Antonio Correa Cotto

Antonio Correa Cotto[note 1] (1916 – 1952), also known simply as Correa Cotto, was the first outlaw to gain legendary status in Puerto Rico.

Antonio Correa Cotto
Correa Cotto
Born(1916-11-24)November 24, 1916
Ponce, Puerto Rico
DiedMay 16, 1952(1952-05-16) (aged 35)
Ponce, Puerto Rico
NationalityPuerto Rican
OccupationOutlaw
Spouse(s)Rosa Maria Torres Garay

Early years

Correa Cotto was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on November 24, 1916. His parents were Raimundo Correa Martínez and Angela Coto García.[1] He began his criminal career as a child and, by the time he was a teenager, he had amassed a long criminal police record.

Criminal career
The $10,000 Correa Cotto bounty reward in the May 3, 1952, issue of "El Imparcial"
Grave of Correa Cotto at Cementerio Civil de Ponce

On January 25, 1950, Correa Cotto entered the Colon residence in the Villa Olga sector of Machuelo Abajo in Ponce and stabbed 33-year-old Rafael Parissi Vazquez 22 times and 69-year-old Rafaela Morales Melendez three times. Both died at the scene. Additionally, Luisa Colon Miranda, Laureana Cruz, and Pablo Vazquez were seriously injured. It was his intent to kill everyone present in the home. A police officer who later attempted to arrest him was also injured. He was convicted of the two murders in Ponce and was sentenced to two life sentences in the state penitentiary. At the time of his sentencing, Correa Cotto swore that he would get even with those who testified against him and whom he deemed responsible for his current situation, including municipal judge Pedro Muñiz Ramos and district judge Lorenzo Lagarda Garces.[2]

Escape and death

On October 28, 1950, inmates Pedro Benejan Alvarez, Gregorio Lebron Martinez, and Antonio Rivera Rodriguez instigated a prison revolt where two of the prison guards died and several others were injured. Having raided the armory, they armed themselves with guns and ammunition. One hundred eleven inmates escaped during the revolt, including Correa Cotto. Two days later, 68 of the inmates were still on the loose.[3] Correa Cotto was deemed among the most dangerous of the inmates to escape. Shortly thereafter, he made his way to a sector of Ponce called "Villa Olga", where he murdered 10 people.[4]

The authorities organized what was then the largest manhunt in the history of the island. They placed a bounty on his head of $10,000 ($106 thousand in 2019 dollars[5]), either dead or alive, which was a first in the crime annals of Puerto Rico. The police detained over 70 friends and family members for questioning. On May 16,1952, the police was alerted that Correa Cotto was living on a farm in Hacienda Barrancas on the outskirts of the City of Ponce. When the police arrived, they called on him to surrender, but he responded by firing his gun. The police set fire to the sugar cane fields which surrounded Correa Cotto's hideout. He came out firing a gun in one hand and held a machete in the other. Under the orders of Captain Luis M. Pérez, the police opened fire on Correa Cotto, killing him.[4] Correa Cotto was buried in Ponce's Cementerio Civil de Ponce.[6]

Three movies have been made about the life of Correa Cotto. These include the movie Correa Cotto: Así me Llaman (Correa Cotto: That's what they call me) (1968), produced by Antony Felton, which showed the popular impact that Correa Cotto's crimes had on the Puerto Rican society of the 1950s. In La Venganza de Correa Cotto[7] (The Vengeance of Correa Cotto) (1969), produced and directed by Jeronimo Mitchel and Anthony Felton with the participation of Miguel Ángel Álvarez and Lucy Boscana, the producers attempt to look into the human and intimate side of Correa Cotto.[8]

See also

References
  1. Nuestra Señora de la Guadalupe de Ponce: Libro 55 de Bautismos, Folio 298, Num. 893.
  2. Asesino Profugo Juro Venganza de los Jueces. J. Cordoba Chirino. El Imparcial (San Juan, Puerto Rico). Tomo 177, Núm 7010, 31 Oct 1950. Page 7. Accessed 25 July 2020.
  3. 68 Profugos sin Apresar. El Imparcial (San Juan, Puerto Rico). Tomo 177, Núm 7009, 30 Oct 1950. Pages 1-4. Accessed 25 July 2020.
  4. Personajes Notorios: Correa Coto. LinktoPR.com (Hatillo, Puerto Rico.) 26 May 2006. Archived May 26, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  6. Cementerio Civil de Ponce. 3 January 2019.
  7. Ponce se prepara para celebrar su día mundial. Darisabel Texidor Guadalupe. Primera Hora. 30 August 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  8. La persecución de Angito recuerda las de Enrique Blanco y Correa Cotto: Las historias de Enrique Blanco y del puertorriqueño Antonio Correa Cotto fueron llevadas al cine y sirvieron de inspiración para merengues populares. Santiago Estrella Veloz. Revista A[Hora]. (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic). Number 1216. 20 August 2001. Accessed 25 July 2020.

Notes
  1. In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Correa and the second or maternal family name is Cotto.
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