Manuela Santiago Collazo
Encyclopedia
Manuela Santiago Collazo (1936–2010) was a Puerto Rican
politician who was the mayor of the city of Vieques
(1985–2001).
Santiago Collazo became Vieques' first female
mayor during the 1984 general elections. She remained in that position until 2001.
A popular politician among Vieques residents and among many mainland Puerto Rico
residents as well, Santiago Collazo met with various difficult moments during her tenure as mayor: In 1989, Vieques was one of the most severely affected Puerto Rican cities after the passing of hurricane Hugo
. Large amounts of money were required to return the town to normality, as the island-city's boat
service to Fajardo
had to be temporarily stopped, the local airline, Vieques Air Link
, suffered temporary loss of some of their aircraft
, and the city lost electricity
and water
services. The city was later also affected by other hurricanes and storms.
In 1995, many important political figures wrote a letter to United States
president Bill Clinton
, asking for an investigation into an incident where an atomic bomb hit Vieques supposedly by accident in 1966. Santiago Collazo signed the letter. It could be said that this was a small beginning to what would later become mass protests by Vieques citizens against the presence of the military there. After David Sanes
' death by a military bomb in 1999, the protests intensified, and, by 2003, the military left the island of Vieques.
Santiago Collazo led a campaign to attract more airlines to Vieques' small airport
facility. The campaign has succeeded in part: whereas during the early 1980s only Vieques Air Link and Prinair
provided service to the airport, now the airport is served by Vieques Air Link, Air Culebra
and a number of other small carriers from around the rest of the Caribbean
.
Manuela Santiago Collazo did not seek re-election in the 2000 General Elections.
She died on December 14, 2010.
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...
politician who was the mayor of the city of Vieques
Vieques, Puerto Rico
Vieques , in full Isla de Vieques, is an island–municipality of Puerto Rico in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands...
(1985–2001).
Santiago Collazo became Vieques' first female
Woman
A woman , pl: women is a female human. The term woman is usually reserved for an adult, with the term girl being the usual term for a female child or adolescent...
mayor during the 1984 general elections. She remained in that position until 2001.
A popular politician among Vieques residents and among many mainland 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...
residents as well, Santiago Collazo met with various difficult moments during her tenure as mayor: In 1989, Vieques was one of the most severely affected Puerto Rican cities after the passing of hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo was a classical, destructive and rare Cape Verde-type hurricane which struck the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe, Montserrat, St. Croix, Puerto Rico and the USA mainland in South Carolina as a Category 4 hurricane during September of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season...
. Large amounts of money were required to return the town to normality, as the island-city's boat
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
service to Fajardo
Fajardo, Puerto Rico
Fajardo is a small city in Puerto Rico located in the east region of the island, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, north of Ceiba and east of Luquillo.Fajardo is spread over 7 wards and Downtown Fajardo , which serves as the administrative center of the city...
had to be temporarily stopped, the local airline, Vieques Air Link
Vieques Air Link
Vieques Air Link is a small Puerto Rican airline company that links Vieques with Culebra and mainland Puerto Rico.- History :Operations began on 1965, with owner Osvaldo "Val" Gonzalez-Duriex piloting a plane with three passengers from Vieques to Humacao...
, suffered temporary loss of some of their aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
, and the city lost electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
and water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
services. The city was later also affected by other hurricanes and storms.
In 1995, many important political figures wrote a letter to United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
president Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, asking for an investigation into an incident where an atomic bomb hit Vieques supposedly by accident in 1966. Santiago Collazo signed the letter. It could be said that this was a small beginning to what would later become mass protests by Vieques citizens against the presence of the military there. After David Sanes
David Sanes
David Sanes Rodríguez was a native of Vieques, Puerto Rico whose death became a rallying point for those opposed to the U.S. military presence on and use of his home island for live-fire bombing practice...
' death by a military bomb in 1999, the protests intensified, and, by 2003, the military left the island of Vieques.
Santiago Collazo led a campaign to attract more airlines to Vieques' small airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
facility. The campaign has succeeded in part: whereas during the early 1980s only Vieques Air Link and Prinair
Prinair
Prinair was a Puerto Rican airline. It was Puerto Rico's domestic and international flag carrier airline for almost two decades.- History :Services began in 1966, under the name Aerolíneas de Ponce , with Aero Commanders...
provided service to the airport, now the airport is served by Vieques Air Link, Air Culebra
Air Culebra
Culebra Air Services, established in 1998 as Air Culebra, is a small Puerto Rican airline company that flies out of the island of Culebra, in Puerto Rico, and the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, in San Juan.-Destinations:...
and a number of other small carriers from around the rest of the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
.
Manuela Santiago Collazo did not seek re-election in the 2000 General Elections.
She died on December 14, 2010.