Ramón Valdés Cobián was a Puerto Rican businessman, entrepreneur and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He served as a member of the

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

from 1917 to 1920. Valdés Cobián was born in Bayamon, Puerto Rico to Ramon and Encarnación Cobián. When he was a child his family moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and lived in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. Earned a Bachelor degree in electrical engineering from

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

. The family returned to Puerto Rico and in 1910, his father, Ramón Valdés founded and organized the Mayaguez Light, Power and Ice Company, a utility company in the city of Mayagüez.Guía del Turismo en Mayagüez, Clásico de Mayagüez "La Cervecería India", (Spanish) In 1917, Valdés Cobián was elected to the first Senate of Puerto Rico, representing the District of San Juan. He served in that position until 1920. After that, Valdés Cobián and his brothers, Sabino and

Alfonso Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. I ...

decided to build a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

in Mayagüez and on November 2, 1937, they founded the

Compañía Cervecera de Puerto Rico The Compañía Cervecera de Puerto Rico (formerly known as Cervecería India) is a large brewery in Puerto Rico. It is located in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. The company's main brand is ''Medalla Light''. History The company ...

which was later renamed Cervecería India. The company became Puerto Rico's largest beer brewery and manufacture of canned and bottled soft drinks. He died on October 15, 1962 in Santurce, Puerto Rico at age 76 and was buried at the Puerto Rico Memorial Cemetery in

Carolina, Puerto Rico Carolina (; ) is a Carolina barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northeastern coastal plain of Puerto Rico, immediately east of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan and Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, Trujillo Alto, n ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valdes, Ramon 1886 births 1962 deaths Fordham University alumni Members of the Senate of Puerto Rico People from Bayamón, Puerto Rico Union of Puerto Rico politicians 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico