Dr. Rafael Pujals Cárdenas was a late 19th century Puerto Rican

Puerto Rican people

A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...

 physician practicing in Ponce, Puerto Rico

Ponce, Puerto Rico

Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...

 that excelled as a civic leader.

Physician

In addition to his private medical practice, Dr. Pujals was also the physician for the famed Ponce Municipal Fire Corps

Parque de Bombas

Parque de Bombas is a historic firehouse building in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is one of Puerto Rico's most notable buildings, with some considering it "by far the most easily recognized landmark in the Island". It is located at the Plaza Las Delicias town square, directly behind the Ponce Cathedral...

 in the last quarter of the 19th century.

Civic leader

Dr. Pujals also excelled as a civic leader and on 30 June 1877, he became the first director of the reorganized Gabinete Ponceño de Lectura (Ponce Reading Cabinet), an early version of today's public library. In 1886 he was also one of the nine cosigners of El Plan de Ponce that Roman Baldorioty de Castro

Román Baldorioty de Castro

Román Baldorioty de Castro distinguished himself as one of Puerto Rico's foremost abolitionists and spokesman for the island's right to self-determination...

 had championed seeking greater political autonomy for Puerto Rico.

Legacy

The government of Puerto Rico honored Dr. Pujals naming a school in Ponce after him. He is also recognized for his contributions in medicine at the Ponce Park for the Illustrious Ponce Citizens.

See also

• Ponce, Puerto Rico
  Ponce, Puerto Rico
  Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
  
  
• List of famous Puerto Ricans