Dr. Edna Coll was an educator and author. Coll, who came from a prominent family of Puerto Rican

Puerto Rican people

A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...

 politicians and writers,See: "Notable family members" section was President of the Society of Puerto Rican Authors in San Juan. Coll was also the founder of the Academy of Fine Arts in Puerto Rico.

Early years

Coll, (birth name: Edna Coll Pujals) was bron in the city of Arecibo, Puerto Rico

Arecibo, Puerto Rico

Arecibo is a municipality in the northern midwest coast of Puerto Rico and located by the Atlantic Ocean, north of Utuado and Ciales; east of Hatillo; and west of Barceloneta, and Florida. Arecibo is spread over 18 wards and Arecibo Pueblo...

. Her parents were Cayetano Coll y Cuchí

Cayetano Coll y Cuchí

Cayetano Coll y Cuchí was a politician, writer and an advocate of Puerto Rican Independence. In 1917, he became the first President of Puerto Rico House of Representatives after the island was ceded to the United States by Spain as a result of the Spanish-American War...

, a former President of Puerto Rico House of Representatives. and Carmen Pujol Toste. Coll received her primary and secondary education in San Juan

San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...

, the capital of Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

. She earned a doctorate in literature and arts from the University of Puerto Rico

University of Puerto Rico

The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...

.

Puerto Rico's Academy of Fine Arts

Coll was the president of the local chapter of the American League of Professional Artists. She founded the Academy of Fine Arts in Puerto Rico in 1941. The academy, which is now known as the "Academia Edna Coll" (The Edna Coll Academy) and situated in San Juan, has served as the exposition center of art works by many of the Spaniard artists who fled Spain during the Spanish Civil War

Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...

 of the 1930s. Among the artists whose work has been exposed there are Angel Botello

Angel Botello

Ángel Botello was a Spanish-Puerto Rican painter, sculptor and graphic artist. The artist critics called him "The Caribbean Gauguin" for his use of bold colors and depictions of island life...

, Carlos Marichal, Cristobal Ruiz and Francisco Vazquez

Francisco Vázquez

Francisco H. Vázquez is a Mexican-American scholar and public intellectual. Vázquez is currently a tenured professor of the history of ideas and director of the Hutchins Institute for Public Policy Studies and Community Action at the nationally-known Hutchins School of Liberal Studies at Sonoma...

. Coll who presided over the academy form 1941 to 1954, was also a professor of fine arts at the University of Puerto Rico. In 1982, she served as president of the Society of the Puerto Rican Author. According to the editorial of "Indice informativo de la novela hispanoamericana, Volume 5":

"Dr. Edna Coll is known in the Latin American literary world for having consecrated more than twenty years to unravel the sense of fiction creation in Spanish-speaking America, and to organize this sense in synthesis and perspectives which surpass the nations where each one of these authors write."

Written works

Among the written works published by Coll are the following:

• "Indice Informativo de La Novela Hispanoamericana, Tomo V (Spanish Edition)"; Publisher: La Editorial Universidad de Puerto Rico; 1. ed edition ; ISBN 0847720055; ISBN 978-0847720057
• "Florilegio (Biblioteca de autores de Puerto Rico) (Spanish Edition)"; Publisher: Editorial Plaza Mayor; ISBN 1563281589; ISBN 978-1563281587
• "Chile y los Chilenos en las Novelas de Joaquin Edwards Bello"; Publisher: Lex; ASIN: B003XK46CW
• "Vida Y Literatura"; Publisher: M. Pareja; First Edition edition; ASIN: B004C4BMF2
• "CRITICA HISTORICO-LITERARIA HISPANOAMERICANA: TERCER TOMO"; Publisher: Ediciones Cultura Hispanica del Centro Iberoamericano de Cooperacion; ASIN: B004XD284G
• "Instantes en el tiempo: Mis memorias"; ASIN: B0000D6BQC

Notable family members

Coll came from a prominent family of Puerto Rican educators, politicians and writers. Besides her father Cayetano Coll y Cuchí, who served as a President of Puerto Rico House of Representatives, her grandfather Dr. Cayetano Coll y Toste

Cayetano Coll y Toste

Dr. Cayetano Coll y Toste , was a Puerto Rican historian and writer. He was the patriach of a prominent family of Puerto Rican, educators, politicians and writers.-Early years:...

 (1850–1930), was a historian

Historian

A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...

 and writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

. Her uncle José Coll y Cuchí

José Coll y Cuchí

José Coll y Cuchi was a lawyer, writer and the founder of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. He was a member of a prominent Puerto Rican family of politicians, educators and writers See: "Notable family members" section .-Early years:Coll y Cuchi was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico...

 was the founder of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party

Puerto Rican Nationalist Party

The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party was founded on September 17, 1922. Its main objective is to work for Puerto Rican Independence.In 1919, José Coll y Cuchí, a member of the Union Party of Puerto Rico, felt that the Union Party was not doing enough for the cause of Puerto Rican independence and he...

 and her cousin Isabel Cuchí Coll

Isabel Cuchí Coll

Isabel Cuchí Coll was a journalist, author and the Director of the "Sociedad de Autores Puertorriqueño"...

 was a noted journalist and author who had also served as Director of the "Sociedad de Autores Puertorriqueño" (Society of Puerto Rican Authors). Her son, Jose "Fufi" Santori Coll

Fufi Santori

Jose Santori Coll , better known as Fufi Santori, is a well known former BSN basketball player, coach and television sportscaster. He was also a physical education, basketball and tennis instructor at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez for close to thirty years...

was a former BSN basketball player, coach and television sportscaster.

Later years

Coll was married to Jose Santori and had two children, Vicente Santori Coll, an attorney and Jose Santori Coll. On November 19, 2002, she died in the city of San Juan.