Bayamón mayor recalls promise made to his father to care for him at home until the end
By THE STAR STAFF
On Thursday, during the wake for his father -- former mayor Ramón Luis Rivera Rivera -- Bayamón Mayor Ramón Luis Rivera Cruz recalled the promise he and his siblings made to care for him at home. He expressed that, despite the sadness over his passing, the family feels at peace knowing they honored his wishes.
“One afternoon, during a conversation, he made us promise never to put him in a nursing home. We told him, ‘You know how it is; you taught us that one’s word must be honored. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of you at home,’” Rivera Cruz said. “That’s what we did for Mom, and that’s what we did for Dad. That is why there is a sense of peace in having fulfilled our duty, even though there is sadness over his physical passing.”
On behalf of his siblings, the mayor expressed gratitude for the calls, messages, and shows of affection received since his father’s death. He also asked for understanding from those to whom they have not yet been able to respond due to family circumstances.
“Dad was a unique, very special person -- part of a generation of men and women who rose up through great effort, hard work, and dedication,” he stated. “They were family-oriented people whose guiding principles were keeping their word, being honest, and treating others as they would want to be treated themselves; for them, empathy, compassion, and respect for fellow human beings were paramount. And that is what we learned from him.”
Speaking to the media at Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum in Bayamón, Rivera Cruz shared childhood memories to illustrate the lessons his father taught, going beyond his political career.
Among these, he recounted an incident from when he was in the third or fourth grade: he found a dollar on the ground at school and used the money to buy a toy for a neighbor. Upon learning what had happened, his father scolded him and explained that finding money didn’t mean he could keep it. The next day, he accompanied him to school and asked him to check with his classmates to see if anyone had lost a dollar.
The second-to-last student to get off the school bus -- whom he identified as Tito -- confirmed that he had lost the money, so Rivera Cruz returned it to him.
“After his anger subsided, he sat down with me to explain that someone who took a single cent was just as much a thief as someone who took a million dollars,” the mayor recalled regarding that lesson.
He also shared an anecdote from a trip to Mayagüez when he was between 11 and 12 years old, accompanying his father to a political event during the early days of the New Progressive Party.
He recounted that, when they stopped to eat with several of his father’s associates, everyone else ordered lobster, while he asked for french fries. However, after tasting a piece from someone else’s plate, he ended up asking everyone to share their portions with him.
Rivera Cruz recalled with a laugh that he was teased throughout the entire drive back to Bayamón for having initially turned down the lobster.
The mayor also described his father as a lover of music, poetry, and the bohemian lifestyle; he used to sing during family trips and knew the names of the composers and authors behind many songs.
Although he noted that his father particularly enjoyed “rancheras” and Puerto Rican music, he joked about the former mayor’s musical limitations.
“We realized that singing wasn’t his strong suit at all, because he sang badly -- really, truly badly,” he recounted.
Regarding the continuation of his father’s legacy, Rivera Cruz acknowledged that there will always be projects and ideas that a person does not manage to complete during their lifetime. He noted that even he, at the end of each four-year term as mayor, identifies municipal initiatives he still wishes to carry out.
However, he distinguished those goals from the principles his father passed on to his children -- principles that, as he noted, remain alive within the family.
“We have two choices: either we close our eyes, weep, and shut our minds, or we do the exact opposite,” Rivera Cruz said. “If we open our eyes, we will see the legacy he left everywhere. If we open our minds and our hearts, we will remember the beautiful moments, the times of joy, and the occasions we shared as a family,” he said.
“That legacy of his must endure; for my part, at least, it will endure -- it will live on,” he added.
The mayor also expressed gratitude for the support the people of Bayamón gave his father and for the consideration they have shown his family.
Funeral services for Rivera Rivera continued through Thursday with public access until 9 p.m.
On Friday, the Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum doors will reopen at 10 a.m., and a religious service will be held at 11 a.m. The funeral procession will depart at noon for the Braulio Dueño Col cemetery.
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