Luis Fortuño Janeiro Explained

Luis Nicolás Fortuño Janeiro
State Senate:	Puerto Rico
District:	Ponce
Term Start:	1937
Term End:	1944
Birth Date:	6 December 1902
Birth Place:	Ponce, Puerto Rico
Death Date:	19 June 1966
Death Place:	Cuarto, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Profession:	Politician
Party:	Partido Republicano Puertorriqueño

Luis Nicolás Fortuño Janeiro (1902 – 1966) was a politician, historian, journalist, and businessman from Ponce, Puerto Rico. He was senator from Ponce from 1937 to 1941.^[1]

Historian and journalist

Fortuño is best remembered for his Album Histórico de Ponce (1692–1963), a photographic record of the city of Ponce and its leaders that covered nearly 300 years of Ponce history. It was his second edition of the book. He owned Imprenta Fortuño (Fortuño Press), a 20th-century icon in southern Puerto Rico's publishing industry.^[2] The press shut down in 2015.^[3]

Political career

In 1936, he led the strike against the high rates of the Ponce Electric Company.^{[4] [5]} The Company was subsequently sold to the Puerto Rican Government's Autoridad de Fuentes Fluviales (now (2019) called "Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica de Puerto Rico"), becoming part of it in 1937.^[6] In 1956 Fortuño ran for mayor of Ponce, but lost his bid to Carlos Juan Cintrón.^[7]

Books by Fortuño Janeiro

• Album histórico de Ponce, 1692–1963 Ponce, PR: Imprenta Fortuño. 1937. (First edition)
• Laureles póstumos : Antonio R. Barceló. 1939. (co-authored with Ramón Fortuño Sellés)
• Album histórico de Ponce, 1692–1963 Ponce, PR: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963. (Second Edition)

Note: Fay Fowlie-Flores wrote an index to both editions of the Album Histórico tilted "Indice a las dos ediciones del Album histórico de Ponce : 1692–1963."^[8]

Accolades

• He is recognized at the Parque del Tricentenario in Ponce, Puerto Rico.^[9]
• In 1973, the Municipality of Ponce dedicated its Ponce Carnaval to him.^[10]

Death

Fortuño Janeiro died in the hospital in Barrio Cuarto, Ponce, Puerto Rico, on 19 June 1966 due to late stage stomach cancer.^[11]

Notes and References

1. Armando Schmidt. "¿Olvido Ponce a Luis Fortuño?" El Reportero. 10 de abril de 1982. page 8.
2. Luis Fortuño Janeiro. Album histórico de Ponce, 1692–1963 Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963. pp. 468–469.
3. Cierra sus puertas la Imprenta Fortuño. Jason Rodríguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 9 September 2015.
4. Ramon E. Bausa. Con la ventana abierta...Era mejor cuando era peor. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Cordillera. 1996.
5. Fay Fowlie de Flores. Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliografía Anotada. Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 175. Item 893.
6. Fay Fowlie de Flores. Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliografía Anotada. Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. pp. 111–112. Item 569.
7. Frank Torres. "Luis Fortuño Janeiro." El Día. 23 de junio de 1966. page 10.
8. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/52283217 Indice a las dos ediciones del Album histórico de Ponce : 1692–1963.
9. https://www.travelponce.com/History.html History. Travel Ponce.
10. Fay Fowlie de Flores. Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliografía Anotada. Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 173. Item 880.
11. Web site: Certificado de Defunción, Civil Registration, 1805-2001, Ponce, Defunciones 1965-1967, t.191-195. Num. Registro 56, Num. Certificado 487. . Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, Departamento de Salud, Division de registro demográfico y estadisticas . 9 May 2022 . es.