Juan José Cancel Ríos (August 20, 1925 – August 26, 1992) was a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer who served as the 7th President of the Senate of Puerto Rico from 1973 to 1976.

Biography

Juan Cancel Ríos was born on August 20, 1925, in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico. His parents were Juan Cancel Matos and Salustiana Ríos. Cancel Ríos studied his elementary at Rafael Balseiro Maceira Elementary School in Barceloneta, graduating in 1940. He then went to José Severo Quiñonez High School in Manatí, graduating in 1944. He then went to study 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 ...

, but after his first year, enrolled with 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 ...

to serve during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1947, he was honorably discharged by the Army and he returned to the University, graduating in 1953 with two degrees: Social Science and Law at the University of Puerto Rico School of Law . After passing the

bar exam A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associat ...

, he became an attorney. Cancel showed interest in politics since his youth. From 1957 to 1960, he presided the Municipal Assembly of Barceloneta. In 1960, he was elected as a member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives for the District of Manatí-Barceloneta. He served in that position from 1961 to 1964. In 1964, Cancel was elected to the Senate of Puerto Rico for the District of Arecibo. He was reelected in 1968 and 1972. In 1973, his fellow senators chose him as President of the Senate. He did so until 1976. Cancel was also a member of the Board of the Attorney's College, the

Lions Club Lions Clubs International, is an international service organization, currently headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. , it had over 46,000 local clubs and more than 1.4 million members (including the youth wing Leo clubs, Leo) in more than 200 ge ...

of Manatí, the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

, and other civic organizations. After retiring from politics, Cancel presided the Puerto Rico Baseball League. Cancel Ríos was married to Carmen Leticia Alegría Estela, and they had three children together: Carmencita, María Magdalena and Juan Andrés. Cancel Ríos died on August 26, 1992, in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

Legacy

The Barceloneta Government Center is named after him. In 2023 Juan Cancel Ríos was posthumously inducted to the Puerto Rico Veterans Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Juan Cancel Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cancel, Juan Popular Democratic Party members of the Senate of Puerto Rico 1925 births 1992 deaths People from Barceloneta, Puerto Rico Presidents of the Senate of Puerto Rico Presidents pro tempore of the Senate of Puerto Rico United States Army soldiers University of Puerto Rico alumni United States Army personnel of World War II 20th-century Puerto Rican lawyers 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico

Biography

Legacy

See also

References

External links