Casimiro Berenguer
Encyclopedia
Casimiro Berenguer Padilla was a Puerto Rican
nationalist
who witnessed the Ponce Massacre
. He was the military instructor of the Cadetes de la República who received permission from Ponce Mayor Tormos Diego
to celebrate a parade on March 21, 1937, in commemoration of the abolition of slavery
and to protest the jailing of its leaders, including Pedro Albizu Campos
. The parade resulted in the police riot known as the Ponce Massacre
.
, and Eugenia Padilla, a housewife. At age 6, he emigrated to the Dominican Republic with his parents, where he spent his childhood and part of his youth. He also learned to trade as a cobbler
there. In 1929, he returned to Puerto Rico and established a shoe repair shop in Ponce.
, Berenguer set up his shoe repair shop at Marina and Aurora streets, in at a building used by the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
to celebrate its meetings in that city. Police carried out the 1937 Ponce Massacre, under the instructions of US-installed governor Blanton Winship, outside this building.
Berenguer was accused of murder by the government of the U.S.-installed governor Blanton Winship in relation to the Ponce Massacre. The other nationalists also accused of murder by the government of Blanton Winship in relation to the massacre were Luis Castro Quesada, Julio Pinto Gandía, Lorenzo Piñeiro, (Interim President and Interim Secretary General of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party), Plinio Graciani, Tomás López de Victoria, Martín González Ruíz, Elifaz Escobar, Luis Angel Correa, Santiago González, and Orlando Colón Leyro. A grand jury was convened, and the accused were tried, but all the nationalists, including Berenguer, were released.
On September 28, 1938, Berenguer was convicted with other nacionalistas in connection with the attempted assassination of governor Blanton Winship during the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the U.S. military invasion of Puerto Rico. The other nationalists convicted were Tomás López de Victoria, Elifaz Escobar, Santiago González, Vicente Morciglio, Leocadio López, Juan Pietri, Guillermo Larrogaiti, and Prudencio Segarra.
and enterred at the Panteon Nacional Roman Baldorioty de Castro
in Ponce on the 70th anniversary of the Ponce Massacre, March 21, 2007.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
nationalist
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party was founded on September 17, 1922. Its main objective is to work for Puerto Rican Independence.In 1919, José Coll y Cuchí, a member of the Union Party of Puerto Rico, felt that the Union Party was not doing enough for the cause of Puerto Rican independence and he...
who witnessed the Ponce Massacre
Ponce massacre
The Ponce massacre occurred on 21 March 1937 when a peaceful march in Ponce, Puerto Rico, by the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party commemorating the ending of slavery in Puerto Rico by the governing Spanish National Assembly in 1873, and coinciding with a protest against the incarceration by the...
. He was the military instructor of the Cadetes de la República who received permission from Ponce Mayor Tormos Diego
José Tormos Diego
José Tormos Diego was a Puerto Rican politician and Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 1937 to 1941. He is best remembered for rebuilding the historic Teatro La Perla in 1940.-Mayoral selection:...
to celebrate a parade on March 21, 1937, in commemoration of the abolition of slavery
Abolition Park
Parque de la Abolicion is a city park in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The park is the only park in the Caribbean dedicated to commemorating the abolition of slavery.-Location and features:...
and to protest the jailing of its leaders, including Pedro Albizu Campos
Pedro Albizu Campos
Don Pedro Albizu Campos was a Puerto Rican politician and one of the leading figures in the Puerto Rican independence movement. He was the leader and president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party from 1930 until his death...
. The parade resulted in the police riot known as the Ponce Massacre
Ponce massacre
The Ponce massacre occurred on 21 March 1937 when a peaceful march in Ponce, Puerto Rico, by the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party commemorating the ending of slavery in Puerto Rico by the governing Spanish National Assembly in 1873, and coinciding with a protest against the incarceration by the...
.
Early years
Casimiro Berenguer Padilla was born in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. His parents were Alejandro Berenguer, a masonMasonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
, and Eugenia Padilla, a housewife. At age 6, he emigrated to the Dominican Republic with his parents, where he spent his childhood and part of his youth. He also learned to trade as a cobbler
Shoemaking
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand. Traditional handicraft shoemaking has now been largely superseded in volume of shoes produced by industrial mass production of footwear, but not necessarily in quality, attention to detail, or...
there. In 1929, he returned to Puerto Rico and established a shoe repair shop in Ponce.
Background
In PoncePonce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
, Berenguer set up his shoe repair shop at Marina and Aurora streets, in at a building used by the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party was founded on September 17, 1922. Its main objective is to work for Puerto Rican Independence.In 1919, José Coll y Cuchí, a member of the Union Party of Puerto Rico, felt that the Union Party was not doing enough for the cause of Puerto Rican independence and he...
to celebrate its meetings in that city. Police carried out the 1937 Ponce Massacre, under the instructions of US-installed governor Blanton Winship, outside this building.
Berenguer was accused of murder by the government of the U.S.-installed governor Blanton Winship in relation to the Ponce Massacre. The other nationalists also accused of murder by the government of Blanton Winship in relation to the massacre were Luis Castro Quesada, Julio Pinto Gandía, Lorenzo Piñeiro, (Interim President and Interim Secretary General of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party), Plinio Graciani, Tomás López de Victoria, Martín González Ruíz, Elifaz Escobar, Luis Angel Correa, Santiago González, and Orlando Colón Leyro. A grand jury was convened, and the accused were tried, but all the nationalists, including Berenguer, were released.
On September 28, 1938, Berenguer was convicted with other nacionalistas in connection with the attempted assassination of governor Blanton Winship during the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the U.S. military invasion of Puerto Rico. The other nationalists convicted were Tomás López de Victoria, Elifaz Escobar, Santiago González, Vicente Morciglio, Leocadio López, Juan Pietri, Guillermo Larrogaiti, and Prudencio Segarra.
Death and legacy
Berenguer's remains were brought from the Dominican RepublicDominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
and enterred at the Panteon Nacional Roman Baldorioty de Castro
Panteón Nacional Román Baldorioty de Castro
The Panteón Nacional Román Baldorioty de Castro is a tract of land in Barrio Segundo of the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico, originally designed as the city's cemetery, but later converted into what has come to be a famous burial place. Established in 1842, it is Puerto Rico's first national pantheon...
in Ponce on the 70th anniversary of the Ponce Massacre, March 21, 2007.
See also
- Puerto Rican Independence MovementPuerto Rican independence movementThe Puerto Rican independence movement refers to initiatives throughout the history of Puerto Rico aimed at obtaining independence for the Island, first from Spain, and then from the United States...
- Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Revolts of the 1950sPuerto Rican Nationalist Party Revolts of the 1950sThe Puerto Rican Nationalist Party Revolts of the 1950s was a call for independence and uprising by the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party against United States Government rule of Puerto Rico and against the approval of the creation of the political status "Free Associated State" for Puerto Rico which...
- Puerto Rican Nationalist PartyPuerto Rican Nationalist PartyThe Puerto Rican Nationalist Party was founded on September 17, 1922. Its main objective is to work for Puerto Rican Independence.In 1919, José Coll y Cuchí, a member of the Union Party of Puerto Rico, felt that the Union Party was not doing enough for the cause of Puerto Rican independence and he...
- Ponce MassacrePonce massacreThe Ponce massacre occurred on 21 March 1937 when a peaceful march in Ponce, Puerto Rico, by the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party commemorating the ending of slavery in Puerto Rico by the governing Spanish National Assembly in 1873, and coinciding with a protest against the incarceration by the...
- Río Piedras massacreRío Piedras massacreThe Río Piedras massacre occurred at the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, and involved a confrontation between local police officers and supporters of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party on October 24, 1935...
- Jayuya UprisingJayuya UprisingThe Jayuya Uprising, also known as the Jayuya Revolt or El Grito de Jayuya, refers to a nationalist revolt in the town of Jayuya, Puerto Rico which occurred on October 30, 1950...
- Utuado UprisingUtuado UprisingThe Utuado Uprising, also known as the Utuado Revolt or El Grito de Utuado, refers to the revolt against the United States government in Puerto Rico which occurred on October 30, 1950 in various localities in Puerto Rico and which in Utuado culminated in the "Utuado massacre".-Events leading to the...
- Puerto Rican Independence PartyPuerto Rican Independence PartyThe Puerto Rican Independence Party is a Puerto Rican political party that campaigns for the independence of Puerto Rico from United States suzerainty....
- History of Puerto RicoHistory of Puerto RicoThe history of Puerto Rico began with the settlement of the archipelago of Puerto Rico by the Ortoiroid people between 3000 and 2000 BC. Other tribes, such as the Saladoid and Arawak Indians, populated the island between 430 BC and 1000 AD. At the time of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New...
- Gilberto Concepción de GraciaGilberto Concepción de GraciaDr. Gilberto Concepción de Gracia was a lawyer, journalist, author, politician and founder of the Puerto Rican Independence Party.-Early years:Concepción de Gracia was born in the town of Vega Alta, Puerto Rico...
- Blanca CanalesBlanca CanalesBlanca Canales Torresola was a Puerto Rican nationalist leader. Canales may possibly have been the first woman to have led a revolt against the United States when she led the The Jayuya Uprising.-Early years:...
- Lolita LebrónLolita LebrónDolores "Lolita" Lebrón Sotomayor was a Puerto Rican nationalist who wasconvicted of attempted murder and other crimes after leading an assault on the United States House of Representatives in 1954,...