"Pedro Albizu Campos"

Was a Puerto Rican politician and one of the leading figures in the Puerto Rican politician and one of the leading figures in the Puerto Rican Independence movement.He was the leader and president of the Puerto Rican Nationalists Party from 1930 until his death.He was imprisoned for many years,on several occasions,in both United States and Puerto Rico,dying shortly after his release from federal prison.Because of his oratorical skills he was known as El Maestro ("The Teacher").Pedro known as Puerto Rico's martyred Nationalist leader.who is often mentioned alongside Malcolm X,who was honored by Ernesto 'Che' Guevara as "a symbol of the as yet unfree but indomitable Latin American,"certainly comes from humble beginnings.Pedro's daddy was of Basque orgin by way of Venezuela,while his mama was of Native,African,through her parents were enslaved in Puerto Rico.Pedro would prove to be a child prodigy.He began school at age 12,he completed grades 1-8 in just four and a half years,high school in three,and earned a scholarship to study at the University of Vermont,within his first year he was recognized as a brilliant student and recommended by a professor for entrance into Harvard University.Pedro had been an out spoken student leader at the University of of Vermont,helping develop a student forum on the theme of the education of women in Latin America and participating in a public discussion against the United States intervention of Mexico,it was in Harvard that he spent several years (from 1913-1921) studying and organizing.By the end of his stay in Harvard,during which time he faced many hardships since his scholarships did not pay his entire school expenses,he had completed a Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy and Letters,the requirements of a Chemical Engineer,and a Law Degree became fluent in English,gained command of Portuguese,French,Italian,and Germany,and learned both languages of Latin and Greek.He also joined the first Reserve Officers Training Camp set up at Harvard in 1916 where he studied Military Science,becoming acquainted with the writings of Admiral  Alfred Mahan who stressed the future importance of a naval presence in the Caribbean to ensure U.S. domination over the hemisphere,and completed his training with the rank of First Lieutenant.This time he would work many jobs,such as Spanish,French,and Chemistry tutor,reporter for the Christian Science Monitor newspaper,Spanish teacher in a High School,and lawn cutter.In spite of his academy and military endeavors,and the obligation to work imposed by his university costs,Pedro became a member of student clubs and organizations,even forming himself in his capacity as one of Harvard's most prominent students.In Harvard he was a member and frequent event attendee of the Cosmopolitan Club,which held discussions on a number of radical subjects,often utilizing Pedro as an interpreter,mostly for Latin American students.During those first three years at Harvard(1913-1916),taking part in many events and student conferences,he was able to speak on Puerto Rico and its problems related to colonialism,the assimilation of immigrants in the U.S.,THE Monroe Doctrine,the situation of the black race in Latin America,and other such topics.He was advised to continue his studies at Harvard Law School until his possible services in Puerto Rico could be assessed.by the following year he was being asked to mobilized to Puerto Rico where he would organize two hundred volunteers into a "Home Guard"that he would lead in exercises on the beaches of Ponce.That July (1918)Pedro be officially signed in Ponce as a member of a Puerto Rican infantry,with the rank of Private,and soon after sent to an encampment in Santurce where in November he would be commissioned as First Lieutenant.It was in that capacity that he was discharged from the army in early 1919.