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Writer's pictureThe San Juan Daily Star

Mayagüez independence leader Muñiz Bonet mourned



Orlando Muñiz Bonet

By The Star Staff


The Graduate Students Association of the Mayagüez Residential Center for Educational Opportunities (CROEM ALUMNI by its acronym) on Wednesday announced the death of its community adviser, Mayagüez leader Orlando Muñiz Bonet, who had been facing health complications.


“It is with great sadness that we are facing the death of a ‘hero’ of culture, politics, communications, and above all, a great human being who supported causes every day to benefit his people,” CROEM ALUMNI Executive Director Wilson Nazario said. “Orlando Muñiz Bonet served several four-year terms as a municipal assemblyman and spokesperson for the Puerto Rican Independence Party in his hometown of Mayagüez. He was president of the Mayagüezano Carnival and is recognized as the person who managed to get the largest number of people to attend that parade in the ‘city of pure waters.’ In his professional life he acted as a political commentator on various radio and television programs. In recent years he served as vice president of the group that makes up the Puerto Rican Delegation that annually attends the National Puerto Rican Parade that is held every year on the second Sunday of June. He acted as an advisory member of the Salsa Museum in New York and helped in the project that will give Puerto Rico a similar museum in the coming years. At the time of his death, the Mayagüez leader was 75 years old (1949-2024), had five children and was still working in his own permit management company.”


“Due to what happened and the circumstances we are going through after our brother’s death, we still do not have complete information about Orlando Muñiz Bonet’s wake, but all we can say is that his remains will be laid to rest at the Martell Funeral Home in Mayagüez,” said Muñiz Bonet’s sister, Julia Muñiz Bonet. “Knowing the number of friends and acquaintances of Orlando, we suggest that you call the funeral home (787-834-6565) so that we can provide you with information about the wake hours. We want to thank all the staff at the Pavia Hospital in Santurce for the care they gave my brother.”


“Mayagüez has lost a leader whose strong voice denounced injustices, but at the same time was a human being who coordinated help for all those who contacted him or asked for his advice,” Nazario said. “For many years Orlando was the voice of the Puerto Rican Independence Party in Mayagüez, managing to earn the respect and admiration even of those who were not members of his party. Although he was not a student at CROEM, he distinguished himself as a defender of the Mayagüez Residential Center for Educational Opportunities, especially at a time when the ex-convict Secretary of the Department of Education Julia Keleher planned to close the number one school in Puerto Rico located in Cerro Las Mesas in Mayagüez.”

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