José S. Alegría (July 17, 1886 – July 29, 1965), was a poet, writer, lawyer and politician. Alegría was a founding member of the

Puerto Rican Nationalist Party The Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico ( es, Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico, PNPR) is a Puerto Rican political party founded on September 17, 1922, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its primary goal is to work for Puerto Rico's independence. The P ...

and president of the political organization from 1928 to 1930.

Early years

Alegría was born in the town of

Dorado, Puerto Rico Dorado () is a town and municipality in the northern coast of Puerto Rico, west of San Juan and is located in the northern region of the island, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, north of Toa Alta, east of Vega Alta, and west of Toa Baja. Dorado ...

where he received his primary and secondary education. In 1901, he earned a teachers certificate. Alegría became interested in politics at a young age and when he was 16 years old, he founded the Federal Youth Committee of the Federal Party in the town of Barceloneta. His family sent him to the United States to continue his college education. He attended

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...

, in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

and in 1908 earned his law degree.LexJuris

Political career

When he returned to Puerto Rico, he joined the

Union Party of Puerto Rico The Union of Puerto Rico ( es, Unión de Puerto Rico, UPR), also known as the Unionist PartyBolivar Pagan. ''Historia de los Partidos Políticos Puertorriqueños (1898-1956).'' San Juan, Puerto Rico: Litografía Real Hermanos, Inc. 1959. Tomo I. p ...

. The Union Party was founded in February 1904 by

Luis Muñoz Rivera Luis Muñoz Rivera (July 17, 1859 – November 15, 1916) was a Puerto Rican poet, journalist and politician. He was a major figure in the struggle for political autonomy of Puerto Rico in union with Spain. In 1887, Muñoz Rivera became part ...

Rosendo Matienzo Cintrón Rosendo Matienzo Cintrón (April 22, 1855 – December 13, 1913) was a Puerto Rican lawyer and politician, a member of the Puerto Rican House of Representatives, and a lifelong political contrarian. He favored Puerto Rican autonomy when Puerto Ric ...

Antonio R. Barceló Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...

José de Diego José de Diego y Martínez (April 16, 1866 – July 16, 1918) was a statesman, journalist, poet, lawyer, and advocate for Puerto Rico's political autonomy in union with Spain and later of independence from the United States who was referred to by ...

and others after the disbanding of the Federal Party. The party supported greater self-government for the island, though the party was divided between those in favor of

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

and those favoring statehood. The party was highly successful electorally through the 1930s. Alegría was named municipal judge of the town of Salinas. He also served as the municipal judge of the towns of Santa Isabel and Manatí in different occasions. In 1919, José Coll y Cuchí, a member of the Union Party, felt that the party was not doing enough for the cause of Puerto Rican independence and with his followers founded the Nationalist Association of Puerto Rico in San Juan. By the 1920s there were two other pro-independence organizations in the Island: the Nationalist Youth and the Independence Association of Puerto Rico. The Independence Association was founded by Alegría, Eugenio Font Suárez and Dr. Leopoldo Figueroa in 1920. On September 17, 1922, these three political organizations joined forces and formed the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party and Coll y Cuchi was elected president. Alegría followed Coll y Cuchi and was elected vice-president. In 1924, Dr.

Pedro Albizu Campos Pedro Albizu Campos (September 12, 1891Luis Fortuño Janeiro. ''Album Histórico de Ponce (1692–1963).'' p. 290. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Fortuño. 1963. – April 21, 1965) was a Puerto Rican attorney and politician, and the leading fi ...

joined the party and was also named vice-president. By 1930, disagreements between Coll y Cuchi and Albizu Campos as to how the party should be run, led the former and his followers to abandon the party and return to the Union Party. Alegría was named party president in 1928 and held that position until 1930. On May 11, 1930, Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos was elected president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. El Nuevo Dia
In 1932, Alegría joined the

Liberal Party of Puerto Rico The Liberal Party of Puerto Rico () was a pro-independence political party. The Liberal Party was founded in 1932 as a formal disaffiliation between two political parties which composed the political coalition known as the '' Alianza'' (Alliance). ...

, a pro-independence political party. In 1936, he was elected to the House of Representatives in the Puerto Rican legislature and served in that position until 1940.

Arts

During the 1930s, Alegría presided over the "Casino de Puerto Rico". As such he became interested in the

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile art ...

. He learned some painting techniques from Puerto Rican artist

Francisco Oller Francisco Oller (June 17, 1833 – May 17, 1917) was a Puerto Rican painter. Oller is the only Latin American painter to have played a role in the development of Impressionism. One of the most distinguished transatlantic painters of his da ...

and from Fernando Díaz Mckenna. From 1938 to 1949, he was the director of the magazine "Puerto Rico Illustrado", there he published some of his poems under the name of Raimundo Lucio. Among his written works are the following: * ''"Antología de poetas jóvenes de Puerto Rico"'' (Anthology of young poets of Puerto Rico) (1918) *''"Crónicas frívolas"'' (Frivolous Chronics) (1938) *''"Retablos de la aldea"'' (Altarpieces of the village) (1949) *''"El alma de la aldea"'' (The soul of a village) (1956) *''"Cartas a Florinda"'' (Letters to Florinda) (1958) *''"Rosas y flechas"'' (Roses and arrows) (1958)

Later years

Alegría was the President of the Puerto Rican Institute of Hispanic Culture. He was bestowed with the Order of Isabel the Catholic in recognition of his contributions to the institute. He is the father of

Ricardo Alegría Ricardo E. Alegría Gallardo (April 14, 1921 – July 7, 2011) was a Puerto Rican scholar, cultural anthropologist and archaeologist known as the "father of modern Puerto Rican archaeology". Early years Alegría was born in San Juan, Puerto R ...

(1921 – 2011) a scholar, cultural anthropologist and archeologist known as the "Father of Modern Puerto Rican Archaeology". Alegría died in his home in San Juan and is buried at

Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery __NOTOC__ The Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery is a colonial-era cemetery located in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the final resting place of many of Puerto Rico's most prominent natives and residents. Construction began in 1863 under ...

, located just outside the city walls of

Old San Juan Old San Juan ( es, Viejo San Juan) is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the islet of San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Catedral, Marina, Mercado, San Cristóbal, and San Francisco sub-barrios (s ...

. The city of Dorado honored his memory by naming a high school, Jose S. Alegria High School, after him.Jose S. Alegria High School
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alegria, Jose S. 1886 births 1965 deaths Burials at Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery People from Dorado, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican Nationalist Party politicians Puerto Rican poets Puerto Rican male writers Members of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Puerto Rican independence activists Puerto Rican nationalists Valparaiso University alumni 20th-century American poets 20th-century American male writers

Early years

Political career

Arts

Later years

See also

References