José de Nouvilas de Vilar explained

José de Nouvilas de Vilar
Order1:94th
Office1:Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico
Term Start1:3 January 1893[1]
Term End1:9 August 1894[2]
Birth Date:1856
Birth Place:Mahón, Menorca, Spain
Death Date:1931
Death Place:Valldemossa, Mallorca, Spain
Spouse:Maria Lavinia Boothby Tolosa
Occupation:Military

José de Nouvilas de Vilar (1856  - 1931) was Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 3 January 1893[3] to 9 August 1894.[4] He was a soldier in the Spanish military and held the rank of "General de Brigada".

Background

Nouvilas de Vilar had been Ponce Police Chief immediately prior to his first day as mayor. He had garnished the sympathy of the townspeople for his fair application of law enforcement, in particular for the treatment of residents during the popular and commercial protests of 7–10 September 1892 to the Madrid's tax increase. During these protests Nouvilas de Vilar had prohibited his police force from using any violence against the residents.[5]

Mayoral term

Nouvilas became mayor of Ponce on 3 January 1893 and he mayored the municipality until 9 August 1894. During this time he spearheaded the development of a working group of women for the creation of a shelter for Ponce's homeless elderly. In 1893, noticing the large number of elderly beggars that crowded the city streets, he had the urge that something needed to be done to help these group of people. A significant amount from the estate of Miguel Arribas was also donated to the municipality for this purpose.[6] As a result of his leadership, and the many donations that came in, by November 1894 an Asilo de Ancianos (Shelter for the Elderly) opened at Calle Mendez Vigo #37.[7] Later, encountering declining health, Nouvilas de Vilar traveled to the Peninsula for medical treatment, from where he resigned his mayoral post.[8] However, under the pretext of public safety, he also ordered the "alcaldes de barrio" to "enter all private homes in their jurisdiction and assess their physical condition."[9]

Legacy

Nouvilas is remembered for issuing an anti-prostitution edict, the Reglamento de Higiene de la Prostitución (Prostitution Higiene Decree), intended to "correct immorality in Ponce".[10]

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Socorro Girón. Ponce, el teatro La Perla y La Campana de la Almudaina. Gobierno Municipal de Ponce. 3rd Edition. 1992. p.284.
  2. Socorro Girón. Ponce, el teatro La Perla y La Campana de la Almudaina. Gobierno Municipal de Ponce. 3rd Edition. 1992. p.289.
  3. Socorro Girón. Ponce, el teatro La Perla y La Campana de la Almudaina. Gobierno Municipal de Ponce. 3ra Edición. 1992. p.284.
  4. Socorro Girón. Ponce, el teatro La Perla y La Campana de la Almudaina. Gobierno Municipal de Ponce. 3ra Edición. 1992. p.289.
  5. Félix Pubill. La Administración Municipal de Ponce: Memoria de las gestiones practicadas en la Administración Municipal de Ponce, por los Alcaldes y Ayuntamientos que ha tenido desde el año 1882 al 1900. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Tipografía José Picó Matos. 1900. p. 59.
  6. Félix Pubill. La Administración Municipal de Ponce: Memoria de las gestiones practicadas en la Administración Municipal de Ponce, por los Alcaldes y Ayuntamientos que ha tenido desde el año 1882 al 1900. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Tipografía José Picó Matos. 1900. p. 61.
  7. Eduardo Neumann Gandia. Verdadera y Autentica Historia de la Ciudad de Ponce. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña. 1913. pp.109-110.
  8. Félix Pubill. La Administración Municipal de Ponce: Memoria de las gestiones practicadas en la Administración Municipal de Ponce, por los Alcaldes y Ayuntamientos que ha tenido desde el año 1882 al 1900. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Tipografía José Picó Matos. 1900. p. 62.
  9. Ileana M. Rodriguez Silva. Silencing Race: Disentangling blackness, colonialism, and national identities in Puerto Rico. Palgrave Macmillan. 2012. p. 103.
  10. Socorro Girón. Ponce, el teatro La Perla y La Campana de la Almudaina. Gobierno Municipal de Ponce. 3rd Edición. 1992. p.284, and 290-302.

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