José Dapena Laguna, was a Puerto Rican

Puerto Rican people

A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 and Mayor of Ponce

Ponce, Puerto Rico

Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...

, 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...

 in 1956.

Early years

José Dapena Laguna was born in Ponce on July 28, 1912. His parents were Ramon Dapena Pacheco and Maria Laguna y Cedo. He was the father of José Dapena Thompson

José Dapena Thompson

José Joaquin Dapena Thompson, known as Josito, was a Puerto Rican politician and Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico from 1986 to 1988.-Training:...

, mayor of Ponce from 1984 to 1988.

Political life

In 1941 he worked as a political aide in the Ponce City Hall

Ponce City Hall

The Ponce City Hall is located on Calle Degetau, across from Plaza Las Delicias in the Ponce Historic Zone in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The building serves as the seat of the executive branch of government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce, including the office of the Mayor of Ponce. It is the...

, and was also interim municipal secretary. In 1956, he was appointed mayor of Ponce. Later that year (1956) he resigned as mayor to be a member of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico

House of Representatives of Puerto Rico

The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the territorial legislature of Puerto Rico...

, a post for which he had been elected. In 1960 he was elected to the Puerto Rico Senate, a post he occupied until 1968.

Family life

His wife was Georgia Thompson. His children were Jose (the mayor), Maria Rosa (who became the executive assistant of the first lady of Puerto Rico, Lila Mayoral de Hernandez Colon), Georgia, and Baby.

Last years and legacy

Dapena Laguna lead a relatively quiet life the last few years of his life. He died in Ponce on September 20, 1991, of a heart condition. The government of Ponce honored him naming the main Ponce firehouse after him.

See also

• Ponce, Puerto Rico
  Ponce, Puerto Rico
  Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
  
  
• List of famous Puerto Ricans