Biography:El Gato Melendez is the first Puerto Rican-born player to ever play for the Harlem Globetrotters.
The nearest basketball courts to where El Gato grew up in Puerto Rico were two miles away, and in order to get there to play pickup ball, he had to run…and then run back home when he was done playing. His father used to run marathons, and his grandfather is a track and field expert, so running is in his blood. “But that’s still a long way to run every day and still play basketball, so I wanted to find a shorter way to go,” says El Gato.
When he was about 14 or 15, one day on his way to the courts, he followed some stray cats that he saw run into a sugarcane field. Next thing he knew, the cats had taken him right to the courts.
“I started running through those sugar cane fields every day, because the distance was shorter, and the cats would follow me every day. I would show up at the courts with all these cats at my feet, so the guys started calling me ‘El Gato,’ which is Spanish for ‘The Cat,’ and it stuck.”
El Gato started playing high school basketball in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico, and then played his senior season in Marion, N.C. He also played volleyball and ran track and field during his younger days. He played his college basketball for the storied North Carolina Tar Heels, where he appeared in Final Fours in 1998 and 2000. He has also played with the Puerto Rican national team during his career.
El Gato, whose favorite website is Facebook, is a great cook and likes to hang out at the beach with his friends. He relishes the opportunity the Globetrotters have given him. “As a Latino, I can make a difference in the lives of others and be an inspiration, showing kids that you can really make your dreams come true,” he says.
He would like to complete an architectural degree and someday develop ecologically sound houses or structures that could help save the environment.
No matter where life takes him, you can probably bet that El Gato will land on his feet.
