[James] Clifton Williams, Jr. (26 March 1923 Traskwood, Arkansas — 12 February 1976 Miami, Florida). Williams was an American teacher, conductor and bandmaster. From 1949 to 1966, Clifton Williams taught in the composition department of the School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin. In 1966, he was appointed Chair of the Theory and Composition Department at University of Miami School of Music, where he taught until his death in 1976.
Prats Llorens, Rodrigo, 1909-1980
Rodrigo Prats was one of Cuba's most important composers of zarzuelas (Spanish operetta). Born in Sagua la Grande, Cuba on 7 February 1909, Prats was the son of another important Cuban composer and musician, Jaime Prats. Violinist, pianist, composer, arranger, and orchestral director, Rodrigo Prats directed several orchestras in Havana and served as musical director for radio and TV stations. Prats gained notoriety with the publication “Una rosa de Francia,” a criolla-bolero he composed at age 15. His body of work includes popular music, sainetes, and zarzuelas. Among his most important zarzuelas is "Amalia Batista", and many artists recorded his songs.
Rodrigo Prats joined the faculty of Havana's Studio Sylvia M. Goudie in 1956 after his stint at the Iranzo Conservatory. He died in Havana on 15 September 1980.
The ALA (American Literary Agency) was established in New York by the Spanish politician and prominent journalist, Joaquín Maurín in 1948. It was founded for the purpose of distributing articles written by Latin American and Spanish writers to the different newspapers and magazines in Latin America and Spain.
Joaquín Maurín died in 1973 and was succeeded by his wife. In 1974, the Agency's name was changed to its Spanish name, Agencia Latinoamericana. In 1975, Arturo Villar succeeded Maurín's wife as director and editor of the Agency. In 1977, the Agencia Latinoamericana moved to Miami, and in 1982, the ALA began sending articles to U.S. newspapers published in Spanish under the name of the Latin American Feature Syndicate, as a new service.
In March 1984, Arturo Villar ceased to work as editor of the ALA and remained as president of the Agency in Miami, while the editorial offices were moved to London under the direction of Miguel Angel Diez.
The ALA papers are comprised of the historical files which contain articles written between 1948 and 1975, the topical files containing articles written from 1975 to 1980 and the informational files which include newspaper clippings, magazine articles and editorials. These papers were given to the Otto C. Richter Library on March 10, 1981 through negotiations between Dr. Joaquín Roy, Associate Professor for the Center of Advanced International Studies, Arturo Villar, President of ALA and Frank Rodgers, Director of Libraries.
Madariaga, Salvador de, 1886-1978
Joaquín Roy is Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration at the University of Miami and Co-Director of the European Union Center of Excellence, Miami. He received his law degree from the University of Barcelona and his doctorate from Georgetown University. He was previously on the faculty of the School of International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University and of Emory University. His research and teaching areas are the history of political ideas, Latin American thought, intellectual history and literature, contemporary ideologies, regional integration, transitions to democracy, and human rights policies. His regional focus is on Cuba, Argentina, Spain, Central America, the European Union, and European-Latin American relations. His articles and reviews have been published in Revista Iberoamericana, Journal of Interamerican Studies, Revista Espanola de Derecho Comunitario, Revista de Estudios Internacionales, Politica Exterior, and The European Union Review. Among his 25 books are Cuba y Espana: Relaciones y Percepciones (Madrid BCC, 1988); The Reconstruction of Central America: The Role of the European Community (North-South Center, 1991); The Ibero-American Space/El Espacio Iberoamericano (University of Miami/University of Barcelona, 1996); Memorias de mi Juventud en Cuba durante la Guerra Separatista (Barcelona: Peninsula, 1999); La Siempre Fiel: Un Siglo de Relaciones Hispano-Cubanas, 1898-1998 (University of Madrid, 1999); and Cuba, the U.S. and the Helms-Burton Doctrine (University of Florida Press, 2000).
César A. Mena Serra was born in Güines, province of La Habana, Cuba, in 1914. He graduated from the University of Havana with degrees in medicine and dentistry. Dr. Mena was a professor of pharmacology and physiology, of the School of Dentistry at the University of Havana until 1959. When Castro seized power in Cuba, Dr. Mena left to Miami as an exile.
Dr. Mena was a founding member of the Cuban Society of the Medical History, member of the American Society of Medicine, the Society of Medical History in Venezuela, and member of the American Academy of the History of Dentistry. He served for four terms as secretary of Retiro Odontológico in Exile. Dr. Mena was the executive director of dental services for Miami-Dade County’s health department until his retirement in 1991.
Dr. Mena has published articles in many scientific journals of Latin America and the United States. He is the author of several books: Historia de los dentistas que lucharon en las Guerras de la Independencia (History of the dentists who fought in Cuban Independence Wars); Historia de la odontología en Cuba, 1492 1980 (History of Dentistry in Cuba 1492 1980); Historia de la medicina en Cuba (History of the Medicine in Cuba; and Santa Apolonia: Patrona dental (Saint Apolonia: Dental Patron).