Felisa Rincón de Gautier
Encyclopedia
Felisa Rincón de GautierThis name uses Spanish marriage naming customs; the first is the maiden family name "Rincón" and the second or matrimonial family name is "Gautier". (also known as Doña Fela) (January 9, 1897 – September 16, 1994) was the first woman to be elected as the Mayor
of a capital city in The Americas
.
. The oldest of 9 siblings, she was politically influenced by her father, Enrique Rincón Plumey, nephew of an earlier Mayor of San Juan. Her mother, Rita Marrero Rivera, died when she was only 11 years old. However, despite this her father was determined to give her the best education possible. She went to school in Fajardo
, Humacao
and Santurce
where she graduated from high school; after this she studied pharmacy
and became a pharmacist
. Rincón de Gautier later moved to New York City where she learned the art of high fashion design. When she returned to Puerto Rico
, she opened a store called Felisa's Style Shop and a flower shop in San Juan.
. Motivated by the political ideas of Luis Muñoz Marín
, she left the Liberal Party and in 1938 helped organize the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico
.
of Puerto Rico and Secretary General of the Popular Democratic Party
. They had a long and happy marriage, but produced no offspring. In 1946, she ran for and was elected mayor of San Juan
- the first woman to have been elected mayor of a capital city in the Americas. Under her leadership, San Juan was transformed into a great Latin-American urban center. Rincón de Gautier designed innovative public services and established the first pre-school centers called "Las Escuelas Maternales", which would eventually become the model for the Head Start programs in the United States. She also renovated the public health system and was responsible for the establishment of the school of medicine in San Juan. She worked together with Ricardo Alegría
to restore and conserve the historical structures of "Old San Juan" and provided housing and basic services to thousands of people. In 1951, during the Cold War
era, she ordered the establishment of the island's first Civil Defense system which was under the directorship of Colonel Gilberto José Marxuach
, a relative of hers. She often opened City Hall to the public and listened to concerns of the residents of the city. In 1959, San Juan was awarded the All American City Award.
Rincón de Gautier started a Christmas tradition, which would be continued every year by the governors of Puerto Rico. On the Día de los Reyes (Three Kings Day), celebrated on January 6, she would give gifts and treats to the poor and needy children. On 1952, 1953 and 1954, she even had plane loads of snow delivered to San Juan so that the children who had never seen or played in snow, would be able to do so.
for four United States Presidents. She served in Latin America, Asia and Europe promoting friendship between those continents and the United States. When Felisa Rincón de Gautier died in San Juan, aged 97, on September 16, 1994, she was given the burial honors of a head of state. Dignitaries from all over the world attended her funeral service.
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of a capital city in The Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
.
Early years
Rincón de Gautier, was born in Ceiba, Puerto RicoCeiba, Puerto Rico
Ceiba is a small town in northeast Puerto Rico. It is named after the famous Ceiba tree. Ceiba is located in the east coast of the island, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, north of Naguabo, south of Fajardo, and east of Río Grande. It is located about one hour's driving distance from San Juan...
. The oldest of 9 siblings, she was politically influenced by her father, Enrique Rincón Plumey, nephew of an earlier Mayor of San Juan. Her mother, Rita Marrero Rivera, died when she was only 11 years old. However, despite this her father was determined to give her the best education possible. She went to school in Fajardo
Fajardo, Puerto Rico
Fajardo is a small city in Puerto Rico located in the east region of the island, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, north of Ceiba and east of Luquillo.Fajardo is spread over 7 wards and Downtown Fajardo , which serves as the administrative center of the city...
, Humacao
Humacao, Puerto Rico
Humacao is a city in Puerto Rico located in the eastern coast of the island, north of Yabucoa; south of Naguabo; east of Las Piedras; and west of Vieques Passage. Humacao is spread over 10 wards and Humacao Pueblo...
and Santurce
Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Santurce is a district of San Juan, Puerto Rico.-Summary:Santurce is one of the top ten most populated areas of the island holding Miramar, Loíza, Isla Grande, Barrio Obrero, and Condado as main cultural hot spots for art, music, cuisine, fashion, hotels, technology, multimedia, film, textile and...
where she graduated from high school; after this she studied pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
and became a pharmacist
Pharmacist
Pharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...
. Rincón de Gautier later moved to New York City where she learned the art of high fashion design. When she returned to Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, she opened a store called Felisa's Style Shop and a flower shop in San Juan.
Women's rights activist
Rincón de Gautier was a firm believer that women should have the right to vote and was an active participant in the suffragist movement and motivated many women to register. When the law allowing women to vote was passed, Rincón de Gautier was the 5th woman to officially register. In 1932, she joined the "Liberal Party of Puerto Rico", which believed in Puerto Rico's independence, and was named representative by the party's president Antonio R. BarcelóAntonio R. Barceló
Antonio Rafael Barceló y Martinez was a lawyer, businessman and the patriarch of what was to become one of Puerto Rico's most prominent political families...
