caption serviceyears laterwork branch commands death_date birth_place awards image_size battles birth_date placeofburial rank |death_place image article_title name
captain Ángel rivero méndez 1882 -- 1898 invented '' ' `` kola champagne '' '' ' spanish army 3rd san cristobal company of the 12th artillery battalion at fort 23 february 1930 trujillo alto , puerto rico cruz destincion rojo -lrb- order of military merit 1st class -rrb- de la orden de merito militar 1ra clase 150 spanish-american war 2 october 1856 santa juan , puerto rico maría magdalena de pazzis cemetery , in san captain trujillo alto , puerto rico angelriveromendez.gif Ángel rivero méndez
 Ángel rivero méndez
Ángel rivero méndez

captain Ángel rivero méndez -lrb- october 2 , 1856 -- february 23 , 1930 -rrb- was a puerto rican soldier , writer , journalist and a businessman who is credited with inventing the `` kola champagne '' soft drink .
as a soldier in the spanish army , rivero fired the first shot against the united states in puerto rico in the spanish-american war .
