Nilita Vientos Gastón
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Nilita Vientos Gaston (June 5, 1903-July 10, 1989) born in San Sebastián, Puerto Rico, was an educator, writer, journalist and the first female lawyer to work for the Department of Justice of Puerto Rico.
Gaston was born in San Sebastian, a town located on the western region of Puerto Rico. Her parents moved to Havana, Cuba when she was only a child, where she received her primary education. After living in Cuba for various years, they moved to New York City where she received her secondary education. In 1923, Gaston returned to Puerto Rico.
She entered the University of Puerto Rico where she studied law and earned her degree. In 1945], while she was a student, she founded and directed the magazine Asomante. She was granted a scholarship from the Rockefeller Fundation and studied literature at Kenyon College at Canton, Ohio.
When Gaston returned to the island, she was hired by her Alma Mater to teach literature. She was also hired by the Departmant of Justice of Puerto Rico thus, becoming the first woman to receive such a distinction. She worked as an auxiliary prosecutor general for three decades. Gaston defended the use of the Spanish language in the courts of Puerto Rico, before the Supreme Court, and won.
Gaston was a founding member of the Puerto Rican Academy of the Spanish Language. In 1946, Gaston became the first woman president of the Puerto Rican Athenaeum, a position which she held until 1961. In 1966, she was also named president of the Puerto Rico Pen Club.
Gaston had a column in the newspaper "El Mundo" where she became a renowned literary critic. In 1956, she published Introduccion a Harry James (Introduction to Harry James) and in 1957 Impresiones de un Vieje (Impressions of a trip). In 1965, she founded the magazine Sin Nombre (Without a Name).
In 1996, the Association of Graduates of the University of Puerto Rico, dedicated the 50th anniversary issue of Asomante to Gaston and to the memory of Margot Arce de Vazquez.
Nilita Vientos Gaston died on July 10, 1989 in Santurce, Puerto Rico.
The Nilita Vientos Gaston Fundation was founded in 1995 and Gaston's house was converted into a museum-library. The Fundation together with the Puerto Rican Institute of Culture manages her publications and documents. The Puerto Rican Lawyers College annually present the Nilita Vientos Gaston Medal to the person whose principals exemplifies that of Nilita's. The college also honored her memory by naming a Hall after her.
