Benny Frankie Cerezo, a native of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

Aguadilla , founded in 1775 by Luis de Córdova, is a city located in the northwestern tip of Puerto Rico bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, north of Aguada, and Moca and west of Isabela. Aguadilla is spread over 15 wards and Aguadilla Pueblo...

, served as a member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives between 1969 and 1973. Elected in 1968 under the banner of the newly founded New Progressive Party

New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico

The New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico is a political party that advocates for Puerto Rico's admission to the United States of America as the 51st state...

 at an early age, incoming Speaker Angel Viera Martínez

Angel Viera Martínez

Attorney Angel Viera Martínez was a prominent pro-statehood public servant in Puerto Rico during the second half of the 20th century.He began his public service as a prosecutor. In 1968 he ran as a candidate for state representative under the banner of the New Progressive Party, which he helped...

 appointed him to chair one of the House's two most powerful committees, the Government Affairs Committee. Cerezo came out against the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

 and ended up losing his chairmanship, ending his elective career.

He helped found "Avance", along with several other political mavericks, including Juan Manuel García Passalacqua

Juan Manuel García Passalacqua

Juan Manuel Garcia-Passalacqua was a well known lawyer, writer and political analyst from Puerto Rico.-Early years:...

 and Noel Colón Martínez a Puerto Rican newsweekly magazine that attempted to provide a heavy dose of political analysis before folding. Since then, Cerezo has earned a living as a trial attorney but has served as a political analyst for several radio and TV stations in Puerto Rico.

From 1989 to 1991, Cerezo once again collaborated briefly with the pro-statehood New Progressive Party when he accepted party president Carlos Romero Barceló

Carlos Romero Barceló

Carlos Antonio Romero Barceló is a Puerto Rican politician who served as the fifth Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the second governor to be elected from the New Progressive Party and also Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001, making him one of the more successful...

's invitation to spearhead the party's lobbying efforts to get Congress to approve a bill providing for a referendum in Puerto Rico on political status options. Cerezo put together a group of ad hoc volunteer lobbyists, including Romero, legendary party founder Luis A. Ferré

Luis A. Ferré

Don Luis Alberto Ferré Aguayo was a Puerto Rican engineer, industrialist, politician, philanthropist, and a patron of the arts. He was the third Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from 1969 to 1973, and the founding father of the New Progressive Party which advocates for Puerto Rico...

, in his late 80's at the time, as well as a younger cadre that included attorney Carlos Díaz Olivo, now a law professor, businessman Cesar Cabrera, subsequently a United States Ambassador, attorney Luis Fortuño

Luis Fortuño

Luis Guillermo Fortuño Burset is the governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States of America. Fortuño is also the president of the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico , a member of the Republican National Committee, and will be president of the Council of State...

, currently Governor of Puerto Rico, and Kenneth McClintock

Kenneth McClintock

Kenneth D. McClintock-Hernández is the current Secretary of State of Puerto Rico. Mr. McClintock served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton presidential campaign's National Hispanic Leadership Council in 2008, co-chaired Clinton's successful Puerto Rico primary campaign that year and served as the...

, currently the territory's Secretary of State

Secretary of State

Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....

. When Pedro Rosselló

Pedro Rosselló

Pedro Juan Rosselló González, M.D., , is a Puerto Rican physician and politician who served as the sixth Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 2001...

 became party president and Cerezo questioned many of Rossello's policies, Cerezo once again withdrew from collaborating with the NPP.

He is married to United States District Judge Carmen Consuelo Vargas

Carmen Consuelo Cerezo

Carmen Consuelo Cerezo is a United States federal judge.Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Cerezo received a B.A. from University of Puerto Rico in 1963, a J.D. from University of Puerto Rico Law School in 1966, and an LL.M. from University of Virginia School of Law in 1988...

and is the father of one daughter and one son, a partner in a Miami law firm.