Graciela Rivera de Ponce, Puerto Rico hizo historia el 4 de Febrero de 1952, al ser la primera boricua de cantar en la Opera Metropolitana de Nueva York. Su cadena de éxitos fue grande; canto en los mejores escenarios de la ópera a nivel mundial. Además tuvo un bello programa semanal de radio en NYC durante cinco años. Además fue maestra de historia de la música; en varios idiomas durante quince años en Hostos Community College del Bronx. Graciela Rivera, in 1945, was given the role of Adele in the musical "Rosalinda", a Broadway version of an opera. She traveled to France and Germany with the production.
Graciela Rivera. In 1951, became the first Puerto Rican to sing a lead role at the New York Metropolitan Opera. She earned accolades for her performance from critics around the world. In 1953, Rivera was proclaimed "Citizen of the Year" by the City of New York.
In 1959, Graciela Rivera, from Ponce, Puerto Rico, had a weekly radio show at WHOM AM in NYC
Later on she taught Puerto Rican music history at Hostos Community College for 15 years before retiring in 1987.
She moved on to the spirit world in 2011.