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.”