Jaime Fonalledas

In 1966, he graduated magna cum laude from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico and earned a degree in economics.

On July 21, 1918, Fonalledas Córdova, together with his two brothers Jerónimo and Gerardo and his sister Rosa, bought 527 acres (2 square kilometers) of land in Hato Rey, a section of San Juan, which was part of a farm called "Las Monjas" and where sugar cane was cultivated.

[4] What began as a small business has evolved into Empresas Fonalledas, one of Puerto Rico's largest business enterprises which include Plaza Del Caribe in Ponce, Puerto Rico; as well as Vaqueria Tres Monjitas which produces milk, dairy products, juice drinks; an ice cream companies, several real estate developments and Plaza Las Americas.

[1] Fonalledas was still a child in the late 1950s when the family thought of the idea of developing a shopping center, modeled after Lenox Square in Atlanta and spurred on by the evolution of the concept in the United States.

Construction began on the same sugar cane fields on which the Fonalledas family had established their dairy business and Plaza Las Americas was inaugurated in 1968, boasting the first JC Penney store outside the continental United States.

[5][dead link‍] Under Fonalledas' leadership Vaqueria Tres Monjitas has become the largest milk and dairy industry in Puerto Rico.

The company, which also produces fruit juices and drinks, has three warehouse and distribution centers located in the cities of Ponce, Arecibo and Mayagüez.