108TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 287
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Whereas Rau´l Julia´ made his Broadway debut just a few
weeks after arriving in New York City in 1964 in
Calderon’s ‘‘Life is a Dream’’;
Whereas Rau´l Julia´, after only 3 years of living in New York
City, was instrumental opening doors for nontraditional
parts for Hispanic actors by taking the role of Demetrius
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in Shakespeare’s ‘‘Titus Andronicus’’ at the New York
Shakespeare Festival and Cradeau in Sartre’s ‘‘No Exit’’;
Whereas Rau´l Julia´ was the busiest Hispanic Shakespearean
actor in New York and the first to establish a decades-
long association with Joseph Papp and the New York
Shakespeare Festival;
Whereas Rau´l Julia´ began an impressive and productive 28-
year association with Joseph Papp and the New York
Shakespeare Festival as Macduff in the Festival’s Mobile
Unit, Spanish language production of MacBeth;
Whereas Rau´l Julia´ became the first Puerto Rican actor to
conquer Broadway stages by having his work be nomi-
nated for 4 different Tony Awards in 10 years: ‘‘Two
Gentlemen of Verona’’, ‘‘Where’s Charley?’’, ‘‘Three-
penny Opera’’, and ‘‘Nine’’;
Whereas Rau´l Julia´ provided a role model for millions of chil-
dren in his role as ‘‘Rafael, the Fix-It Man’’ in Sesame
Street;
Whereas Rau´l Julia´ was a dedicated leader in the fight
against the rising rates of teen violence and cosponsored
scriptwriting competitions for high school students as a
way to encourage teenagers to express their emotions
through art rather than through violence;
Whereas Rau´l Julia´’s dedication to help Hispanic-American
film and television writers develop their work led him to
co-found the Latino Playwrights Reading Workshops;
Whereas Rau´l Julia´ was instrumental in the formation of the
now legendary Puerto Rico Traveling Theater, an off-
Broadway nonprofit Puerto Rican theater that to this
day continues to promote and showcase bilingual plays,
new Hispanic playwrights and Spanish-speaking actors
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while bringing theater to those who cannot ordinarily af-
ford it;
Whereas Rau´l Julia´ was a leader in the entertainment indus-
try, particularly as a tireless mentor and role model to
emerging Latino actors;
Whereas Rau´l Julia´ was a dedicated activist and humani-
tarian who in his lifetime became a major supporter and
spokesperson for the Hunger Project, a nonprofit organi-
zation committed to the eradication of world hunger;
Whereas Rau´l Julia´ was tireless in his commitment to the
Puerto Rican film industry and to the making of Spanish
language films and continued to participate in small,
independent, Spanish-language films even after having
become a Hollywood star;
Whereas Rau´l Julia´ was an extremely successful stage, film
and television actor who never abandoned his Puerto
Rican heritage, never changed his name and never gave
up his accent, thereby becoming an enduring role model
for hundreds of Latino actors;
Whereas Rau´l Julia´ received the Hispanic Heritage Award
recognizing his many career achievements for the Latino
community, including his involvement in ‘‘La Familia’’, a
New York City outreach program for Latino families in
need, the Puerto Rican traveling theater, the Museo del
Barrio, and the New York Shakespeare Festival;
Whereas Rau´l Julia´ received the National Board of Review
Best Actor prize for his interpretation of the political
prisoner Valentin in the award-winning landmark film
‘‘The Kiss of the Spider Woman’’, an award he shared
with his co-star William Hurt;
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Whereas Rau´l Julia´ posthumously received the prestigious
Emmy Award, Cable Ace Award, Golden Globe Award,
and the SAG Award, given by his fellow actors for his
most famous roles including Chico Mendes in ‘‘The Burn-
ing Season’’;
Whereas Rau´l Julia´ was proud of his Puerto Rican heritage
and his life and work reflected his strong commitment to
his culture and the people of Puerto Rico;
Whereas Rau´l Julia´ was given a state funeral in Puerto Rico
and since that time there have been many awards and
honors created in his name: a scholarship at Julliard, a
scholarship given to a promising young actor for the pur-
pose of studying and performing Shakespeare at the Jo-
seph Papp Public Theater, the Rau´l Julia´ Award for Ex-
cellence given annually by the National Endowment for
the Hispanic Arts in Washington, DC, El Teatro Rau´l
Julia´ in San Juan Puerto Rico, and the Rau´l Julia´ Glob-
al Citizen Award, an annual award being given this year
for the first time by the Puerto Rican Family Institute
based in New York City;
Whereas Rau´l Julia´ was recognized by the Mayor of the City
of New York with the creation of Rau´l Julia´ Day which
was celebrated and commemorated in conjunction with
Puerto Rican Heritage and Culture Month on November
21, 1994: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the Congress recognizes and honors the
life of the late Rau´l Julia´, his dedication to ending world
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hunger, and his great contributions to the Latino commu-
nity and the performing arts.
Passed the House of Representatives February 25,
2004.
Attest:
Clerk.