Juan José Cartagena

Juan José Cartagena (c. 1815 – c. 1895) was Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from April 1876 to 4 July 1879, and again from February 1881 to October 1881.[1][2]

Juan José Cartagena
80th Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico
In office 1 April 1876 – 4 July 1879
Preceded by	Serafín Donderis
Succeeded by	Lucas Jiménez
83rd Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico
In office 1 February 1881 – 1 October 1881
Preceded by	José Mirelis
Succeeded by	Andrés Caparrós y García
Personal details
Born	c. 1815
Died	c. 1895
Profession	politician

First mayoral term (1876)

During the first of his mayoral terms, Cartagena was mayor of Ponce from April 1876 to 4 July 1879.[3] Others who worked during his administration included Dr. Rafael del Valle, Dr. Manuel Pasarell, the journalist Mario Braschi, and historian Eduardo Neumann Gandía.[4]

Cartagena is best remembered for overseeing the installation of the clock on the front facade of Casa Alcadia. The now famous clock was brought from London and its installation was performed under the care of Julio E. Steinacker. The clock cost 1,000 Spanish pesos ($1,000 ($24 thousand in 2019 dollars[5])). It was installed on 13 August 1877, the same day that Ponce received the title of "City" by the Spanish Crown.[6] The construction of the Hospital Tricoche also occurred under Cartagena's administration,[7] and on 11 December 1878 Cartagena gave an inaugural speech for the opening of the hospital.[8]

Second mayoral term (1881)

Unlike his multi-year mayoral term in 1876 to 1879, Cartagena governed the municipality of Ponce in 1881 for only 8 months, from February through the end of September.[9]

Honors

There is a street in Urbanización Las Delicias of Barrio Magueyes in Ponce named after him.

References

1. Socorro Girón. Ponce, el teatro La Perla y La Campana de la Almudaina. Gobierno Municipal de Ponce. 1992. Page 169. LCCN 85-90989
2. Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Alcades. Archived 2013-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
3. Socorro Guiron. Ponce, El Teatro La Perla, y la Campana de la Almudaina. Ponce Municipal Government. 1992. Page 169. LCCN 85-90989
4. Socorro Guiron. Ponce, El Teatro La Perla, y la Campana de la Almudaina. Ponce Municipal Government. 1992. Page 169. LCCN 85-90989
5. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved 1 January 2020.
6. Ponce: Notas para su Historia (Second Edition). Archived 18 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine Mariano Vidal Armstrong. Oficina Estatal de Conservación Histórica. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1989. page 30. Accessed 19 February 2018.
7. PONCE, P. R. Postcard Set Handcolored - The 'Tricoche' Hospital at Ponce - Mailed Ponce NOV 21, 1910. Wilbert Pagan Ayala. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
8. Socorro Guiron. Ponce, El Teatro La Perla, y la Campana de la Almudaina. Ponce Municipal Government. 1992. Page 169. LCCN 85-90989
9. Socorro Guiron. Ponce, El Teatro La Perla, y la Campana de la Almudaina. Ponce Municipal Government. 1992. Page 169. LCCN 85-90989

Further reading

• Fay Fowlie de Flores. Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliográfica Anotada. Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 270. Item 1353. LCCN 92-75480
• M. Ubeda y Delgado. Isla de Puerto Rico: estudio histórico, geográfico, y estadístico de la misma. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Establecimiento tipográfico de El Boletin. 1878. (Universidad de Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras)

See also

• List of Puerto Ricans
• List of mayors of Ponce, Puerto Rico