[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 47 (Wednesday, March 11, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H1591-H1592]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING ALVARO CIFUENTES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Soto) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to honor the life of my longtime 
friend and mentor, Alvaro Cifuentes.
  On March 2, Puerto Rico suffered a tragic loss.
  Born in Mayaguez, Alvaro graduated magna cum laude from the 
University of Puerto Rico in 1972, earning a bachelor's of business 
administration.
  He then went on to graduate from law school from the University of 
Puerto Rico School of Law, earning a J.D., again magna cum laude, in 
1975.
  He came from a long line of wise politicos from Puerto Rico who 
helped navigate the island over decades.
  Alvaro practiced law for 17 years and became a managing partner at 
the law firm of Goldman Antonetti in San Juan.
  In 1992, he managed Pedro Rosello's successful race for Governor of 
Puerto

[[Page H1592]]

Rico, a man who would go on to win two terms, a hard task in the 
history of the island.
  After serving as Governor Rosello's chief of staff for 3 years, he 
moved to Washington, D.C., where he focused on building the Democratic 
Party within the Hispanic community. From 2001 to 2005, he served as 
the chair of the DNC's Hispanic Caucus, where he increased the party's 
Hispanic membership by over 30 percent. As chair, Alvaro rebuilt an 
unprecedented Hispanic campaign network and called for John Kerry to 
work toward winning Hispanic votes.

  In 2004, he earned the honor of being named one of the 100 most 
influential Hispanics in the United States by the Hispanic Business 
Magazine.
  Anyone who crossed paths with Alvaro knew he was a true man of the 
people and a fearless champion of Puerto Rico statehood. I remember the 
first time we talked about how important statehood would be for Puerto 
Rico.
  He recalled the story of the mighty pung, a story in Chinese folklore 
that talked about a huge bird that played with other smaller birds on a 
tiny island and had a wingspan over 500 meters.
  They would laugh at this giant bird, the mighty pung, with his 
awkwardness. He found out, through the hawk, that through thermal 
glides, he would be able to potentially fly like the other birds.
  He set off, needing a year to reach the height required. When asked 
about this difficult task and his inability to fly, he said: ``It is 
okay. We have a long way to go.''
  That is where Alvaro talked about statehood, about how it has been 
over 120 years, and about how we have an island that is larger in 
population than 26 States, yet it is taking over a century for us to 
even get to this point, but it is okay. Alvaro passed before getting to 
see it happen. We have a long way to go.
  He is survived by three children, Alvaro, Carolina, and Natalia 
Isabel.
  Alvaro, you will be dearly missed by myself, by so many in Florida, 
and on the island of Puerto Rico, but the fight will continue to live 
on.

                          ____________________