Félix Benítez Rexach | |
|---|---|
 Félix Bénitez Rexach with his wife | |
| Born | March 27, 1886 |
| Died | November 2, 1975 |
| Nationality | Puerto Rican |
| Occupation(s) | Engineer and businessman |
| Known for | Building the Normandie Hotel |
| Movement | Puerto Rican Independence |
| Spouse | Lucienne Dhotelle |
| Part of a series on the |
| Puerto Rican Nationalist Party |
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Félix Benítez Rexach (March 27, 1886 – November 2, 1975) was a Puerto Rican engineer and businessman who built the Normandie Hotel, located in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Benitez Rexach was born in Vieques. In 1928, he fell in love with and married Lucienne Dhotelle, a French singer better known as La Môme Moineau (the kid sparrow). [1] [2]
Benítez Rexach decided to surprise his wife with the construction of a yacht as a replica of the majestic ship. Moineau wasn't satisfied and Benítez Rexach decided then to construct a hotel with the form of a great transatlantic vessel. Designed by architect Raúl Reichard (1908–1996), the hotel began construction in 1938. He named the "Normandie Hotel" in honor of the French liner and presented it as a gift to his beloved wife and to the people of Puerto Rico. The hotel opened on October 10, 1942 [3] at an estimated cost of more than US$2,000,000.
Rexach designed and/or built a number of Puerto Rico's historic bridges, including the "futuristic" Bridge No. 122 and Las Cabanas Bridge (both of those being joint works with designer Rafael Nones). [4]
Benítez Rexach also worked on various projects in the Dominican Republic, as a consequence of the friendship which he had with that country's dictator, Rafael L. Trujillo. Among his works in that country were the Port of Santo Domingo and the "Avenida Jorge Washington" (George Washington Avenue). [5]
Benítez Rexach was a passionate Puerto Rican patriot and a personal friend of Pedro Albizu Campos, president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. He was a firm believer in the Puerto Rican independence movement and once visited Luis A. Ferré, the pro-statehood Governor of Puerto Rico, at the governor's mansion and asked him to proclaim the independence of Puerto Rico, since in his words: "Puerto Rico was a superior nation and the most developed in the Caribbean." [5]
José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín was a Puerto Rican journalist, politician, statesman and was the first elected governor of Puerto Rico, regarded as the "Architect of the Puerto Rico Commonwealth."
The following is an alphabetical list of articles related to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
José Martín Antonio Gautier Benítez was a Puerto Rican poet of the Romantic Era.
Luis Llorens Torres, was a Puerto Rican poet, playwright, and politician. He was an advocate for the independence of Puerto Rico.
Antonio Rafael Barceló y Martínez was a Puerto Rican lawyer, businessman and the patriarch of what was to become one of Puerto Rico's most prominent political families. Barceló, who in 1917 became the first President of the Senate of Puerto Rico, played an instrumental role in the introduction and passage of legislation which permitted the realization of the School of Tropical Medicine and the construction of a Capitol building in Puerto Rico.
The Nationalist Party of Puerto Rico is a Puerto Rican political party founded on September 17, 1922, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its primary goal is to work for Puerto Rico's independence. The Party's selection in 1930 of Pedro Albizu Campos as its president brought a radical change to the organization and its tactics.
Sylvia Regina Rexach González, was a Puerto Rican comedy scriptwriter, poet, singer and composer of boleros.
The Ateneo Puertorriqueño, is a cultural institution in Puerto Rico. Founded on April 30, 1876, it has been called Puerto Rico's oldest cultural institution, however, it is actually its third oldest overall and second culturally, after the Bar Association of Puerto Rico and the Casino of Mayagüez.
The Normandie Hotel is a historic building located in the Isleta de San Juan, in San Juan, Puerto Rico which opened on October 10, 1942 as a hotel. Its design was inspired by the French transatlantic passenger ship SS Normandie in addition to featuring the same art deco design as the ocean liner that inspired it, and the hotel's original roof sign was one of the two signs that adorned the top deck of the SS Normandie but were removed from it during an early refitting. It is an example of what came to be known as the Streamline Moderne architecture style.
Jaime Benítez Rexach was a Puerto Rican author, academic and politician. He was the longest serving chancellor and the first president of the University of Puerto Rico.
The Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery is a colonial-era cemetery located in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the final resting place of many of Puerto Rico's most prominent natives and residents. Construction began in 1863 under the auspices of Ignacio Mascaro. The cemetery is located outside the walls of Fort San Felipe del Morro fortress, one of the island's most famous landmarks. The average height of the wall is 40 feet and the width ranges from 15 to 20 feet. It was named in honor of Saint Maria Magdalena de Pazzi.
Pursuant to a law approved in 1903, "An Act for the Approval and Conservation of Certain Historical Data of Puerto Rico", the Puerto Rico Legislature created the Office of the Official Historian of Puerto Rico. The historians who held the position during the early decades of the 20th century included Francisco Mariano Quiñones, Salvador Brau y Asencio, Dr. Cayetano Coll y Toste, Mariano Abril and Adolfo de Hostos. The office remained vacant until 1993, when then Sen. Kenneth McClintock authored a measure to reestablish the office. Upon its approval, Senate President Roberto Rexach Benítez and House Speaker Zaida Hernández Torres appointed Dr. Pilar Barbosa as the first Official Historian in the office's "modern era". The first female to hold the job, she held it until her death in 1997. At that time, Senate President Charlie Rodríguez and House Speaker Edison Misla Aldarondo appointed Dr. Luis González Vale, the current incumbent.
Roberto Nicolás Rexach Benítez also known as his stage name Bobby, was a Puerto Rican politician, and former Senator and Representative. Rexach Benítez served as the tenth President of the Senate of Puerto Rico from 1993 to 1996. He also served as a member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives from 1973 to 1976, under the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) and as a member of the Senate (1985–1998) under the pro-statehood New Progressive Party (PNP).
The Las Cabañas Bridge is a historic highway bridge in Adjuntas municipality, Puerto Rico. Built in 1919 to provide access to a key coffee-producing region, it was financed by nearby plantations through public subscription. Designer Rafael Nones and builder Félix Benítez Rexach, two of the most prominent figures in Puerto Rican bridge construction in the early 20th century, used a unique combination of steel and concrete technologies to produce a girder design unlike any other on the island and possibly beyond.
Bridge No. 122, spanning the Santiago River near Naguabo, Puerto Rico, is significant as "one of the earliest and most elegant examples of concrete beam bridges in Puerto Rico". Built in 1918, it was "futuristic" for its time and has noteworthy architectural detail relative to others. It was designed by Rafael Nones and built by Felix Benitez-Rexach, both engineers, both regarded as masters in their work. Its construction was financed by Puerto Rico's second public bond issue for public works, in 1916, which raised $2 million.
Rosendo Matienzo Cintrón was a Puerto Rican lawyer and politician, a member of the Puerto Rican House of Representatives, and a lifelong political contrarian. He favored Puerto Rican autonomy when Puerto Rico was a Spanish colony. After the Spanish–American War, when the island was ceded to the United States, he advocated statehood for Puerto Rico. In later years, Matienzo Cintrón supported Puerto Rico's independence.
The Popular Democratic Party is a political party in Puerto Rico that advocates to continue as a Commonwealth of the United States with self-governance. The party was founded in 1938 by dissidents from the Puerto Rican Liberal Party and the Unionist Party and originally promoted policies on the center-left. In recent years, however, its leaders have described the party as centrist.
The 2012 Puerto Rican general elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 to elect the officials of the Puerto Rican government that would serve for the next four years, most notably the Governor of Puerto Rico. A status referendum was held on the same date.
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