Name Olimpio Verges Role Musical Artist | Died 1911 | |
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Born 1845 Ponce, Puerto Rico Occupation Merchant, Attorney, Composer, Musical editor, and Civic leader | ||
Olimpio Otero Vergés (1845–1911) was a merchant, attorney, composer, musical editor, and a civic leader in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
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Early years
Otero Vergés was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1845.
Merchant, composer, and musical editor
Otero founded the first publishing house to publish and distribute Puerto Rican music, called Bazar Atocha. His efforts made possible the circulation and distribution of music from the most important composers of his time, such as Manuel Gregorio Tavarez and Juan Morel Campos. The Bazar, also known as Bazar Otero was also a gathering point for musicians of the area. One of Otero's better known musical compositions is "La Cuñadita".
Civic leader and political activist
As a civic leader, Otero Verges led the Agricultural and Industrial Tobacco Exposition held in Ponce in 1883, just a year after the successful 1882 Exposition Fair that was held in the same city at Plaza Las Delicias in the building now called Parque de Bombas.
In October, 1887, Otero led a three-member commission that organized an expedition to Madrid, Spain, for Julio Vizcarrondo and Juan Bautista Arrillaga Roque to denounce the injustices perpetrated by Spanish governor General Romualdo Palacios Gonzalez. It resulted in the removal of General Palacios from office.
Otero is also known for his promotion and creation of a road, now PR-123, to link Ponce and Arecibo in the early twentieth century. In 1903, the Puerto Rico Legislature named a bridge on the Ponce to Adjuntas section of the road in his memory. The bridge is located in the Barrio Magueyes of the municipality of Ponce. A prominent local civic and community leader, Otero was also a member of the organizing board that made possible the 1883 Ponce Fair.
Abolition of slavery
In 1880 Otero, together with the Juan Mayoral Barnés and Román Baldorioty de Castro, was instrumental in creating the concept for a park in Ponce—now known as Abolition Park—dedicated to the abolition of slavery, the only such memorial in the Caribbean.