Rafael Pujals

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Pujals and the second or maternal family name is Cárdenas.

Dr. Rafael Pujals
Dr. Rafael Pujals around 1870
Born	ca. 1830 Humacao, Puerto Rico^[1]
Died	23 April 1889^[2] Ponce, Puerto Rico
Nationality	Puerto Rican
Education	University of Barcelona
Years active	ca. 1860(?) - 1889
Known for	First physician with a medical degree title in Ponce First M.D. on the staff at Hospital de Damas First medical director, Hospital Tricoche Civic leader Physician for Ponce Municipal Fire Corps
Medical career
Profession	Physician
Institutions	Hospital Damas Hospital Tricoche

Rafael Pujals Cárdenas (ca. 1830 - 1889) was a late 19th-century Puerto Rican physician practicing in Ponce, Puerto Rico, that excelled as a civic leader.

Physician

Pujals Cárdenas was born in Humacao, Puerto Rico and graduated from the University of Barcelona, Spain. He was the first physician with a medical degree title in Ponce, becoming the first medical doctor on the staff at Hospital de Damas, where he worked without pay. He later became the first medical director of Hospital Tricoche.^[3] Pujals is considered as the first surgeon to perform an open heart surgery in Puerto Rico. It tells of a man who came into the Tricoche Hospital with a stab wound to the heart. Dr. Pujals sutured the heart of man. The patient survived 16 days since succumbed to the infection.

In addition to his private medical practice, Dr. Pujals was also the physician for the famed Ponce Municipal Fire Corps in the last quarter of the 19th century.^[4]

Civic leader

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 Ponce Public Library. In 1886 he was also one of the nine cosigners of El Plan de Ponce that Roman Baldorioty de Castro had championed seeking greater political autonomy for Puerto Rico.^[5] He was also an active participant at the Grito de Lares.^[6]

Death

Pujals died in Ponce on 23 April 1889.^[7]

Legacy

The government of Puerto Rico honored Dr. Pujals naming a school in Ponce after him. He is also recognized for his contributions in civic duty at the Ponce Park for the Illustrious Ponce Citizens.^[8]

References