| José Coll y Cuchi | |
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Founder of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party |
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| Born | January 12, 1877 Arecibo, Puerto Rico |
| Died | July 2, 1960 Santurce, Puerto Rico |
| Nationality | Puerto Rican |
| Political movement | Puerto Rican Nationalist Party |
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José Coll y Cuchi[note 1] (January 12, 1877 – July 2, 1960) was a lawyer, writer and the founder of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. He was a member of a prominent Puerto Rican family of politicians, educators and writers[note 2].
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Coll y Cuchi was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. His father was Cayetano Coll y Toste, a historian who in 1913 was named the "Official Historian of Puerto Rico" and his mother Adela, was the daughter of José Cuchi y Arnau former mayor of Arecibo. His family sent him to private schools for his primary and secondary education.[1] In 1896, Coll y Cuchi's family sent him to Spain where he earned his degree in law from the University of Barcelona. During his stay in Spain, he became interested in politics and became involved with the Puerto Rico's independence movement.[1]
When Coll y Cuchi returned to Puerto Rico, he found himself with a totally different political situation. The island which once belonged to the Spanish Crown was now a territory of the American. This came about as part of the accord of the Treaty of Paris as a consequence of the outcome of the Spanish-American War.
In 1904, he joined the Puerto Rican Republican Party and was elected to the Puerto Rican Chamber of Delegates. Believing that Puerto Rico's identity as a nation was threaten by the Foraker Law, he decided to join the Puerto Rican Union Party headed by Antonio R. Barceló and was re-elected to the Chamber of Delegates in 1908. As member of the Chamber, he led the fight against the Foraker Law, also known as the Organic Act of 1900, which established a civilian government in the island. The new government had an American governor and executive council appointed by the President of the United States.[1]
By 1919, Coll y Cuchi felt that the Union Party wasn't doing enough for the cause of Puerto Rico and together with some followers departed from the party and formed the Nationalist Association of Puerto Rico in San Juan. During that time there were two other organizations that were pro-independence, they were the Nationalist Youth and the Independence Association.[1] Under Coll y Cuchi's presidency, the party was able to convince the Puerto Rican Legislature Assembly to approve an act that would permit the transfer of the mortal remains of Puerto Rican patriot Ramón Emeterio Betances from Paris, France to Puerto Rico. Betances' remains arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico on August 5, 1920 and a funeral caravan organized by the Nationalist Association transferred the remains from the capital to the town of Cabo Rojo where his ashes were interred by his monument.
On September 17, 1922, the three political organizations joined forces and formed the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. Coll y Cuchi was elected president, José S. Alegría (father of Ricardo Alegria) vice-president and Antonio Vélez Alvarado "The Father of the Puerto Rican Flag" to the party's Supreme Counsel. In 1924 Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos joined the party and was named vice-president.[1]
In 1927, Coll y Cuchi was invited to Columbia University to give a conference. At that conference the governor of New York Al Smith was present and congratulated Coll y Cuchi. When Smith ran for President of the U.S. in 1928, under the democratic ticket, he invited Coll y Cuchi to come to the U.S. and campaign for him among the Hispanic communities, which he did. The Nationalist Party did poorly in the 1928 elections, they only received 399 votes out of a total of 253,520 votes.[2]
Despite the fact that he was a leader in the independence movement, Coll y Cuchi displayed respect and admiration towards the Americans. Albizu Campos did not like what he considered was Coll y Cuchi's attitude of fraternal solidarity with the enemy. By 1930, there were more disagreements between Coll y Cuchi and Albizu Campos as to how the party should be run. As a result Coll y Cuchi abandoned the party and some of his followers returned to the Union Party. On May 11, 1930, Albizu Campos was elected president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. In 1931, when President Herbert Hoover visited Puerto Rico, Coll y Cuchi urged the islanders to greet him with a warm welcome.[2]
Coll y Cuchí came from a prominent family of Puerto Rican educators, politicians and writers. His father Dr. Cayetano Coll y Toste (1850-1930), was a historian and writer.[3] His brother Cayetano Coll y Cuchí, was a President of Puerto Rico House of Representatives.[1] His daughter Edna Coll was a noted educator and author who founded the Academy of Fine Arts in Puerto Rico[4] and his niece Isabel Cuchí Coll was a journalist, author and the Director of the "Sociedad de Autores Puertorriqueño" (Society of Puerto Rican Authors)[4]. His nephew {Edna's son) Jose "Fufi" Santori Coll was a former BSN basketball player, coach and television sportscaster.[5]
Coll y Cuchi was director of Puerto Rican Athaeneum's Political Sciences Section. He is the only Puerto Rican to have received the Medal of Honor from Spain's "Royal Academy of the Spanish Language" for the best book published during a five year span. Coll y Cuchi never abandoned his pro-independence ideals and continued to be active in the independence cause. José Coll y Cuchi died in Santurce, Puerto Rico on July 2, 1960.[1]
Among his written works are the following: