Juan Morel Campos (1857-1896) is credited not only with giving the Puerto Rican danza its present form, but also with creating some of its best examples. His effect on the music of Puerto Rico was so profound that the centennial of his birth was widely celebrated on the island through art exhibits, concerts, and dance performances. The people of Puerto Rico are enormously proud of their native son, and rightfully so. Morel Campos composed more than 550 works, half of which were danzas. His danzas, however, are so diverse in structure, melody and rhythm that they are hard to categorize.

Morel Campos studied solfege (sight singing) and the flute from age six and, in addition to the piano, he also played the bombardino or baritone. Obviously prolific as a composer, he wrote his first danza, Sopapos, when he was just fourteen years old. Much of his musical education and experience came by way of participation in military bands. Morel Campos's most important influence was the pianist and composer Manuel Gregorio Tavárez who instilled an interest in the danze form. While he wrote for all intrumental combinations, many of his works were written specifically for dance orchestras. When composing for the piano, Morel Campos would often incorporate hand crossings; if arranging for orchestra he would typically include a brilliant solo for the baritone.

While Morel Campos is known to have traveled to South America, he spent most of his life in his hometown of Ponce, Puerto Rico. On April 28, 1896 he fell ill while conducting a zarzuela (Spanish light opera) called El reloj de Lucerna [The Lucerne Clock] by Majorcan composer Miguel Marqués (1843-1918). Juan Morel Campos died of a heart attack in Ponce on May 12. He has come to he regarded the most important Puerto Rican composer of the nineteenth century.