[2] Blas Cornelio Silva Boucher[3] was born in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico on 2 February 1869.

[1] Silva received his high school diploma from the Liceo de Mayaguez (Mayaguez Liceum) and then studied engineering in Spain through a scholarship from the Sociedad Protectora de la Inteligencia (Intelligence Protection Society).

[1] Among Silva's most distinguished works are the Font-Ubides House (1913) and the Subira Residence (1910), both listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

[7] The Puerto Rico Historical Preservation Office recently said of him, "Blas Silva was probably the most established of the 'wedding-cake architects' and was thus sought after mostly by the 'nouveau riche' of the period.

"[8] It added that "Silva, as had other foreign-trained architects, succeeded in integrating classical education with the traditional elements of the Spanish Caribbean.