Rafael Cordero Santiago

For other people named Rafael Cordero, see Rafael Cordero (disambiguation).

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Cordero and the second or maternal family name is Santiago.
Rafael Cordero Santiago
Mayor Rafael Cordero Santiago
132nd Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico
In office
2 January 1989 – 17 January 2004
Preceded byIván Ayala Cádiz
Succeeded byDelis Castillo
Personal details
Born(1942-10-24)24 October 1942
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Died17 January 2004(2004-01-17) (aged 61)
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Political partyPopular Democratic Party (PPD)
SpouseMadeleine Velasco-Alvarado[1]
ChildrenSolange Marie Cordero-Velasco, Mara Bianca Cordero-Velasco[1]
Alma materPontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico (BA)
ProfessionPolitician

Rafael Cordero Santiago (24 October 1942 – 17 January 2004), better known as "Churumba", was the Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 1989 to 2004. Many considered him as a synonym of Ponce, being baptized as "El León Mayor" (Spanish for "The Greatest Lion"), an allusion to the city's official symbol, the lion. Mayor Cordero was a firm believer in the government decentralization process.[2]

During Cordero Santiago's term in the Ponce mayoral office, the city saw the construction of the Julio Enrique Monagas Family Park, the Tricentennial Park Plaza, and the La Guancha Boardwalk. In 1991, he established an initiative for a restoration project for the 25 de Enero Street historical area, and in 1990 he launched the conversion of the old Parque de Bombas into a museum. Also in 1990, he facilitated the establishment of Castillo Serralles as a museum led by a civic, nongovernmental organization.

Cordero Santiago is credited with re-establishing the "Ponce en Marcha" project in 1992, and there are some[3] who also credit him with the passage by the Puerto Rico Legislature of the Autonomous Municipalities Act of 1991. One of his projects under Ponce en Marcha was the restoration of the Ponce Casino, as depicted on the plaque at the northern exterior wall of the restored casino building on Calle Marina and Calle Luna.

  1. ^ a b Muere madre de fallecida ex primera dama de Ponce Madeleine Velasco.[usurped] El Sur a la Vista. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  2. ^ New Initiatives Set to Boost Ponce's Economy. Summit Reports 2003. Summit Communications, New York, NY. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  3. ^ Autonomous Municipalities. Omar Malavet González. Inter-American University of Puerto Rico at San German. San German, Puerto Rico. February 2004. Retrieved 13 October 2011.