Ramos Antonini was born into a poor family in
Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. He was the youngest child of the marriage between Federico Ramos Escalera and Rosa Antonini Danseau. When he was three months old, the family moved to
Ponce, Puerto Rico, where he spent the next 43 years of his life. As a child, his parents taught him the importance of getting a good education. During the day, he dedicated himself to his school studies, and, during his free time, he was taught how to play the
piano by his father, who happened to be a musician. He graduated from
Ponce High School in 1918, at 19 years of age. After he graduated from high school, Ramos Antonini enrolled at the
University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras (which is now a part of
San Juan) to study law. He paid for his school tuition by playing piano at a local theatre and, in 1922, earned his law degree. He returned to Ponce where he taught math, became president of the Ponce Municipal Assembly and established his law firm. In 1937, he gained fame as a lawyer when he defended the members of the
Puerto Rican Nationalist Party who were accused of breaking the law after permits issued by the
Mayor of Ponce for a peaceful march in
Ponce were withdrawn by the colonial
governor of Puerto Rico at the time, General
Blanton Winship. Upon the withdrawal of the permits, the police opened fire on the crowd in what became known as the
Ponce massacre. He also became known as a defender of the working class by being active in the International Workers Congress. He appeared before the
U.S. Congress and defended the Puerto Rican workers who were being abused by the American companies established on the island. ==Political career==