José de Guzmán Benítez explained

José de Guzmán Benítez
Order1:106th
Office1:Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico
Term Start1:28 February 1901
Term End1:1902
Predecessor1:Pedro Juan Rosaly
Successor1:Enrique Chevalier
Birth Date:1857
Birth Place:Ponce, Puerto Rico[1]
Death Date:28 October 1923
Death Place:San Juan, Puerto Rico
Nationality:Puerto Rican
Spouse:Carmen Soto Rodriguez
Children:Jose Ignacio (1884–1941)
Profession:Attorney[2]

José de Guzmán Benítez (1857[3] – 28 October 1923[4]) was Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 28 February 1901 until 1902.[5] José de Guzmán Benítez is best known for his 1899 campaign initiative, presented to the people of Puerto Rico, asking for the creation of a pro-American political party.[6]

Early years

Guzmán Benítez was born in 1857 to Manuel De Guzman and Modesta Benitez. He married Carmen Soto Rodriguez, from Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico, with whom he had a son named Jose Ignacio (1884–1941).[7]

Mayoral term

Guzmán Benítez, along with his chief of police Rodulfo Figueroa were regarded by the Federal Party as "highly controversial" figures due to their association with members of Ponce's lower class. The Republican side of Ponce's Municipal Assembly, meanwhile, demanded Guzmán Benítez's resignation but a crowd of Ponce residents, numbering some two thousand, took over the halls of the Assembly building, coming to Guzmán Benítez's defense.[8]

A caricature was made of De Guzmán Benítez of his 1900 election win that is well preserved.[9] The 1900 election was significant in that it was the first election since the United States invaded the Island in 1898.

With the arrival of the Americans in Puerto Rico in 1898, De Guzmán Benítez proposed the creation of a pro-American political party. The proposal caught the attention of Jose Celso Barbosa, leader of the Partido Ortodoxo de Puerto Rico (Orthodox Party of Puerto Rico).[10] Celso Barbosa held a party assembly in San Juan to which De Guzmán Benítez was invited.[11] The 4 July 1899 assembly resulted in the creation of the Partido Republicano de Puerto Rico (Republican Party of Puerto Rico).[12] [13]

Death

De Guzmán Benítez died in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on 28 October 1923, as a result of a cardiac arrest, more specifically an asystole.[14] He was 67 years old.

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Neysa Rodriguez Deynes, et al., Brevario sobre la historia de Ponce y sus principales lugares de interés. 1991. Museo de la Historia de Ponce. Secretaría de Arte y Cultura. Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. p. 62.
  2. Neysa Rodriguez Deynes, et al., Brevario sobre la historia de Ponce y sus principales lugares de interés. 1991. Museo de la Historia de Ponce. Secretaria de Arte y Cultura. Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. p. 62.
  3. José De Guzman Benitez in the 1910 United States Federal Census.
  4. https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=9100&h=206220&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=PDj113&_phstart=successSource Puerto Rico, Civil Registrations, 1885-2001.
  5. Socorro Giron. Ponce, el teatro La Perla y La Campana de la Almudaina. Ponce Municipal Government. 1992. Page 414.
  6. Neysa Rodriguez Deynes, et al., Brevario sobre la historia de Ponce y sus principales lugares de interés. 1991. Museo de la Historia de Ponce. Secretaria de Arte y Cultura. Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. p. 62.
  7. https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=9100&h=206220&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&_phsrc=PDj113&_phstart=successSource Puerto Rico, Civil Registrations, 1885-2001.
  8. Ileana M. Rodriguez-Silva. Silencing Race: Disentangling Blackness, Colonialism, and National Identities in Puerto Rico. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 2012. p. 177.
  9. http://bibliotecadigital.uprrp.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%2FMarioBrau&CISOPTR=247&DMSCALE=19.28021&DMWIDTH=600&DMHEIGHT=600&DMMODE=viewer&DMFULL=0&DMOLDSCALE=3.03890&DMX=0&DMY=0&DMTEXT=%2520las&DMTHUMB=1&REC=3&DMROTATE=0&x=73&y=85 Univ. of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras. Biblioteca Digital Puertorriqueña. Caricatura Becqueriana. By Mario Brau de Zuzuárregui. c. 1910. See also http://136.145.174.31/u?/Dibujos,247
  10. Reinaldo E. Gonzalez Blanco. El Turismo Cultural en Ponce durante el Plan Ponce en Marcha, 1900-2000. Neysa Rodriguez Deynes, Editor. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Professional Editions. 2018. p.13.
  11. [Luis Fortuño Janeiro]
  12. Luis Fortuño Janeiro. Album Histórico de Ponce: Contenido de los más importantes datos históricos y de una exposición gráfica de su cultura y progreso. 1963. pp.16-18.
  13. Reinaldo E. Gonzalez Blanco. El Turismo Cultural en Ponce durante el Plan Ponce en Marcha, 1900-2000. Neysa Rodriguez Deynes, Editor. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Professional Editions. 2018. pp.13-14.
  14. Puerto Rico, Civil Registrations, 1885-2001 for José De Guzmán Benitez. Defunciones (Deaths), Santurce, Defunciones 1918-1924. Folio 235. Acta Numero 824. Departamento de Salud de Puerto Rico. Registro Civil de San Juan. Tomo 1. Julio 1 de 1918 a Marzo 27 del 1919. Santurce, Puerto Rico.

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