Steve Cohen: “Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1019 is a bill to designate the United States Customhouse Building located at 31 Gonzalez Clemente…”

“Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1019 is a bill to designate the United States Customhouse Building located at 31 Gonzalez Clemente Avenue in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, as the Rafael Martinez Nadal United States Customhouse Building. Although Don Rafael Martinez Nadal was born in the city of Mayaguez on April 22, 1877, he resided and passed away in Guaynabo. He received his college degree in philosophy and letters from the Provincial Institute of Secondary Education in San Juan. At 16, he was sent to Barcelona, Spain, to study law. In August, 1904, he returned to Mayaguez and began to study coffee growing agriculture. Simultaneously, he began his first successful attempts in the media and politics with the Puerto Rican Republican Party. In 1908, he founded the political newspaper El Combate. In 1912, he obtained his law degree and became one of the most prominent men in the Puerto Rican political arena. He was considered one of the most famous criminal lawyers of the time. In 1914, he was elected as a member of the Chamber of Delegates for the city of Ponce by the Puerto Rican Republican Party. In 1920, he was chosen by the same party to serve in the Senate and was re-elected in the next five general elections.”