Vintage Photo of the Week

Photo: Galos Publishing/AMNY.com

For this week's Vintage Photo of the Week, I thought I'd venture outside of the U.S. to Puerto Rico and share this picture of Ruth Fernández, the first successful Black female Puerto Rican singer. Here she is performing at the 1968 Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City.

Known as “El alma de Puerto Rico hecha canción" which means "The soul of Puerto Rico made song", this diva was the first woman to lead an orchestra and sing at the Metropolitan Opera House in NYC. Sra. Fernández also served as a Senator in the Puerto Rican legistature.

For more info on Sra. Fernández, check out Music of Puerto Rico.

Enjoy!