In this letter to the editor of The San Juan Star newspaper, Lorenzo Homar comes to the defense of art critic Ernesto Ruiz de la Mata in the wake of the article written by the artist Rafael Rivera García, who said that Ruiz de la Mata’s columns were harmful to Puerto Rican art. Homar writes that although he does not always agree with his reviews, Ruiz de la Mata is the best art critic on the Island. According to Homar, if Ruiz de la Mata writes controversial critiques, it is a good thing. In Homar’s opinion, both Ruiz de la Mata and the Argentine critic Marta Traba, who lived in Puerto Rico for a period of time, are highly professional art critics who pursue their craft with dignity, unlike others on the Island who pass themselves off as “art critics.”

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.”Lorenzo Homar (San Juan, 1913-2004) organized in 1957 the Taller de Gráfica [Graphics Workshop] at the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, which he directed until his resignation in 1973. Some of the foremost artists of Puerto Rican art studied printmaking techniques in this workshop. Homar inspired in them dedication and love for the art, for, as he once said: “There is no vocation without discipline, and without discipline there can be no freedom in art, or elsewhere.” Homar was one of the organizers of the First Bienal de San Juan del Grabado Latinoamericano held in 1970. He developed the technique of silkscreen and offered numerous workshops in and outside Puerto Rico.