Law #1 of August 4, 1952 of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico established a full state holiday on July 25 of every year, to be known as Puerto Rico Constitution Day. The holiday commemorates the day the
Constitution of Puerto Rico
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, Constitución del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico) is the controlling government document of Puerto Rico. It is composed of nine articles detailing the structure of the government a ...
, approved on July 3, 1952, was signed into law by Governor
Luis Muñoz Marín
José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín (February 18, 1898April 30, 1980) was a Puerto Rican journalist, politician, statesman and was the first elected governor of Puerto Rico, regarded as the "Architect of the Puerto Rico Commonwealth."
In 1948 he ...
the same year.
Up to then, July 25 had been a holiday in Puerto Rico, known as "Occupation Day", to commemorate the arrival of United States military forces on July 25, 1898 in an area of the municipality of
Yauco
Yauco () is a town and municipality in southern Puerto Rico. Although the downtown is inland, the municipality stretches to a southern coast facing the Caribbean Sea. Yauco is located south of Maricao, Lares and Adjuntas; east of Sabana G ...
that in the early 20th century would become the separate municipality of
Guánica.
The government of Puerto Rico holds a commemorative ceremony every year, the most recent of which was held at the
Puerto Rico Department of State
The Department of State of Puerto Rico was created in July 1952 and is responsible of promoting the cultural, political, and economical relations between Puerto Rico, other jurisdictions of the United States and foreign countries.
History
The ...
headquarters building, the "Edificio de la Real Intendencia", in Old San Juan with the mayor of Yauco, Abel Nazario, as the keynote speaker and Supreme Court
Associate Justice
Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...
Edgardo Rivera Garcia in charge of the reading of the Constitution's Preamble.
[{{cite web , url=http://www.elnuevodia.com/loasalaconstitucionboricua-1024307.html , title=Loas a la Constitución boricua , website=www.elnuevodia.com , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120924132817/http://www.elnuevodia.com/loasalaconstitucionboricua-1024307.html , archive-date=2012-09-24 ]
References
Public holidays in Puerto Rico
Constitution days
July observances