Rafael Carrión Sr.

Rafael Carrión Sr. (January 3, 1891 – March 26, 1964), the patriarch of one of Puerto Rico's financial dynasties, was one of the founding fathers of Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, the largest bank in Puerto Rico and the largest Hispanic bank in the United States.

Early years

Carrión (birth name: Rafael Carrión Pacheco) came from a humble family, His father was José Dolores Carrión from the town of Manati and his mother was Francisca Pacheco from the town of Naguabo. His family lived in Santurce where Carrión, who was one of five siblings, was born. The family sustained themselves economically by selling water in containers. In 1896, Carrión's mother died of typhoid fever and the family moved to the City of Caguas.

In 1899, his father died and Carrión went to live with his older half-brother José B. Carrión Santiago in the City of Arecibo. His brother was a businessman who kept the accounting records of many of the local businesses. Carrión was then able to attend the Americanized public school system which taught in English and where he would learn the language. In 1902, Carrión moved to San Juan and lived with his sister. He quit school in the eighth grade and worked for various firms until he finally found a job at Lomba & Cia, an importer of goods from the United States and Europe. When the owners of the firm became aware of Carrión's English-language proficiency, they put him charge of transactions made in that language.