Juan Manuel García Passalacqua
Encyclopedia
Juan Manuel Garcia-Passalacqua (February 22, 1937 - July 2, 2010) was a well known lawyer, writer and political
analyst from Puerto Rico.
, showed interest in studying from a very young age, and he holds degrees from Tufts
, Tulane and Harvard universities. His father was a professor of literature at the University of Puerto Rico and his uncle was a candidate for governor for the Puerto Rican Independence Party
. After obtaining his law degree, he went on to work as aide to governors Luis Muñoz Marín
and Roberto Sanchez Vilella
, both of the PPD
. He was a member of a reformist group, known in Puerto Rico
as The 22.
television during election years.
He wrote more than 20 books, in both Spanish and English, mostly on Caribbean affairs and politics. In 1982, he was invited to become a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
. He is also a member of the Ambassadors Circle of the Carter Center
in Atlanta. As part of his duties with the Carter Center, he served as an impartial election observer in more than a dozen countries around the world.
He taught classes as a visiting professor at colleges ranging from Yale University
to the Center for Advanced Studies in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean in San Juan. For many years he served as legal counsel for the Ana G. Mendez Foundation. In his role as a political analyst in Puerto Rico, Garcia-Passalacqua was known to give his opinion or criticism of Puerto Rican parties without particularly lining up with or against any of the three major parties there. Over the years, he consistently proposed an associated republic political relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States since he wrote his masters thesis on the topic in 1957 for Professor Carl Friedrich at Harvard University
. He wrote columns for such newspapers as El Nuevo Dia
(The New Day), El Vocero
(The Spokesperson) and The San Juan Star
. In 2006, he returned to Puerto Rico's most respected news radio station, WKAQ
, as an on-air political commentator.
"Juan Ma", as he was referred by some, participated in a televised program called Medio Día Puerto Rico (Midday Puerto Rico), during the lunchtime hours on Televicentro Puerto Rico
in a segment called "La Escuelita" (The Small Schoolhouse). After an incident in which he apparently made mention of the daughter of Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
(governor of Puerto Rico at the time), he was fired from the show and did not visit the TV station again, only talking via phone from outside when several people, such as La Comay or news reporters, called him for political analysis.
issued a proclamation declaring February 22, 2009 Juan Manuel García Passalacqua Day in recognition of his accomplishments in public service, academia, journalism and political analysis. Fortuño, a former neighbor of García Passalacqua, considered the political analyst one of his mentors in his formative years. He later re-joined WKAQ-AM as a political analyst, suggesting that his health had improved. However, on Friday, May 7, 2010 a letter from him was read on WKAQ-AM noon program directed to news director Javier Cosme and the program's audience stating that he was leaving the program and the islands of Puerto Rico to be at peace in his remaining time, since he had been diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. He resided at the Ohio home of his daughter Ivonne Marie García Acosta, a college professor, during the last months of his life, where he died surrounded by his family, according to his widow, professor and author Ivonne Acosta. On July 2, 2010, García Passalacqua died in Mount Vernon, Ohio
Governor Fortuño declared three days of mourning, July 3, 5 and 6, during which the flags of Puerto Rico and United States
will be flown at half-mast. Flags are never flown at half-mast on Independence Day.
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
analyst from Puerto Rico.
Early years
Garcia Passalacqua, who was born in the Hato Rey district of San Juan, Puerto RicoSan Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, showed interest in studying from a very young age, and he holds degrees from Tufts
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...
, Tulane and Harvard universities. His father was a professor of literature at the University of Puerto Rico and his uncle was a candidate for governor for the Puerto Rican Independence Party
Puerto Rican Independence Party
The Puerto Rican Independence Party is a Puerto Rican political party that campaigns for the independence of Puerto Rico from United States suzerainty....
. After obtaining his law degree, he went on to work as aide to governors Luis Muñoz Marín
Luis Muñoz Marín
Don José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín was a Puerto Rican poet, journalist, and politician. Regarded as the "father of modern Puerto Rico," he was the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico. Muñoz Marín was the son of Luis Muñoz Rivera, a renowned autonomist leader...
and Roberto Sanchez Vilella
Roberto Sánchez Vilella
Roberto Sánchez Vilella was the second Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from 1965 to 1969. He was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico...
, both of the PPD
Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico
The Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico is a political party that supports Puerto Rico's right to self-determination and sovereignty, through the enhancement of Puerto Rico's current status as a commonwealth....
. He was a member of a reformist group, known in Puerto Rico
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...
as The 22.
Writer and political analyst
Garcia-Passalacqua later showed discontent with the PPD, eventually leaving the party. He became a television producer in Puerto Rico; one of his most important shows was Cara a Cara Ante el País (Face to Face). During the 1980s, Garcia-Passalacqua became one of the most sought after political analysts by other television producers. He became a common figure on Puerto RicanPuerto 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...
television during election years.
