Rafael Rivera Esbrí (2 July 1870 – 9 November 1965) was
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
of
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce ( , , ) is a city and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692Some publ ...
from 1915 to 1917.
Early years
Rivera Esbri was the son of Ramón Rivera Alvarado and Julia Esbri. He married Faneta Bengoa y Larrauri and had a daughter named Lili Belen, born around 1904. His great-grandson is actor
Benicio del Toro
Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (; born February 19, 1967) is a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican actor. List of awards and nominations received by Benicio del Toro, His accolades include an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy ...
.
El Polvorín
Rivera Esbri is best remembered for an incident that has little to do with his work as mayor. He is remembered as the only civilian who in the company of seven of Ponce's
firefighter
A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...
s confronted and brought under control the fire of
25 January 1899 that took place at the
American munitions depot in the city of Ponce, located where the
Ponce High School
The Ponce High School is public educational institution in Ponce, Puerto Rico, offering grades nine through twelve. The school's main building is a historic structure located on Cristina Street, in the Ponce Historic Zone. From its beginning t ...
is currently located. Rivera Esbri and the others did this in defiance of an order from the American military officials not to attempt to fight the fire. Their bravery is said to have saved the city from total destruction.
Obelisk
In 1906, the Legislature of Puerto Rico issued a
proclamation
A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...
to declare Rafael Rivera Esbri and the seven firefighters heroes officially. In time, the city of Ponce also built an
obelisk
An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...
to their memory which is located at
Plaza Las Delicias
Plaza Las Delicias is the main plaza in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico, Ponce, Puerto Rico. The square is notable for its fountains and for the various monuments it contains. The historic Parque de Bombas and Ponce Cathedral buildings are locate ...
(See
Monumento a los heroes de El Polvorín), and is dedicated to Rivera Esbri and the seven firefighters who risked their lives in the 25 January 1899 fire. Rivera Esbri's name, along with those of the firefighters are engraved on the obelisk.
Mayoral work
As mayor, Rivera Esbri founded, in 1916, the cemetery at Barrio
Coto Laurel in Ponce. Rivera Esbri founded
Partido Ponceño, which was short-lived, and around 1950 he ran for mayor of Ponce.
Death and burial
Upon his death, Rafael Rivera Esbri was buried at the
mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...
reserved for Ponce firefighters in the
Monumento a los heroes de El Polvorín at
Cementerio Civil de Ponce. He is the only civilian non-firefighter in the mausoleum. He died on 9 November 1965 at age 95.
[Puerto Rico, Civil Registrations, 1885-2001.]
Honors
In Ponce there is a street in Urbanización Las Delicias of
Barrio Magueyes named after him.
See also
*
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce ( , , ) is a city and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692Some publ ...
*
List of Puerto Ricans
This is a list of notable people from Puerto Rico which includes people who were born in Puerto Rico (Borinquen) and people who are of full or partial Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican descent. Puerto Rican citizens are included, as the governm ...
*
List of mayors of Ponce, Puerto Rico
This is a list of mayors of Ponce, Puerto Rico, Ponce, Puerto Rico's southern economic center, the island's second largest and second most important city.
From 1692 to 1840, the office of mayor in Ponce was filled either by local hacendados or ...
*
25 de Enero Street
References
Further reading
* Fay Fowlie de Flores. ''Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliográfica Anotada.'' Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 216. Item 1109.
* Cayetano Coll y Toste. ''Boletín Histórico de Puerto Rico.'' San Juan, Puerto Rico: Cantera Fernandez. 1914–1927. (Colegio Universitario Tecnológico de Ponce, CUTPO).
* Fay Fowlie de Flores. ''Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliografía Anotada.'' Segunda Edición. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 174. Item 893.
* Ramon E. Bauzá. ''Con la ventana abierta...era mejor cuando era peor.'' San Juan, Puerto Rico: Cordillera. 1996. (UPR-RP; CUTPO)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera Esbri, Rafael
20th-century mayors of places in Puerto Rico
Mayors of Ponce, Puerto Rico
Burials at Cementerio Civil de Ponce
1870 births
1965 deaths