Víctor Lorenzo Vassallo Anadón (born October 11, 1960) is a Puerto Rican businessman,

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

, and politician affiliated with the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). He has been a member 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 ...

since 2009 representing District 25. Before that, Vassallo distinguished himself as a businessman within Vassallo, Inc., and as a swimmer.

Early years and studies

Víctor Vassallo Anadón was born in Ponce on October 11, 1960, to Víctor "Chuchín" Vassallo and Daysi Anadón. He is the nephew of industrialist Salvador Vassallo. Víctor is the second of five sons. His brothers are Marcos,

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(b. 1961), Vicente, and

Salvador Salvador, meaning "salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

(b. 1968). Víctor's father died in a car accident in Florida in 1977. Vassallo has a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in Administration from the

Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico) is a private Roman Catholic university with its main campus in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It provides courses leading to Bachelor's, Master's and Docto ...

Sports career

Encouraged by his father, Vassallo and his brothers enrolled in a swimming team since childhood. As a result, they distinguished themselves in the sport. In 1972, Víctor Vassallo, Sr. moved his family to Florida looking for better training facilities for his sons. Three years later, they moved to

Mission Viejo, California Mission Viejo ( ; language change, corruption of ; ) is a Commuter town, commuter city in the Saddleback Valley in Orange County, California, United States. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest Planned community, master-planned commu ...

, to be a part of the Mission Viejo Nadadores. In 1978, Víctor ranked first in the United States in 100 yards

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...

Mission Viejo High School Mission Viejo High School is a four-year comprehensive education, comprehensive State school, public secondary education in the United States, high school located in Mission Viejo, California, United States, as part of the Saddleback Valley Unifi ...

, California. In 1979, Vassallo represented Puerto Rico in the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

. He received a scholarship of the

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for his performance. During the 1983–84 Games of the Liga Atlética Interuniversitaria de Puerto Rico, Vassallo won 8 medals (6 gold, 2 silver) and set 2 records. Vassallo was also ranked among the 20 best backstroke swimmers worldwide by the ''

Swimming World Magazine } ''Swimming World'' is a US-based quarterly swimming magazine that was first published in a magazine format as ''Junior Swimmer'' in January 1960. It concurrently runs online websites ''Swimming World Magazine'' and ''Swimming World News'' (kn ...

''.

Professional career

After retiring from swimming, Vassallo worked as Vice President of Sales and Operations of Vassallo, Inc. in Florida. The company was founded by his uncle. Vassallo received the Ceiba Award from the Chamber of Commerce of Ponce because of his humanitarian and entrepreneurial vision.

Political career

Vassallo was first elected to the

House of Representatives of Puerto Rico 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 ...

at the

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, representing District 25. He was reelected in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Personal life

Vassallo is married to artist Ana Olmo. They have two daughters together: Gianina and Alexandra.

References

External links

Víctor Vassallo Official biographyVíctor Vassallo Profile
on

WAPA-TV WAPA-TV (channel 4) is a Spanish-language independent television station in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the flagship and namesake station of Guaynabo-based WAPA Media Group. WAPA-TV maintains studio facilities on Luis Vigoreaux Avenue ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vassallo, Victor Living people 1960 births Popular Democratic Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico Politicians from Ponce Swimmers at the 1979 Pan American Games Pan American Games competitors for Puerto Rico Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico alumni 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico