Salvador Tió


Salvador Tió y Montes de Oca was a Puerto Rican poet, writer, and promoter of Puerto Rican culture, best known for coining the term "Spanglish".

Early life

Salvador Tió y Montes de Oca, better known as Salvador Tió was born on November 20, 1911 in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico to Salvador Tió y Malaret and his wife Teresa Montes de Oca y Branderes. He completed studies in law at Columbia Law School in New York and at the Complutense University of Madrid.

Spanglish

In the late 1940s, Salvador coined the term espanglish, which later evolved to its current form, Spanglish. This was his response to the many Spanish-speaking people who immediately relinquished their mother tongue in order to learn English upon immigrating to non-Hispanic countries.

Later Years

Salvador later moved to San Juan, where he died on September 17, 1989. He was burried at Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery in San Juan, Puerto Rico.