José Ernesto Aponte de la Torre (December 5, 1941 – May 5, 2007) was a Puerto Rican

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and was the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Carolina, Puerto Rico Carolina (; ) is a Carolina barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northeastern coastal plain of Puerto Rico, immediately east of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan and Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, Trujillo Alto, n ...

for 22 years.

Biography

Aponte de la Torre was born and raised in

Cayey, Puerto Rico Cayey (), officially Cayey de Muesas, is a mountain Cayey barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in central Puerto Rico located on the Sierra de Cayey within the Cordillera Central (Puerto Rico), Central Mountain rang ...

in 1941. He was the son of Ernesto Aponte Mendoza, who had fought at World War II with the

65th Infantry Regiment The 65th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed "The Borinqueneers" during the Korean War for the original Arawak Native American name for Puerto Rico (Borinquen), is a Puerto Rican regiment of the United States Army. The regiment's motto is ''Honor et ...

, and Justina de la Torre. When his father died in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

he and his mother moved to

Caguas Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality in central eastern Puerto Rico. Located in the eponymous Caguas Valley between the Sierra de Cayey and Sierra de Luquillo of the Central Mountain Range, it is bordered by San Juan and Trujillo Alto to ...

. It was in Caguas where years later he would meet Carmen Idalia Dalmau Ferrer, who would be his wife later on. Aponte then moved to Carolina and continued college. He obtained a Bachelor in Education with a concentration in Industrial Arts at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Flo ...

and a Master in Administration and Supervision at the

University of New York There is no real institution in the United States that bears the exact name University of New York. However, it is possible that such a reference may be used for one of the following: In New York State * New York University, a private research u ...

. Aponte became a

schoolteacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

and directed the Vocational School of Carolina, Carlos F. Daniels, before joining the politics of the island. He joined the Popular Democratic Party and was elected as the mayor of Carolina in 1984, succeeding Roberto Iglesias Pérez. He made major changes in the city, pulling it off from a deficit and significantly improving the economics. Aponte was also the director of the Mayor's Association from 2001 to 2006 when he retired from that charge. Aponte was married to Daly Dalmau, and had three children, José Carlos, Ernesto, and Javier, and four grandchildren. On May 5, 2007, Aponte died at the

Intensive Care Unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensive care medicine. An inten ...

of the Hospital del Maestro in

Hato Rey Hato Rey ( Spanish for ''king’s cattle farm''), often considered the central business district of Puerto Rico, is a highly urbanized financial, commercial, and residential district in San Juan, the capital municipality of the archipelago and ...

at age of 65. He had been fighting respiratory complications since December 2006 and had been in the intensive care unit for over 27 days. Aponte had recently stopped smoking after more than 40 years. He was buried at Cementerio La Resurrección in Carolina, Puerto Rico. Aponte was succeeded by his older son, José Carlos Aponte Dalmau. This was announced May 10, 2007.

Legacy

The airport in

Ceiba, Puerto Rico Ceiba () is both a small Ceiba barrio-pueblo, town and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in northeast Puerto Rico. It is named after the famous Ceiba tree. Ceiba is located in the north-east coast of the island, bordering the Atlantic ...

is named after him. The State Government Services Building in Carolina was named after former Mayor Jose Aponte de la Torre. The Municipal Service Center in the Isla Verde sector of Carolina was named after José Aponte de la Torre.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aponte de la Torre, Jose 1941 births 2007 deaths Mayors of Carolina, Puerto Rico City University of New York alumni People from Cayey, Puerto Rico People from Carolina, Puerto Rico Popular Democratic Party (Puerto Rico) politicians University of Puerto Rico alumni 20th-century Puerto Rican politicians Dalmau family