Redeeming Bodies and Souls - Penitentiary Science and Spirituality in Twentieth-Century Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic - Dissertation

Aug 24, 2026

The dissertation examines how penitentiary science and spiritual thought intersected in twentieth-century Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. It tracks shifts from medical explanations toward penitentiary regimes, analyzes heterodox medico-religiosities shaped by dissenting healers and physicians, and explains how social health experts evaluated both redeemability and confinement. Through cases of death, awakening, and performed faith, the study shows how clemency networks and populist politics reworked salvation, discipline, and legacy within carceral institutions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages518

Reading Time21 h 45 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction. Penitentiaries and Intersections in Comparative Context

Chapter 1. More Than Flesh: From Medical to Penitentiary Science

Chapter 2. Heterodox Medico-Religiosities: Dissident Healers and Physicians

Chapter 3. Determining Redeemability: Social Health Experts and Convicts

Chapter 4. Los vivos muertos: The Many Meanings of Death and Awakening

Chapter 5. Performing Faith: Sacred Knowledge and the Experiential

Chapter 6. Sharing the Sun: Clemency, Redemptive Networks, and Populism

Conclusion. The Living Dead and Ambiguous Legacies

Redeeming Bodies and Souls: Penitentiary Science and Spirituality in Twentieth-Century Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic By Alberto Ortiz A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (History) at the UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON 2017 Date of final oral examination: 04/04/2017 The dissertation is approved by the following members of the Final Oral Committee: Francisco A. Scarano, Professor Emeritus, History Steve J. Stern, Professor Emeritus, History Florencia E. Mallon, Professor Emeritus, History James H. Sweet, Professor, History Pablo Gómez, Assistant Professor, History of Science and Medicine © Copyright by Alberto Ortiz 2017 All Rights Reserved i Page Intentionally Left Blank ii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures iii Acknowledgments v Abstract ix Introduction. Penitentiaries and Intersections in Comparative Context 1 Chapter 1. More Than Flesh: From Medical to Penitentiary Science 55 Chapter 2. Heterodox Medico-Religiosities: Dissident Healers and Physicians 117 Chapter 3. Determining Redeemability: Social Health Experts and Convicts 182 Chapter 4. Los vivos muertos: The Many Meanings of Death and Awakening 255 Chapter 5. Performing Faith: Sacred Knowledge and the Experiential 323 Chapter 6. Sharing the Sun: Clemency, Redemptive Networks, and Populism 390 Conclusion. The Living Dead and Ambiguous Legacies 449 Bibliography 466 iii LIST OF FIGURES Introduction Figure 1. Bennett, Parsons & Frost,“Group Plan of the Proposed Manicomio & Presidio, Río Piedras, Porto Rico,” January 1925. Figure 2.“Penitenciaría de Nigua,” 1920-40. Figure 3. Map of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, with the Mona Passage emphasized [2011] . Figure 4. Total Number of Prisoners in Puerto Rico’s Penitentiaries and other Island Prisons (including district jails, youth institutions, and agricultural penal colonies), c. 1923-1956. Figure 5. Total Number of Paroles Granted and Denied in Puerto Rico, 1947-1956. Chapter 1 Figure 1. Mug shot of Juan Sampayo López, October 1933. Figure 2. Comparative Racial Classifications of Convicts in Puerto Rican Penitentiaries, c. 1917- 1956. Figure 3. Oso Blanco’s front entrance, March 2014. Figure 4. Rear view of Oso Blanco around midcentury. Figure 5. José M. N., Ceferino Méndez Polo performing a physical, April 1950. Figure 6. Anterior and side views of normal lungs, 1930-31. Figure 7. Elephantiasis patient José Capre Cajigas, c. 1933-34. Chapter 2 Figure 1. Olivorio Mateo (Liborio), c. 1909 [2004] . Figure 2. Arrested gavilleros, Revista Policial, October 1926. Figure 3. Domingo Otero advertisement, c. 1920s-30s. Chapter 3 Figure 1. José M. N.,“Servicio social en la comunidad,” May 1950. Figure 2. Convict Occupations After Entering Puerto Rican Penitentiaries, c. 1927-1956. Figure 3. Confesor Canales Fernández,“Programa de tratamiento,” January 20, 1950. Figure 4. José Rafael Maymí Nevares, July 1951. Figure 5. Rafael Troyano de los Ríos, Federico García Lorca, Laura de los Ríos, and Isabel García Lorca in Morocco, 1931 [2009] . Chapter 4 Figure 1. Suicide of Luis Vázquez Irizarry, August 2, 1933. Figure 2. Mug shot of Octavio Montilla, April 1938. Figure 3. Living death in Nigua, 1937 [2013] . Figure 4. Susano Ortiz, May 1949. Figure 5. José M. N. and/or Ángel L. R. R., Oso Blanco movie screening, July-August 1950. Figure 6. José M. N. and/or Ángel L. R. R., Oso Blanco library, July-August 1950. Figure 7. Delia Weber, 1950 [2015] . Figure 8. María del Carmen Mejía, December 1951 [2016] . Chapter 5 Figure 1.“Evidence seized/taken from the prisoner [Nereida Ribot],” 1957. iv Figure 2. Map of the division of Puerto Rico by various Christian denominations, 1899 [1998] . Figure 3. Comparative Religious Classifications of Convicts in La Princesa and Oso Blanco, c. 1917-1956. Figure 4.“Una misa en el Presidio Insular,”

FAQs

What central topics does the dissertation connect in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic?

It connects penitentiary science with spirituality, tracing how medical and religious ideas shaped carceral practices, interpretations of death and redemption, and institutional legacies.

How does the dissertation describe the transition from medical to penitentiary science?

It argues that explanations and expertise moved beyond medical frameworks into penitentiary science, reshaping how authorities understood bodies, health, and confinement.

What role do faith practices and experiential religious knowledge play in the analysis?

The study examines performed faith and sacred knowledge, showing how experiential religious practices influenced meaning-making and interactions inside penal settings.

Aug 24, 2026

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