People from Cabo Rojo

Emiliano Mercado del Toro (August 21, 1891 – January 24, 2007) was a Puerto Rican supercentenarian and military veteran who was, at age 115, the world's oldest person following the death of 116-year-old Elizabeth Bolden on December 11, 2006, and the world's oldest man from November 19, 2004 (death of Fred H. Hale, Sr.) until his own death on January 24, 2007.At the time of his death in January 2007, aged 115 years and 156 days, Mercado was the second oldest fully validated male ever, behind Danish-American Christian Mortensen's record of 115 years 252 days. (Although Shigechiyo Izumi was still believed to be older at the time of his death. Izumi's record was withdrawn by Guinness World Records in 2010.)

Elisa Colberg (April 25, 1903 – 1988) was the founder of the Puerto Rican Girl Scouts, the first troop of which formed in 1926 in Cabo Rojo, aptly named Hijas de Betances. She continued as head of the Girl Scout organisation in Puerto Rico for 27 years. Camp Elisa Colberg, near El Yunque National Forest, is named in her memory.Baptised as Elisa Esther Colberg Ramirez, Colberg was the fifth child of Rodolfo Colberg Pabón and Castora Ramirez Colberg, born in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. She attended a series of schools, including Carbonell, Curry and Salvador Brau, graduated from the University of Puerto Rico in 1925. A year later, after founded a leadership course with twenty enrollees which went on to become the Girl Scout organisation of Puerto Rico. Becoming a qualified teacher in 1928, Colberg retired in 1971, at which time the Scouting organisation had grown to 14,000 children in 654 troops.

Salvador Brau y Asencio (January 11, 1842 – November 5, 1912) was a Puerto Rican journalist, poet, dramatist, novelist, historian, and sociologist. He was designated the official historian of Puerto Rico by the first American-appointed governor of the island.