. Motivated by the political ideas of Luis Muñoz Marín
Luis Muñoz Marín
Don José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín was a Puerto Rican poet, journalist, and politician. Regarded as the "father of modern Puerto Rico," he was the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico. Muñoz Marín was the son of Luis Muñoz Rivera, a renowned autonomist leader...
, she left the Liberal Party and in 1938 helped organize the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico
Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico
The Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico is a political party that supports Puerto Rico's right to self-determination and sovereignty, through the enhancement of Puerto Rico's current status as a commonwealth....
.
Political career
In 1940, Rincón de Gautier married the San Juan lawyer Genaro A. Gautier, who served as the Assistant Attorney GeneralAttorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
of Puerto Rico and Secretary General of the Popular Democratic Party
Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico
The Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico is a political party that supports Puerto Rico's right to self-determination and sovereignty, through the enhancement of Puerto Rico's current status as a commonwealth....
. They had a long and happy marriage, but produced no offspring. In 1946, she ran for and was elected mayor of San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
- the first woman to have been elected mayor of a capital city in the Americas. Under her leadership, San Juan was transformed into a great Latin-American urban center. Rincón de Gautier designed innovative public services and established the first pre-school centers called "Las Escuelas Maternales", which would eventually become the model for the Head Start programs in the United States. She also renovated the public health system and was responsible for the establishment of the school of medicine in San Juan. She worked together with Ricardo Alegría
Ricardo Alegría
Ricardo Alegría was a Puerto Rican scholar, cultural anthropologist and archeologist known as the "Father of Modern Puerto Rican Archaeology".-Early years:...
to restore and conserve the historical structures of "Old San Juan" and provided housing and basic services to thousands of people. In 1951, during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
era, she ordered the establishment of the island's first Civil Defense system which was under the directorship of Colonel Gilberto José Marxuach
Gilberto Jose Marxuach
Colonel Gilberto José Marxuach a.k.a. "The Father of the San Juan Civil Defense" , was a former officer in the United States Army who in 1951 founded and became the first director of the Civil Defense in the City of San Juan, Puerto Rico.-Early years:Marxuach was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to...
, a relative of hers. She often opened City Hall to the public and listened to concerns of the residents of the city. In 1959, San Juan was awarded the All American City Award.
Rincón de Gautier started a Christmas tradition, which would be continued every year by the governors of Puerto Rico. On the Día de los Reyes (Three Kings Day), celebrated on January 6, she would give gifts and treats to the poor and needy children. On 1952, 1953 and 1954, she even had plane loads of snow delivered to San Juan so that the children who had never seen or played in snow, would be able to do so.
Later years
She was mayor of San Juan for 22 years, from 1946 to 1968. Upon retiring, Rincón de Gautier served as the American Goodwill AmbassadorGoodwill Ambassador
Goodwill Ambassador is a collective term sometimes used as a substitute honorific title or a title of honor for an Ambassador of Goodwill; but, most appropriately for a generic recognition, it is a job position or description that is usually indicated following the name of the individual recognized...
for four United States Presidents. She served in Latin America, Asia and Europe promoting friendship between those continents and the United States. When Felisa Rincón de Gautier died in San Juan, aged 97, on September 16, 1994, she was given the burial honors of a head of state. Dignitaries from all over the world attended her funeral service.
Honors
In both Puerto Rico and the United States, numerous public structures and avenues have been named in honor of Rincón de Gautier. There is a Felisa Rincón de Gautier Museum in San Juan. In New York City, both the Felisa Rincón de Gautier Institute for Law & Public Policy in the Bronx, and a public school (PS 376) in Brooklyn, New York are named in her honour.Awards and recognitions
Among her many awards and condecorations were the following:- "The Medal of Joan of ArcJoan of ArcSaint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
" from France - The "Golden Medal of Honor"
- "The Don Quixote Medal" and the "Order of Queen Isabel the Catholic" from Spain
- The "Order of Simón BolívarSimón BolívarSimón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
" from VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south... - "The Order of Merit" from IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
- The "Golden Medal of Honor" from EcuadorEcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
- She was named "Woman of the Americas" in 1954 by the Union of American Women of New York
- The "Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem" by Francis Spellman, Cardinal Archbishop of New York
- The "John AdamsJohn AdamsJohn Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
Medal" from the Federated Women's Club of America - In 1961, Eleanor RooseveltEleanor RooseveltAnna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
awarded her the "Madeline Borg Award from the Philanthropic Hebrew Federation of New York".
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- Teófilo MarxuachTeofilo MarxuachLieutenant Colonel Teófilo Marxuach, , was the person who ordered the first shot fired in World War I on behalf of the United States on an armed German supply ship trying to force its way out of the San Juan Bay...
- French immigration to Puerto RicoFrench immigration to Puerto RicoThe French immigration to Puerto Rico came about as a result of the economic and political situations which occurred in various places such as Louisiana , Saint-Domingue and in Europe....