It is better to render homage to the living, than the dead
Published on Sunday, April 11th 1999 on The San Juan StarI much rather pay homage to the living than to the dead. Whenever I hear someone eulogize a dead person, I always fall into the sad impression that the dead has been cheated. I am firmly convinced that the deceased would have preferred to enjoy and benefit from the eulogy while he was alive, and while he could appreciate it. Or while he could challenge it. Or while he was still able to disagree with the eulogy, defend himself, and ask for equal time. I am not going to deprive myself of the privilege of eulogizing Tommy Muñiz while he is still very much alive.
I have known of Tommy Muñiz since "El Colegio de la Alegría", which means back when I was still in grade school, or in the late Forties. One of my classmates was Ana Mercedes Agrelot, the sister of the "Torito" of the "Colegio", José Miguel Agrelot, who was then, and still remains, Tommy's main sidekick.
I became personally acquainted with Don Tommy when he took it upon himself to become an ecologist. Tommy did the most comprehensive series of TV programs on Mona Island that has ever been produced. Tommy also did a series of documentaries on copper mining back when the Utuado-Adjuntas-Lares copper mines were a hot issue on the island: during the Sixties and Seventies, or over a generation ago. His documentaries covered copper mines from Virgin Gorda to Bingham Canyon, Utah, and presented copper mining operations to Puerto Rico as they were carried out at that time.
Long before anyone was talking or even thinking about ecotourism, Tommy Muñiz had already been taking visitors to Mona Island under the auspices of his very own "Nature Tours". His love of nature placed him squarely within the finest collection of animals in Puerto Rico, his very own, which then became the "Monoloro", his private zoo which was eventually opened to the public. A monkey from his collection, Yuyo, escaped from the zoo and became a Toño Bicicleta in his own right, a fugitive both loved and feared, making headlines for a long while. At another stage in his life, his faunistic interests were more restricted: to horses. At his stables, "Don Tomás" has bred some of the finest specimens on the island.
One of Tommy's TV programs, "Borinquen Canta", was the weekly (Sundays) revered monument to Puerto Rico's popular music. It had had no rival until Richard Carrión began his highly regarded Banco Popular yearly Christmas special on the same subject. Tommy's love of popular music is unique. I once attended a party where Tommy placed a one-hundred dollar bill on the coffee table. This was to be the prize for whomever could think of a popular song that Tommy did not know, did not know the composer, did not know when it was first performed and by whom, or did not have an anecdote about it. By the time I left the party, at least, the hundred dollars were still on the table.
The trait adorning Don Tommy that has impressed me the most is his very own form of intellectual honesty. If you are in his graces, you are absolutely in. If you are not in his graces, you are absolutely out. He has never covered or hypocritically lied about a fault of his. "Yes, this is at fault, but that is what is", and he assumes full responsibility for it, come what may. Another noteworthy trait has been his way of adopting people. He adopted and professionally formed many of the island's top performers. Some have stood near him, some have branched away. Jacobo Morales, Shorty Castro, Efraín López Neris, Adrián García, and Norma Candal are just some of the many names that come to mind. Julio Iglesias first performed in Puerto Rico under Tommy's auspices.
When he was temporarily stricken with facial paralysis, Tommy allowed me to sit in for him in "El Show de Tommy". He also allowed me to write script for his "Esto No Tiene Nombre", where I also had the opportunity of creating the character of Austero S. Severo. This was at least a generation ago.
Many people have also adopted and helped Tommy. I must single out his wife Luz María, or Doña Lucy to most people. She has been an inspiration to Tommy in many ways. He named his radio station, Radio Luz, after her. She has also helped Tommy immensely just by putting up with him. Another pivot in Tommy's life has been his 500 megawatt dynamo and chief executive assistant, Flavia García. Members of his family, to which he is unconditionally committed, are also automatically members of Tommy's enterprises. Tommy was badly stricken by the sudden and unexpected death of one of his sons just a few years back.
Tommy, I probably would not be able to write anything about you as post mortem eulogy, but I'm sure glad I can write about you while you can still read it and fight back. I know you will recover fully and get back into your endless projects. If we ever see each other again, just let me shake your hand. I, as well as everyone else in Puerto Rico, admire you, respect you, and am very grateful to you.