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Eugenio Florit (1903-1999) was a well-known poet, essayist, lecturer, composer, diplomat, academic, actor, “man of three homelands,” and traveler. He was born October 15, 1903, in the northern section of Salamanca, Spain. He was the son of Don Ricardo Florit, a Spaniard, and Doña Mariá Sanchez de Fuentes, a Cuban. From the ages of two to six he grew up in Barcelona. Until the age of 15 he lived in Port-Bou, a city on the Mediterranean coast near France.

In 1918 Florit immigrated to Havana where he continued his studies, graduating from the University of Havana with a degree in civil and public law. In 1927 he began working for the Secretary of State and took on a role with the Revista de Avance, where he became known as a poet. He also worked as a radio personality and acted occasionally in theater troupes. In 1936, he met Juan R. Jimenez, who wrote the prologue to one of Florit’s most important books of verses, <a>Doble acento</a>, and with whom he maintained a friendship until Jimenez’s death.

In 1940 Florit went to work at the Cuban Consulate. He continued to live in New York until 1982, and it was the setting for almost all of his work as an essayist, literary critic, and translator. In 1945 after receiving a teaching position at Barnard College, he left his diplomatic post. He also taught at Columbia’s graduate school and at the intensive language school at Middlebury College in Vermont during the summer. There, he met poets such as Jorge Guillén, Pedro Salinas, and Luis Cernuda.

Florit was a collaborator on Repertorio Americano, Revista Avance, Lyceum, Revista Cubana, Origénes, and Revista Hispaníca Moderna, which he co-edited with Don Frederico Onis and Angel del Río until 1962, when he assumed total direction of the magazine. During the 1950s he traveled to Europe and Latin America, and his last trip to Cuba was in 1959.

He retired from his teaching position at Barnard in 1969, but continued living in New York and occupied himself with other obligations until moving to Miami in 1982. In 1991 he was one of the candidates for the Premio Cervantes, awarded by the North American Academy of Spanish Language. The same year he received the Premio Fray Luis de León from the University of Salamanca, and the Premio Mitre from the Hispanic Society of America in New York. Florit published his last work entitled Hasta luego in 1992. At the age of 96, Florit died on June 22, 1999. He was a mentor and guide for many generations and is considered among the greatest Hispanic-American poets.

Manuel Piedra Martel was a Cuban soldier, politican, diplomat, and writer. He fought in the Cuban War for Independence and obtained the rank of colonel in the Cuban Army. He later served in the House of Representatives of the new nation, as well as serving stints as the Cuban ambassador to Guatemala and China. Martel was also a writer and historian who composed memoirs and works of the contemporary history of Cuba.

Dra. Raquel Robés Massés and Ruth Robés de Rangel were Cuban educators in the pre-Revolutionary period. Ruth Robés de Rangel served as sub-director of the Cuban Department of Education in 1956.

Dra. Raquel Robés Massés was the librarian for the Lyceum y Lawn Tennis Club in Havana. She graduated from the School of Pedagogy at the University of Havana and from the two courses in librarianship offered by the Cuban Library Association. On March 24th, 1944, the Lyceum’s Children’s Library opened, where Raquel Robés also served as librarian. Ruth Robés presented commentary on Brave New World by A. Huxley at the Lyceum y Lawn Tennis Club on April 23, 1937, and published two Spanish-language learning books for children: “Había Una Vez” (1971) and “Había Una Vez, Segundo Libro” (1974). Starting in October 1941, she also worked with educator and writer Herminio Almendros to publish the children’s literature journal “Ronda,” which contained sections for children aimed at stimulating creativity and interest in learning. It circulated nationally through 1942. On November 28th, 1941, Ruth Robés spoke on Children's Day at Banda de la Casa de Beneficencia y Maternidad in Havana.

Raquel Fundora de Rodríguez Aragón (d. 2001) was a poet and a president of the Miami chapter of the Circle of Pan-American Culture. Founded in 1963 by Carlos M. Raggi, a Cuban professor, the Círculo de Cultura Panamericano (CCP) is an independent, non-profit cultural organization that includes educators, artists and writers who are dedicated to the study and promotion of Hispanic cultures under freedom and democracy.

Fundora also published several works of poetry. Her poems often reflect themes of nostalgia and longing for Cuba. Her books of poetry include: Nostalgia inconsolable (1973,) El canto del viento: Poemas (1983), Sendero de ensueños : Poesías (1990.)

In 1992, Fundora organized the XII Congreso Cultural de Verano of the Círculo de Cultura Panamericano (CCP) at the Koubek Memorial Center supported by Koubek Memorial Center, School of Continuing Studies at the University of Miami, and its directors Pablo Chao and Angel Pelfort. She was reported to say that the historic event "sirve para mantener la vigencia y continuidad de la cultura cubana en el exilio" (serves to maintain the relevancy and continuity of Cuban culture in exile).

She was married to exiled Cuban politician and lawyer Roberto Rodríguez de Aragón for 50 years and they had one daughter, Dra. Raquel Aurora Rodríguez Fundora.

The Cuban Museum of the Americas, more commonly known by its former name, The Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture, began in the 1974 with a mission to collect art and historical documents from Cuba. The museum collected and displayed works of art by Cuban artists, including those living in Cuba, Cuban artists living abroad, and Cuban-Americans. Operating for several years without a permanent location, the museum found a home in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami from 1982 to 1991. With its closure in 1999, the museum donated its collections and records to the Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami. The administrative records and historical documents were subsequently transferred to the Cuban Heritage Collection.

Virginia Hern (1924-2004) was born in San Luis, Oriente, Cuba. She wrote articles for newspapers such as the Miami Herald and Nuevo Herald as well as a fiction novel, “El Otro.”

Eduardo Zayas-Bazán is a Bay of Pigs veteran, political prisoner, and professor of Spanish at East Tennessee State University who authored "The Flying Fish", a historical fiction novel based on his experiences with Brigade 2506.

América Crespo was born in Havana, Cuba on October 22, 1922. She was a singer whose voice was featured in the musical works of Ernesto Lecuona and Gonzalo Roig. She gained popularity from her presence on the popular radio program “La Corte Suprema del Arte.” This program, which existed pre-1959, served as a platform for Cuban artists and entertainers to introduce their works to a larger audience and many famous Cuban artists had their start on this radio program. She later was signed as an exclusive artist to the RHC Azul radio station, which ran from 1940-1954 and was very popular on the island. In the 1950’s, Crespo interpreted some of her mentor Gonzalo Roig’s best works, along with artist Esther Borja. Her musical repertoire was heavily influenced by Cuban and international lyrical music. She made several discs, including “La Música de Gonzalo Roig,” “América Crespo - Arias, Valses Y Canciones Selectas” and “Amor en primavera.” She lived in the United States until her death in 1995.

Guillermo Hernandez was a Cuban banker, exile leader and Bay of Pigs Veteran.