Rafael Martínez Nadal (April 22, 1877 – July 6, 1941) was a Puerto Rican politician,

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

, journalist, and businessman. He was the third president of the Senate of Puerto Rico, serving from 1933 to 1941.

Early years

Rafael Martínez Nadal was born on April 22, 1877, in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. He was an orphan from an early age, since his mother, Estebanía Nadal Freyre died hours after his birth, and his father, Rafael Martínez Santana, when he was only five years old. After that, he was raised in

Maricao, Puerto Rico Maricao () is a Maricao barrio-pueblo, town and the second-least populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico; it is located at the western edge of the Cordillera Central, Puerto Rico, Cordillera Central. It is a small town ...

by his paternal aunts. He then studied 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 ...

Professional life

At the age of sixteen, his tutor sent him to

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Spain to study law. However, he interrupted his studies and went to live in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He spent the next years between Paris,

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

and

, where he was a businessman in fields as varied as bullfighting, meat distribution, theater production and coffee importation. On August 13, 1904, Martínez Nadal returned to Mayagüez, where he dedicated to the business of coffee. He also became a journalist and joined the Puerto Rico Republican Party founded several years earlier by doctor

José Celso Barbosa José Celso Barbosa Alcala (July 27, 1857 – September 21, 1921) was a Puerto Rican physician, sociologist and political leader. Known as the father of the statehood movement in Puerto Rico, Barbosa was the first Puerto Rican, and one of th ...

. In 1908 he founded the "El Combate" newspaper. In 1912, he moved to Ponce and began studying again, receiving his

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...

. His practice became so prominent that, even decades later, many court observers quipped a popular rhyme in Spanish, "Temblaba la corte, temblaba el fiscal, temblaban los jueces, cuando llegaba Martínez Nadal" ("the court trembled, the DA trembled, the judge trembled, when Martínez Nadal arrived").

Political career

Martínez Nadal was elected in 1914 as a member of the Puerto Rico House of Delegates, the precursor of the

Puerto Rico House of Representatives The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico () is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Senate, control the legislative branch of the go ...

representing Ponce. As a member of the

Republican Party of Puerto Rico The Republican Party of Puerto Rico () is the local affiliate of the national Republican Party (United States), United States Republican Party in Puerto Rico. The affiliation started in 1903. The party does not participate in the November elect ...

, he was elected to the Senate of Puerto Rico in 1920. When the Union Party joined the Republican Party in 1924 forming

Alianza Puertorriqueña Alianza Puertorriqueña was a major political party in Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island o ...

, Martínez Nadal left his party in disagreement. He then formed a party called the Partido Constitucional Histórico, aligning with the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

of Santiago Iglesias Pantín. He was then reelected in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in Ch ...

and

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

. After the Alianza disbanded, Martínez Nadal formed another party called the Republican Union, under his presidency. He was reelected in

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

and was elected President of the Senate of Puerto Rico. He served as such until his death from cancer on July 6, 1941, in

Guaynabo, Puerto Rico Guaynabo (, ) is a Guaynabo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northeastern coastal plain of Puerto Rico. Located west of the capital San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, east of Bayamón, Puerto Rico, Bayam� ...

. He was buried at Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery in

Legacy

An expressway in Guaynabo is named after Martínez Nadal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Rafael 1877 births 1941 deaths Burials at Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery Members of the Senate of Puerto Rico Puerto Rican lawyers Republican Party (Puerto Rico) politicians Politicians from Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Presidents of the Senate of Puerto Rico 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico