Arteaga y Betancourt, Manuel b. December 28, 1879 d. March 20, 1963 Religious Figure. Born in Camagüey, he studied at the Seminary of Caracas at the Central University of Venezuela. He was elected Archbishop of Havana, on December 26, 1941 and created Cardinal by Pope Pius XII on February 18, 1946. He suffered persecution by the Communist regime of Fidel Castro and in 1961 and 1962, he sought asylum in the Argentinean Embassy, and the nunciature in Havana. (Bio by: Guy Gagnon) Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón, Havana, La Habana, Cuba
Azoy, Alberto d. September 18, 1952 Cuban Baseball Manager. Born in Cuba, during his career in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century, he managed several of the best teams in Cuban baseball history. As manger, he led the his teams to six championships with the Havanista in 1899, the Havana Habana team (1901-04) and the Havana Club Fe in 1906, which had not won for 15 years. (Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith) Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón, Havana, La Habana, Cuba Plot: He is interred within the 1942 monument to baseballists
Azurduy Palacios, Beatriz b. 1952 d. July 20, 2003 Motion Picture Director. She is bound very indissolubly to the filmography of Jorge Sanjinés, with whom she was united for more than 28 years. Among the works she contributed to, either as producer, editor or screenwriter, were “¡Fuera de aquí!”, “Banderas del amanecer”, “La nación clandestina” y “Para recibir el canto de los pájaros”. She was a member of the board of directors of the “Fundación del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano”. She represented Bolivia at the International School of Cinema and...[Read More] (Bio by: Guy Gagnon) Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón, Havana, La Habana, Cuba
Capablanca, Jose Raul b. November 19, 1888 d. March 8, 1942 Jose Raul Capablanca. World Chess Champion from 1921 to 1927. He is considered by many to have been one of the greatest chess players of all time. Capablanca came to world attention when he participated in a tournament at San Sebastian, Spain in 1911, winning first place against the leading players of the day. In 1913 he was given nominal employment as a diplomat with the Cuban Foreign Ministry, a cover which secured for him a steady income while he played chess full time. In 1914 he was one...[Read More] (Bio by: Kenneth Cohen) Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón, Havana, La Habana, Cuba Plot: NW, Calle 8/Calle B
Chabás, Juan b. September 10, 1910 d. October 29, 1954 Author. He was born in Denia, Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana He was a member of Generation of 1927. He worked for magazines such as "Cervantes," "Tableros" and "Horizonte" and for the newspapers "Diario de Barcelona" and "Luz" of Madrid. During Spanish Civil War, he was a member of Alliance of Antifascist Intelectuals. Later, he was forced to exile and moved to Cuba, until his death. Among his books "Sin Velas, Desvelada," "Puerto de Sombra," "Espejos," "Fábula y Vida" and "Árbol de Ti Nacido."...[Read More] (Bio by: José L Bernabé Tronchoni) Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón, Havana, La Habana, Cuba
De Blanck, Hubert b. June 11, 1856 d. November 28, 1932 Pianist, Educator, Composer. He was a major figure in Cuba's classical music scene for nearly 50 years. De Blanck was born in Utrecht, Holland, into a musical family. He initially studied at the Royal Conservatory in Liege, Belgium (1865 to 1867), taking first prize in piano, and at age 14 gave a command performance for King Leopold II in Brussels. The monarch awarded him a scholarship to the Cologne Conservatory, where he studied composition with Ferdinand Hiller (1871 to 1873) before making...[Read More] (Bio by: Robert Edwards) Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón, Havana, La Habana, Cuba
Ferrer, Ibrahim b. February 20, 1927 d. August 6, 2005 Cuban Singer. He was a singer of the Buena Vista Social Club. He came out of retirement in 1999 to record the album "Buena Vista Social Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer" which won him his first Latin Grammy as Best New Artist in 2000. (Bio by: Genet) Cause of death: Mulitple organ failure Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón, Havana, La Habana, Cuba
