Juan Garcia

Background

Cintron García was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico in 1919. After performing in the business of his father for several years, earned his bachelor"s degree in business administration from Universidad Catolica de Puerto Rico in 1971.

Education

He attended elementary and middle school in Ponce public schools and graduated from Ponce High School in 1936.

Career

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. He was the second child of Arturo Cintrón Gonzalez, a businessman, and Herminia Garcia Mercado, a school teacher. He was concurrently acting as mayor of Ponce while he did his college work.

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 Louisiana Perla, re-organized the Archivo Histórico de Ponce, enlarged the Avenida Las Américas roadway, and opened the Centro Gubernamental de Ponce at Avenida Las Americas and Avenida Hostos. Under his administration the Francisco Montaner Stadium was also remodeled.

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 Puerto Rico-12. In addition to commencing construction of the University of Puerto Rico at Ponce, for which the Ponce Municipal Government provided $250,000, Cintron Garcia also rebuilt the aging Hospital Municipal Tricoche.

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. 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).

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.

However, on 3 February 2011, the bill had been denounced by Ramón Torres Morales, president of the Plasma Physics Division in Ponce, for allegedly conflicting with the Law of Autonomous Municipalities of Puerto Rico. On 23 June 2011 the bill was passed.

Juan H. Cintron died in Ponce on 22 September 2012. He was buried at Ponce"s Cementerio Louisiana Piedad in Barrio Magueyes.

Achievements

• Cintron Garcia is honored at Ponce"s Park of Illustrious Ponce Citizens. Only six, of over 200 Ponce mayors, are honored there. A street was named after him at Urbanizacion Estancios el Golf in Ponce. The Puerto Rico & Virgin Islands chapter of the American Legion dedicated its 89th convention in his honor in June 2012.

Membership

Cintron Garcia was a founding member of the Ponce Young Men’s Christian Association.