Rafael Pombo

José Rafael de Pombo was born on November 7, 1833, in Bogotá into an aristocratic family. Trained as a civil engineer and mathematician, Pombo lived in New York City for thirteen years as a diplomat and translator for D. Appleton & Company, translating English nursery rhymes and writing original poetic fables.

His verse stories, published in Cuentos pintados and Cuentos morales para niños formales, became universal cultural heritage across the Hispanic world, featuring unforgettable characters like the dapper frog Rinrín Renacuajo and the wealthy old lady who had nothing to eat. On August 20, 1905, at the Colón Theater in Bogotá, he was crowned National Poet of Colombia with a golden laurel wreath.