was particularly popular among Puerto Ricans in New York City. Besides Ramito's original version, it has been versioned by multiple artists, including Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Pete Seeger, Yolandita Monge, Tony Croatto, José González y su Banda Criolla, and others. Salvadorean band La Fuerza used the song's chorus as the basis for a similarly named song honoring El Salvador. On March 19, 2009, "Qué Bonita Bandera" was played as part of the wake-up call for Space Shuttle Mission STS-119, in honor of Mission Specialist Joe Acaba, whose ancestry is Puerto Rican. Personal life In his early years, Ramito was an agricultural worker; he later served as a prison warden and firefighter before becoming a professional singer. In 1970 the government of Puerto Rico named him a liaison and goodwill ambassador to the Puerto Rican communities in the United States. Ramito married six times and had eight children. His widow Irma Rodriguez is a jíbaro singer on her own merit, whose nickname is "La Jibarita de Salinas". Ramito relocated to her hometown, Salinas, after marrying her. On February 23, 1989, Ramito committed suicide by a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his in-law's house, after learning that a cancer he was suffering at the time had metastasized. He was buried in the town's cemetery. See also List of Puerto Ricans References External links Global Groovers (music preservation) 1915 births 1989 deaths People from Caguas, Puerto Rico 20th-century Puerto Rican male singers Suicides by firearm in Puerto Rico Jibaro music singers Puerto Rican Jibaro music musicians