[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 147 (Tuesday, November 29, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: November 29, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
              IN MEMORY OF THE LATE RAFAEL ``LITO'' VALLS

  (Mr. de LUGO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks and include extraneous 
material.)
  Mr. de LUGO. Mr. Speaker, when we were home recently, the U.S. Virgin 
Islands lost a very special person. He passed away. His name was Lito 
Valls, Rafael ``Lito'' Valls.
  He was a historian and a teacher by trade. By title he was an 
interpreter for the National Park Service at the Virgin Islands 
National Park on St. John. But perhaps most of all Lito, as he was 
known to his friends, was a master storyteller, a guide to the past who 
deftly combined his broad knowledge of history, culture, and folkways 
with his gift for words in ways that enthralled his audience from all 
over the world and made Virgin Islands history seem to come alive.
  Lito Valls, his work, and his obvious genuine love of it, will live 
on in his books and in the memories of those of us who were fortunate 
enough to have known this very special human being. He was in very 
special ways my brother. He was the best friend that I have ever had in 
this life, and I will miss him greatly as will all of those who ever 
knew him.
  Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record a recent guest editorial in the 
Virgin Islands Daily News by Virgin Islands National Park Ranger Chuck 
Weikert that well described Lito Valls and the exceptional human being 
that he was, as follows:

    Lito Valls Had the Magic Touch; the National Park Was His Stage

       Returning to the islands after a recent vacation, I was 
     shocked and saddened to learn to the death of Lito Valls. I 
     had known Lito since moving to St. John in 1986 and was 
     fortunate to have been associated with him at Virgin Islands 
     National Park.
       Lito was employed as a park ranger whose responsibility was 
     to present interpretive programs to the public. Interpreters 
     are the park's educators, teaching visitors about those 
     values for which the park was established. In so doing, the 
     interpreter strives to create in sense of appreciation for a 
     park's resources, both natural and cultural.
       The art of interpretation began with the establishment of 
     the National Park System in 1916. Since then, many excellent 
     interpreters have worked in hundreds of parks throughout the 
     nation. A few have stood out as natural communicators, men 
     and women who can tell the park's stories with an elegance, 
     with an almost uncanny sense for how bent to touch the hearts 
     of visitors.
       In essence, they make magic.
       Lito Valls was just such a magician.
       Lito used his amazing depth of knowledge and love of 
     history to weave tales that would leave visitors spellbound. 
     His enthusiasm for the events that shaped island culture was 
     infectious.
       I watched one day as he lead a group through the sugar mill 
     ruins at Caneel Bay. One moment, he had the audience 
     chuckling over an anecdote concerning Alexander Hamilton. 
     Moments later, he ``shifted gears'' in capturing the essence 
     of man's inhumanity during the period when slavery was the 
     driving force behind sugar and rum production.
       With remarkable skill, thus would he move from one subject 
     to another; visitors straining to hear his every word. 
     Afterwards, nearly everyone came up to Lito to express their 
     appreciation for his marvelous program. Over the years, there 
     were many such compliments, many letters to the park 
     expressing praise for his work.
       A couple of months ago, long after he had decided to leave 
     the park, Lito agreed to briefly come ``out of retirement'' 
     to appear in a professional film production on St. John's 
     history. But the day before filming, he changed his mind and 
     opted not to do the program.
       I was not surprised; Lito had shunned similar situations in 
     the past. He avoided the bright lights of formality, whether 
     at the camp ground's amphitheater or in front of a camera. He 
     said that such appearances were just too stressful. But I 
     think there was also another reason for his reticence.
       As a ranger, Lito practiced the interpreter's craft in the 
     traditional way--strictly in person, with relatively small 
     groups of people.
       Whether leading bus tours of the island, guiding hikers on 
     the Reef Bay Trail, or speaking to several first-time 
     visitors in the park's Visitor Center, this man knew how to 
     capture and hold his audience for as long as he wished.
       He really had no need for any additional lighting to draw 
     attention to and brighten his stories any further.
       I suspect he knew quite well that the storyteller's twinkle 
     in his eyes was plenty illumination for park visitors and the 
     rest of us to remember him by. Forever.

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