alfonso Ramírez. The family moved to the town of Añasco, where Padilla's father practiced law. There he received his primary education, and continued his secondary education in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

While studying in Spain, Padilla and a group of Puerto Ricans founded the newspaper La Esperanza, which criticized the political and social abuses in Puerto Rico by the Spanish colonial government. In 1845 he moved to Barcelona, Spain where he earned his medical degree. There he wrote for various local newspapers and published a satiric political poem titled Zoopoligrafía.

Upon the failure of the revolt some 475 rebels - amongst them Padilla, Manuel Rojas and Mariana Bracetti - were imprisoned in Arecibo, where they were tortured and humiliated. Padilla continued to write poems during his confinement in prison.

Written works Upon returning home, in order to avoid re-arrest, Padilla wrote for various publications under the pseudonyms El Caribe, Macuquino, Cibuco and Trabuco. He also criticized the director of the newspaper El Duende, a Spaniard who looked down on local Puerto Rican customs and traditions. Padilla also feuded with Manuel del Palacio, a Spanish poet whose verses were offensive to the Puerto Rican people. In 1874, he published Para un Palacio un Caribe, in which he criticized Palacio.

Nuevo Cancionero de Borinquen (1872) El Indio Antillano El Maestro Rafael (dedicated to the Puerto Rican educator Rafael Cordero) En la muerte de Corchado (dedicated to Manuel Corchado y Juarbe) Para un Palacio un Caribe (1874)

Later years Padilla retired in 1888 and lived the remaining years of his life at his estate in Vega Baja. He died on May 26, 1896, while working on his last poem Canto a Puerto Rico. before his death. His remains were interred in Cementerio Municipal de Vega Baja.

Legacy Various towns in Puerto Rico have schools named after Padilla. The towns with schools named José Gualberto Padilla are Cayey, Arecibo and Vega Baja

His daughter, Trinidad Padilla de Sanz (1864-1957), was a poet who assumed the pseudonym, La Hija del Caribe ("Daughter of El Caribe"). In 1912, she collected most of Padilla's poetic works and published them in two books: En el Combate ("In Combat") and Rosas de Pasión ("Roses of Passion") through Librería Paul Ollendorff in Paris.