Early years

Rivas, born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico

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...

, describes "Bonzzo" as a young likable adult facing life with a child's mentality. Rivas designed some special "Bonzzo" strips commemorating NASA

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

's achievements, including "Beyond the Moon", a calendar of the year 2000 honoring Hispanic

Hispanic

Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...

 heritage.

NASA Bonzzo Award

NASA also instated the Bonzzo Award, a pint-size Bonzzo statue that will be given annually to the individual who makes the biggest contribution to NASA's Hispanic program. On October 12, 2000, Charles H. Scales, the director of Equal Opportunity at NASA

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

s Marshall Space Flight Center

Marshall Space Flight Center

The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. The largest center of NASA, MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo moon program...

, was the first recipient of this award: the statue was signed by Marshall Center Director Art Stephenson, Puerto Rican Gov. Pedro Rosello and John Rivas.

NASA celebrated last year's "Hispanic Heritage Month" at the Kennedy Space Center

Kennedy Space Center

The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...

 with an exhibit of "Bonzzo" comic strips. A life-sized Bonzzo figure marched in the 2004 Puerto Rican Day Parade celebrated in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.

Later years

There are no syndicates in the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 or 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...

 however, Bonzzoo used to appear daily in two of the four leading newspapers in Puerto Rico, El Mundo

El Mundo (Puerto Rico)

-History:El Mundo was founded in 1919 by Romualdo Real.In 1929, former corrector-turned-administrator Angel Ramos and journalist José Coll Vidal, bought the newspaper when Real retired. In 1946 Ramos was the sole owner of the newspaper.-Acquisitions:...

 and El Vocero

El Vocero

El Vocero is a Puerto Rican newspaper that is published in San Juan.Published since 1974, El Vocero was at first the third of the four largest Puerto Rico newspapers, trailing El Mundo and El Nuevo Día and leading The San Juan Star in sales...

. While U.S. syndication is one of Rivas's immediate goals, he also hopes to create a "Bonzzo" theme park, "Bonzzolandia".

See also

• List of famous Puerto Ricans