Juan H. Cintrón García

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Cintrón and the second or maternal family name is García.

Juan H. Cintrón García
Mayor Juan H. Cintron Garcia
127th Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico
In office
1968–1972
Preceded byEduardo Ruberté Bisó
Succeeded byLuis A. Morales
Personal details
Born11 March 1919
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Died22 September 2012(2012-09-22) (aged 93)[1]
Ponce, Puerto Rico
SpouseElba Cintrón Ruiz[2]
ChildrenElba Lilian,[1]
Elena Herminia,[3]
Ileana del Carmen[4][5]
Alma materPontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico (BA)[6]
ProfessionBusinessman
Military service
AllegianceUnited States United States
Branch/service United States Army
Army National Guard
Rank Coronel

Juan Herminio Cintrón García (11 March 1919 – 22 September 2012) was a Puerto Rican politician and Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 1968 to 1972.[7] Under his administration the city of Ponce saw the construction of the Coliseo Juan "Pachín" Vicéns and the Centro Gubernamental de Ponce on Avenida Las Americas.[1]

Early years

Cintron García was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1919.[8] He was the second child of Arturo Cintrón Gonzalez, a businessman, and Herminia Garcia Mercado, a school teacher. He attended elementary and middle school in Ponce public schools and graduated from Ponce High School in 1936. After performing in the business of his father for several years, he earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico in 1971.[9] He was concurrently acting as mayor of Ponce while he did his college work.[10] On 3 February 1946, he married Elba Cintron Ruiz.[11]

Career

Complejo Ferial de Puerto Rico, Juan H. Cintrón in Ponce

Cintron served as mayor Ponce from 1969 to 1973. During his administration the city built the Juan Pachín Vicéns Auditorium, moved the Ponce Municipal Library to a new facility next to Teatro La Perla, re-organized the Archivo Histórico de Ponce, enlarged the Avenida Las Américas roadway,[1] and opened the Centro Gubernamental de Ponce at Avenida Las Americas and Avenida Hostos.[12] Under his administration the Francisco Montaner Stadium was also remodeled.[1]

Two other projects inaugurated during his administration were the new Puerto Rico Police regional headquarters on Avenida Hostos and the start of the construction of the University of Puerto Rico at Ponce on Ponce Bypass and PR-12.[12] In addition to commencing construction of the University of Puerto Rico at Ponce, for which the Ponce Municipal Government provided $250,000,[1] Cintron Garcia also rebuilt the aging Hospital Municipal Tricoche.[1]

After his mayoral service, Cintron Garcia served as Puerto Rico's Secretary of Commerce from 1977 to 1984 under Governor Carlos Romero Barceló. From 1992 to 1997 he served as municipal assemblyman in Ponce.[8]

He served as a sergeant in the United States Army during World War II and decades later retired as a Colonel in the Puerto Rico National Guard. In 2021 Juan H. Cintrón García was inducted to the Puerto Rico Veterans Hall of Fame.[13]

Cintron Garcia was a founding member of the Ponce YMCA. He also served in its board performing as vicepresident for two years. He was also vicepresident of the Club de Leones de Ponce (the Ponce chapter of the Lions Club International).[14]

Legacy

On 4 February 2011, the PNP-controlled Puerto Rico Senate approved a bill to name the Centro de Convenciones de Ponce (Ponce Convention Center) after Cintron Garcia.[8] However, on 3 February 2011, the bill had been denounced by Ramón Torres Morales, president of the PPD in Ponce, for allegedly conflicting with the Law of Autonomous Municipalities of Puerto Rico.[15] On 23 June 2011 the bill was passed.[16]

Death

Juan H. Cintron died in Ponce on 22 September 2012.[1] He was buried at Ponce's Cementerio La Piedad at Barrio Magueyes in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

Honors

Cintron Garcia is honored at Ponce's Park of Illustrious Ponce Citizens. Only six, of over 100 Ponce mayors, are honored there.[17] A street was named after him at Urbanizacion Estancias del Golf in Ponce.[18] The Puerto Rico & Virgin Islands chapter of the American Legion dedicated its 89th convention in his honor in June 2012.[19] In 2012, the Complejo Ferial de Puerto Rico was renamed Complejo Ferial de Puerto Rico Juan H. Cintron in his honor.[20]

