Marcelo Trujillo Panisse (April 30, 1935 – September 15, 2019) was a Puerto Rican athlete and politician, who was elected to four terms as mayor of

Humacao, Puerto Rico Humacao () is a Humacao barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico located in the eastern coast of the island, north of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, Yabucoa; south of Naguabo, Puerto Rico, Naguabo; east of Las Pi ...

. Trujillo was affiliated with the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) and served as mayor from 2001 to 2019. He earned a bachelor's degree in political and social sciences from the

Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico) is a private Roman Catholic university with its main campus in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It provides courses leading to Bachelor's, Master's and Docto ...

. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during 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 ...

era.

Basketball

Trujillo had a career in basketball when he played for the Leones de Ponce of

Baloncesto Superior Nacional The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first-tier-level professional men's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1929 and is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. T ...

. Later, Trujillo Panisse retired as a player, but continued at the BSN as a coach. In that capacity, he led the

Piratas de Quebradillas ''Piratas'' () is a Spanish adventure drama television series with comedy elements created by Carlos Portela and which stars Óscar Jaenada, Pilar Rubio and Silvia Abascal. It aired on Telecinco in 2011. Premise Set in the 18th century, the fi ...

and the

Capitanes de Arecibo The Capitanes de Arecibo are a Puerto Rican professional basketball team based in Arecibo that competes in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) league. In 2010, the team also had the distinction to play in the Premier Basketball League (PBL) ...

Mayor

After serving as a Member of the Municipal Assembly of Humacao from 1996 to 2000, Trujillo ran for mayor of Humacao, Puerto Rico at the 2000 elections. Served for nineteen years; from 2000 until his death in 2019.

Death

He died on September 15, 2019, at the age of 84 due to

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

. He was buried at the Pax Christi Cemetery in

Legacy

In 2019, The 8,000 seats Humacao Arena was named after former mayor Marcelo Trujillo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trujillo, Marcelo 1935 births 2019 deaths Baloncesto Superior Nacional players Baloncesto Superior Nacional coaches Mayors of places in Puerto Rico Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico alumni Popular Democratic Party (Puerto Rico) politicians People from Guayanilla, Puerto Rico People from Humacao, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican Army personnel United States Army soldiers