José N. Gándara

Dr. José Nicolás Gándara Cartagena (August 26, 1907 – October 12, 1954) was a Puerto Rican physician and public servant. He led medical personnel in the treatment of the hundreds of wounded of the Ponce massacre that occurred on Palm Sunday, 1937, in Ponce, Puerto Rico, at the hands of the Insular Police, under orders of the American colonial governor Blanton Winship. He also provided expert witness testimony regarding the Puerto Rican Nationalists victims being shot on their backs while they ran away from the police, and that many were wounded by the police using their clubs and bare fists.

Early years José N. Gándara Cartagena was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on 26 August 1907.

Career

Medical As a physician, Gándara specialized in internal medicine, radiology and cardiology. He practiced in Ponce from 1933 to 1942. He was also one of the founders of the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico.

Legacy On 2 November 1954, the then Secretary of Education, Mariano Villaronga, stated that a middle school would be built in Río Piedras to honor his memory. He used these words: "Doctor Gándara dedicated his time and effort to urban renewal, to the elimination of poor housing and to the construction of public housing. In his private life he raised an exemplary home. He was a man like God wants men to be: with human warmth, generous in his service to others, fully given to those things of a valuable character. He was thoroughly dedicated to those things he believed in. No one knew the existence in him of rancor, hate, or resentment. Whenever he had prejudice it was invariably in favor of something or someone that deserved it."

In addition, there are public housing developments in Ponce and Moca named after Dr. Gandara. There is a high school in Aibonito, Puerto Rico named in his memory. He is recognized as a distinguished illustrious citizens in the field of Medicine at the Park of the Illustrious Ponce Citizens.

Also, the once Hospital de Distrito de Ponce, since privatized and renamed Hospital Episcopal San Lucas, was named Hospital de Distrito Jose N. Gándara was it first opened in May 1955. The then-ultramodern 4-story facility was built to replace the 2-story Hospital de Distrito de Ponce on Victoria and Distrito streets built in 1929.