Finlay, Dr. Carlos Juan b. December 3, 1833 d. August 20, 1915 Doctor. Carlos Juan Finlay was actually born as Juan Carlos Finlay, he changed his name around, years later. He was born in the Carnaguey Province, but at the time of his birth, it was known as Puerto Principe. It changed later on. He died at the age of 82 in Havana, Cuba. In 1853 he attended Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated in 1855 and completed his studies in Havana, Cuba and Paris, France. Eventually he settled back in Havana, Cuba and opened up his own...[Read More] (Bio by: Bonnie Knapp- Wichita, Kansas) Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón, Havana, La Habana, Cuba
Gades, Antonio b. November 16, 1936 d. July 20, 2004 Awarded Spanish Choreographer and Dancer. He was discovered by dancer Pilar López, and worked for her company in plays such as "El Sombrero de Tres Picos" and "El Concierto de Aranjuez." His first choreography was "Ensueño" and also was the creator of choreography for "Bodas de Sangre," "Fuenteovejuna" and "El Amor Brujo." His real name was Antonio Esteve Ródenas. According to his wishes, he had no funeral or memorial services and was cremated in private. (Bio by: José L Bernabé Tronchoni) Cause of death: Cancer Panteón de los Héroes de la Revolución Cubana, Havana, La Habana, Cuba Plot: Mausoleo del II Frente Oriental Frank País
Gonzalez, Miguel Angel [cenotaph] Major League Baseball Player. Born in La Habana, Cuba, on September 4, 1890, he was a catcher playing with integrated teams from Cuba, when he made his debut with the Boston Braves on September 28, 1912. For seventeen seasons, he played with the Boston Braves in 1912, Cincinnati Reds in 1914, St. Louis Cardinals (1915-18, 1924-25, 1931-32) and New York Giants (1926-29). He ended his playing career with a record of 717 hits, 13 homeruns, 263 runs batted in, a .253 batting average and a .981...[Read More] (Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith) Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón, Havana, La Habana, Cuba Plot: 1951 Monument to Baseballists
Gutiérrez Alea, Tomás b. December 11, 1928 d. April 16, 1996 Motion-Picture Director. Born in Havana, he became Cuba's most popular and influential filmaker. Some of his work mildly satirized life under the Castro regime. Alea is probably best known for directing "Strawberry and Chocolate" (1994), the first Cuban movie to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film. His other credits include "La Caperucita Roja" (1947), "Una Confusión Cotidiana" (1950), "The Twelve Chairs" (1962), "La Muerte de un Burócrata" (1966), "Memories of Underdevelopment"...[Read More] (Bio by: José L Bernabé Tronchoni) Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón, Havana, La Habana, Cuba
Korda, Alberto b. September 9, 1928 d. May 25, 2001 Photographer. Born in Havana, Cuba under the name of Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez, it was during a memorial service in Havana on May 5, 1960 that he took a picture of Ernesto 'Che' Guevara. That picture became monumentally famous, even being deemed by the Maryland Institute of Art as "the most famous image of the 20th century". Despite the fame of the photograph, he never made money with this picture. From 1959 to 1968 he was Cuban President Fidel Castro’s personal photographer. His first wife...[Read More] (Bio by: Lutetia) Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón, Havana, La Habana, Cuba
Leiva, Pio b. May 5, 1917 d. March 23, 2006 Cuban Singer. He was born in Morón and died in La Habana. He was member of Buena Vista Social Club. He began his career as musician, and in 1932, he debuted as singer with the musical group Caribe. With the time, he become one of the most important musical figures of golden age of cuban music, with Compay Segundo and Benny Moré. His last work was Cuba le Canta a Serrat, where played Me Gusta Todo de Ti. Among his songs Cocaleca, Cangrejal, Montuno Sibanicú and Francisco Guayabal. His full name...[Read More] (Bio by: José L Bernabé Tronchoni) Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón, Havana, La Habana, Cuba
Lezama Lima, José b. December 19, 1910 d. August 9, 1976 Author. He is considered one of the most important Cuban writers of 20th Century. He is best remembered for his books "Paradiso" and "Oppiano Licario". Also he wrote "Muerte de Narciso," "Aventuras Sigilosas," "Dador" and "La Cantidad Hechizada". (Bio by: José L Bernabé Tronchoni) Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón, Havana, La Habana, Cuba