Dr. Manuel Zeno Gandía

Dr. Manuel Zeno Gandía, physician and writer, was born on January 10, 1855 in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. He studied and graduated in the fields of medicine and surgery in Madrid, Spain. While devoted to his practice as a doctor, he also immersed himself in journalism, politics and literature. In 1894,  Zeno Gandía published the Puerto Rican novel, La Charca (The Pond).

In 1898 the Spanish-American war set the tone for the invasion of Puerto Rico and a more public emergence of Zeno Gandía as an independence advocate. That same year, Zeno Gandía joined Eugenio Maria de Hostos, and others, on a trip to Washington, D.C. The purpose of the trip was to ask then U.S. President McKinley for the right of the Puerto Rican people to determine their political destiny.

Zeno Gandía remained active in writing and politics throughout his life. He wrote many poems, founded and was editor of La Opinión newspaper and was a member of an early
Independence Party.

Dr. Manuel Zeno Gandía died in Santurce, Puerto Rico in 1930.


→ Fore more on Dr. Manuel Zeno Gandía:

•  Biografías y Vidas (spanish)