Luis Lloréns Torres (May 14, 1876 – June 16, 1944), was a Puerto Rican poet, playwright, and politician. He was an advocate for the independence of Puerto Rico.

Early years

Llorens Torres was born in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico. His parents, Luis Aurelio del Carmen Llorens and Marcelina Soledad de Torres, were the wealthy owners of a coffee plantation. In Collores (a barrio of Juana Diaz), Llorens Torres was always in contact with nature, which accounts for the love that he felt for nature and country. He always stated that he was proud to come from Collores barrio. His poem made the barrio one of the most well-known of the island of Puerto Rico.

His Catalan grandfather, Josep de Llorens i Robles, immigrated from Figueres, province of Girona, Spain.

Llorens Torres went to school in Mayagüez and Maricao. He went to Spain after he finished his secondary studies on the island and studied at the University of Barcelona where he began his studies. He then proceeded to study Philosophy and Letters at the University of Granada where he obtained both a Doctorate degree and a law degree. In Spain he published his first book of poetic verses "Al Pie de la Alhambra", which was dedicated to the woman who would eventually become his wife, Carmen Rivero.

Political career

Llorens Torres returned to Puerto Rico in 1901, married, and moved to Ponce where he established his own law firm (Nemesio Canales later joined his firm) and collaborated with the newspaper Lienzos del Solar. During this time he wrote some of his best works. According to Llorens Torres, the white cross on the Grito de Lares flag stands for the yearning for homeland redemption, the red squares, the blood poured by the heroes of the rebellion, and the white star in the blue solitude square, stands for liberty and freedom.

Works

Among his works are décimas and poems:

  • , 1899 poem
  • , newspaper founded in 1913
  • , magazine
  • , magazine
  • , (Collores) 1940 décima / poem
  • , (Song of the Antilles) 1913 poem
  • , 1914 book
  • Distant Song, 1926 poem
  • , (Creole Life), 1935 poem

Death

Llorens Torres died in Santurce, a barrio of San Juan, Puerto Rico. He defended the ideal of Puerto Rican independence until the day he died and was buried at the Puerto Rico Memorial Cemetery in Carolina, Puerto Rico.