Puerto Rican critic Ernesto Ruíz de la Mata remarks that, in spite of the important role played by posters, it was not until 1964 that the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña [ICP, Puerto Rican Cultural Institute] organized the first exhibition of Puerto Rican posters. Ruiz de la Mata quotes from the essay “Teoría y elogio de cartel puertorriqueño” [Theory of and Praise for the Puerto Rican Poster], written by Spaniard Juan Antonio Gaya Nuño and published in the Revista del ICP [ICP Magazine] (Year V, Number 17, Oct.–Dec. 1962, pp. 25–29). In his article, Gaya Nuño proposed the creation of a Permanent Poster Museum, which has never come to fruition. Ruíz de la Mata, for his part, lists the artists who excelled in this genre.

Ernesto Ruiz de la Mata (San Juan, 1935–2008) worked as an art critic for the journal San Juan Review from 1965 to 1966, and for the daily newspapers, The San Juan Star, El Mundo, and El Reportero. He did his undergraduate work at the Universidad de Puerto Rico and then earned his master’s degree in Art History at Harvard University. He was a follower of the Spaniard painter Eugenio Fernández Granell, and a member of the Puerto Rican surrealist group, El Mirador Azul [The Blue Outlook]. He served as a juror for several biennials such as the Biennale Internationale d’Art de Menton in France, the International Biennial of Graphic Arts in Yugoslavia, and a consultant to the Bienal de São Paulo, In 1973, he was appointed special assistant for cultural affairs of the newly elected Resident Commissioner in Washington, D.C., Jaime Benítez, a job the art critic held until 1977. In that position, he was an active participant in the cultural life of the U.S. capital. Upon his death, the Puerto Rican daily newspaper, El Vocero, published this tribute: “De la Mata leaves a legacy of articles and writings on art, especially on art in Puerto Rico. These documents are worth gathering and publishing, not only for their erudition, but also for their literary style.”