By John Hunter Tucker
Félix Rigau Carrera was the first Puerto Rican pilot and the first Hispanic fighter pilot to serve in the US Marine Corps. These are just two of the many firsts he achieved in aviation history, which is why the Southern Museum of Flight is delighted to present his story for Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15).
Rigau Carrera was born in 1894 in the town of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico. From a young age he showed an interest in aviation, often constructing model airplanes. He earned his mechanical engineering degree at Colegio de Agricultura y Artes Mecánicas (the predecessor to today’s University of Puerto Rico). He then enlisted in the US Army, serving from 1914 to 1916 as a pilot in the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps, with additional flight training in Seattle, Washington.
When the US entered World War I, Rigau Carrera enlisted in the US Marine Corps. He served with the First Marine Air Squadron in France, becoming the first Puerto Rican parachutist, the first Puerto Rican to pilot a fixed-wing aircraft, and the first Hispanic fighter pilot in the Marine Corps. He ended the war as a first lieutenant.
After the war, Rigau Carrera returned to Puerto Rico and purchased a Curtiss JN-4 Jenny biplane with the help of his siblings. Using his newly acquired aircraft, he introduced aviation to Puerto Rico — and demonstrated how useful it was for transporting passengers and cargo. He was the first Puerto Rican to fly a plane over the island, ferried people around the region, and ran an airmail route across Puerto Rico.
Rigau Carrera acquired the nickname El Águila de Sabana Grande—”the Eagle from Sabana Grande”—likely as a nod to aviator Charles Lindbergh’s nickname “the Lone Eagle.” According to some accounts, he attempted to convince the Puerto Rican government to open an aviation school; when his efforts failed, he moved to Venezuela and assisted its government in starting one.
In the 1930s Rigau Carrera moved to Gloucester Courthouse, Virginia—where he ran several successful businesses outside of aviation. During World War II he enlisted in the US Merchant Marine, but details are sketchy for his second military career. Rigau Carrera passed away in 1954 at the age of 60, and he was buried in the Abingdon Episcopal Church Cemetery in Virginia.
Despite his significance to the field of aviation, there are very few detailed accounts of Rigau Carrera’s life; a shame, considering his trailblazing importance — both in Puerto Rico and the United States. Félix Rigau Carrera served his country valiantly, his name rightly deserves to be remembered alongside other early aviation greats, and our museum is proud to honor “the Eagle from Sabana Grande” for Hispanic Heritage Month.
John Hunter, a museum intern, is an undergraduate student from Double Springs who has been named to the UAB Presidential Honors List.