Her maternal grandfather Miguel Serra Joy emigrated from Mallorca, Balearic Islands to Puerto Rico in the late 19th century which granted Calderón Spanish citizenship in 2012.

[1] She attended high school at the Colegio Sagrado Corazón de Las Madres in Santurce, Puerto Rico.

As part of her business development responsibilities, Calderón designed and marketed several new consumer products which significantly increased the earnings of the Retail Division of the Bank.

[citation needed] In 1978, she became president of Commonwealth Investment Company, a family real estate concern that owned and managed industrial buildings.

[6] In 1984, Rafael Hernández Colón was again elected governor and he appointed Calderón as Chief of Staff, being the first woman in that position.

[2] Calderón returned to public life in 1995, running in the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) primary for Mayor of San Juan.

[citation needed] After that, she became President of the Municipal Committee of the PPD in San Juan, and later became part of the board of directors of the Party.

On May 31, she won the primary and took the presidency of the party, with then-President Aníbal Acevedo Vilá assuming the role of Vice-president.

[3] In 2000, Calderón led the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) during a close campaign for governor against Carlos Pesquera (PNP) and Rubén Berríos (PIP).

Underlining this effort, official visits were paid by Governor Calderón to the Dominican Republic, Panama and Costa Rica in the years 2001, 2002 and 2004.

[20] Calderón married again, during her tenure as governor, with Ramón Cantero Frau, her former Secretary of the Department of Economic Development.