He wrote more than 20 books, in both Spanish and English, mostly on Caribbean affairs and politics. In 1982, he was invited to become a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations is an American nonprofit nonpartisan membership organization, publisher, and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international affairs...
. He is also a member of the Ambassadors Circle of the Carter Center
Carter Center
The Carter Center is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter. In partnership with Emory University, The Carter Center works to advance human rights and alleviate human suffering...
in Atlanta. As part of his duties with the Carter Center, he served as an impartial election observer in more than a dozen countries around the world.
He taught classes as a visiting professor at colleges ranging from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
to the Center for Advanced Studies in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean in San Juan. For many years he served as legal counsel for the Ana G. Mendez Foundation. In his role as a political analyst in Puerto Rico, Garcia-Passalacqua was known to give his opinion or criticism of Puerto Rican parties without particularly lining up with or against any of the three major parties there. Over the years, he consistently proposed an associated republic political relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States since he wrote his masters thesis on the topic in 1957 for Professor Carl Friedrich at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He wrote columns for such newspapers as El Nuevo Dia
El Nuevo Día
El Nuevo Día is a Puerto Rican newspaper based in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico and distributed daily throughout Puerto Rico and some parts of the United States.- History :...
(The New Day), El Vocero
El Vocero
El Vocero is a Puerto Rican newspaper that is published in San Juan.Published since 1974, El Vocero was at first the third of the four largest Puerto Rico newspapers, trailing El Mundo and El Nuevo Día and leading The San Juan Star in sales...
(The Spokesperson) and The San Juan Star
The San Juan Star
The now-defunct The San Juan Star was an English-language, Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The newspaper was published by Star Media Network, a subdivision of San Juan Star, Inc., which once owned San Juan City Magazine, El Mayagüez Star, and El Ponce Star.The...
. In 2006, he returned to Puerto Rico's most respected news radio station, WKAQ
WKAQ (AM)
WKAQ is a radio station in San Juan, Puerto Rico that broadcasts on 580 kHz with a Spanish language talk radio format. The station is currently owned by Univision Radio. Its programming is repeated on WUKQ, which broadcasts on 1420 kHz in Ponce, and WYEL which broadcasts on 600 kHz in Mayagüez...
, as an on-air political commentator.
"Juan Ma", as he was referred by some, participated in a televised program called Medio Día Puerto Rico (Midday Puerto Rico), during the lunchtime hours on Televicentro Puerto Rico
Televicentro
Televicentro may refer to the following:*Televicentro 4 Former name of WAPA-TV, a television station in Puerto Rico*Televicentro , a television station in Honduras*Televicentro , a television station in Nicaragua...
in a segment called "La Escuelita" (The Small Schoolhouse). After an incident in which he apparently made mention of the daughter of Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer. He served as the eighth Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a Commonwealth of the United States, from 2005 to 2009. He is a Harvard University alumnus and a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico School of Law,...
(governor of Puerto Rico at the time), he was fired from the show and did not visit the TV station again, only talking via phone from outside when several people, such as La Comay or news reporters, called him for political analysis.
Later years
In early 2009, García Passalacqua reduced his level of activities for health reasons and began to be the object of published testimonials. In particular, Governor Luis FortuñoLuis Fortuño
Luis Guillermo Fortuño Burset is the governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States of America. Fortuño is also the president of the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico , a member of the Republican National Committee, and will be president of the Council of State...
issued a proclamation declaring February 22, 2009 Juan Manuel García Passalacqua Day in recognition of his accomplishments in public service, academia, journalism and political analysis. Fortuño, a former neighbor of García Passalacqua, considered the political analyst one of his mentors in his formative years. He later re-joined WKAQ-AM as a political analyst, suggesting that his health had improved. However, on Friday, May 7, 2010 a letter from him was read on WKAQ-AM noon program directed to news director Javier Cosme and the program's audience stating that he was leaving the program and the islands of Puerto Rico to be at peace in his remaining time, since he had been diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. He resided at the Ohio home of his daughter Ivonne Marie García Acosta, a college professor, during the last months of his life, where he died surrounded by his family, according to his widow, professor and author Ivonne Acosta. On July 2, 2010, García Passalacqua died in Mount Vernon, Ohio
Mount Vernon, Ohio
Mount Vernon is a city in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 16,990 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Knox County. The city is named after Mount Vernon, the plantation owned by George Washington.-History:...
Governor Fortuño declared three days of mourning, July 3, 5 and 6, during which the flags of Puerto Rico and United States
Flag of the United States
The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...
will be flown at half-mast. Flags are never flown at half-mast on Independence Day.
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- List of television presenters/Puerto Rico
- Luis Francisco OjedaLuis Francisco OjedaLuis Francisco Ojeda is a well known Puerto Rican television, radio reporter and host, noted for his aggressive, uncompromising questioning and commenting style.-Early years:...
- Puerto Rican Attorney, Historian & Analyst Juan Manuel García-Passalacqua, 73, Dies - video report by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...