In 2021 Juan H. Cintrón García was posthumously inducted to the Puerto Rico Veterans Hall of Fame.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Ponce dice adiós a exalcalde Juan Cintrón. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 30. Issue 1504. Page 12. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  2. ^ Biografia Completa de Juan H. Cintrón García. Archived 15 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine Ileana Cintrón Cintrón. Page 2. March 2013. Ponce, Puerto Rico.
  3. ^ Biografia Completa de Juan H. Cintrón García. Archived 15 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine Ileana Cintrón Cintrón. Page 10. March 2013. Ponce, Puerto Rico.
  4. ^ Biografia Completa de Juan H. Cintrón García. Archived 15 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine Ileana Cintrón Cintrón. Page 10. March 2013. Ponce, Puerto Rico.
  5. ^ Sin operador el Centro de Convenciones. Por Jason Rodríguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  6. ^ Biografia Completa de Juan H. Cintrón García. Archived 15 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine Ileana Cintrón Cintrón. Page 1. March 2013. Ponce, Puerto Rico.
  7. ^ Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Alcades. Archived 29 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ a b c Ya tiene nombre el Centro de Convenciones de Ponce.[usurped] El Sur a la Vista. 4 February 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
  9. ^ Biografia Completa de Juan H. Cintrón García. Archived 15 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine Ileana Cintrón Cintrón. Page 1. March 2013. Ponce, Puerto Rico.
  10. ^ Biografia Completa de Juan H. Cintrón García. Archived 15 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine Ileana Cintrón Cintrón. Page 1. March 2013. Ponce, Puerto Rico.
  11. ^ Certificado de la Celebracion de Matrimonio.. Puerto Rico, Civil Registrations, 1885–2001 for Juan Herminio Cintron Garcia. Matrimonios (Marriages), Ponce, Matrimonios 1946–1948, t. 46–52. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  12. ^ a b Law Number 101 of Year 2011. Ley Núm. 101 del año 2011. (P. del S. 1855); 2011, ley 101. Para designar con el nombre de "Centro de Convenciones Juan H. Cintrón García", al nuevo edificio del Centro de Convenciones de Ponce. Ley Núm. 101 de 23 de junio de 2011.
  13. ^ "Salón de la Fama".
  14. ^ Biografia Completa de Juan H. Cintrón García. Archived 15 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine Ileana Cintrón Cintrón. Page 4. March 2013. Ponce, Puerto Rico.
  15. ^ Ignorada la ley en Ponce.[usurped] 3 February 2010. El Sur a la Vista. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
  16. ^ "Ley Núm. 101 de 2011 -Para designar con el nombre de "Centro de Convenciones Juan H. Cintrón García", al nuevo edificio del Centro de Convenciones de Ponce". Lexjuris.com. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  17. ^ Politics. TravelPonce. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  18. ^ Biografia Completa de Juan H. Cintrón García. Archived 15 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine Ileana Cintrón Cintrón. Page 10. March 2013. Ponce, Puerto Rico.
  19. ^ Biografia Completa de Juan H. Cintrón García. Archived 15 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine Ileana Cintrón Cintrón. Page 11. March 2013. Ponce, Puerto Rico.
  20. ^ Sin operador el Centro de Convenciones. Por Jason Rodríguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  21. ^ "Salón de la Fama".

Further reading

  • Biografia Completa de Juan H. Cintrón García. Ileana Cintrón Cintrón. March 2013. Ponce, Puerto Rico.
  • Fay Fowlie de Flores. Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliográfica Anotada. Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 173. Item 880. LCCN 92-75480
  • Carnaval de Ponce: programa. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 196x? - . Includes photos. (Archivo Histórico Municipal de Ponce, AHMP; Colegio Universitario Tecnológico de Ponce, CUTPO)
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico
1968–1972 		Succeeded by