His parents were Ramon Dapena Pacheco and Maria Laguna y Cedo.
In 1941 he worked as a political aide in the Ponce City Hall, and was also interim municipal secretary.
Later that year (1956) he resigned as mayor to become a member of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, a post for which he had been elected.
[3] He earned a degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law.
His children were José (the mayor), Maria Rosa (who became the executive assistant of the first lady of Puerto Rico, Lila Mayoral de Hernandez Colon), Georgianne, and Victoria Eugenia (Baby).