Hermanos al Rescate [Brothers to the Rescue] is a non-profit organization founded in 1991 by a group of Cuban exile activists. The group was organized by José Basulto and fellow pilots after a Cuban teenager died of dehydration trying to raft to the United States. The group conducted its humanitarian missions searching for rafters in the Florida Straits, through the efforts of a group of pilots, observers and volunteers from numerous countries, including Argentina, Cuba, Perú, France, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, the United States, Venezuela and former Cuban rafters.
The organization has also conducted search missions for survivors of shipwrecks of U.S. citizens, Bahamians, Haitians and missing divers, committed to addressing the most basic human needs.
Enrique Caravia Montenegro (1905-1992) was a Cuban artist active in the mid-1900s. Born in Havana, Caravia studied at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes "San Alejandro" in Havana and the Academia Española de Bellas Artes in Rome in the 1920s.
He worked in various mediums, including oil painting, drawing and watercolor, and had various solo and group exhibitions from the 1920s to the 1990s. His work was featured in "Primer Salón de Humoristas" at the Academia de Ciencias de Cuba (1921); an exhibition at the Lyceum of Havana (1933); the Bienal Hispanoamericana de Madrid (1951); "Grabados de Enrique Caravia Montenegro" at the Museo Histórico Plaza in Havana (1987); and "Estampas cubanas de tres siglos" at the Museo Nacional de Colombia in Bogotá (posthumous, 1996).
Caravia won the first prize at the Exposición Interamericana in Seville (1929); the silver at the XVIII Salón de Bellas Artes hosted by Havana's Círculo de Bellas Artes (1936); and the gold at both the XXVI and XXXVII Salones de Bellas Artes (1944 and 1955, respectively).
Natasha Mella (1927-2014) was the only daughter of 1920s Communist leader, Julio Antonio Mella (1903-1929), who founded the Primer Partido Comunista Cubano in 1925. Natasha Mella was an intellectual and for two years, a Cuban diplomat as part of the Departamento de Asuntos Asiáticos del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, appointed by Roberto Agramonte in 1959. However, Mella left Cuba in 1961 as an exile with her husband and the family settled in Miami, where she continued to publish essays, editorials and radio scripts on Cuban politics and history.
David E. Masnata y de Quesada, Marquis of Santa Ana y Santa María, was a Cuban lawyer, professor, historian, and founder of the Instituto Cubano de Genealogía y Heráldica.
Masnata was born on September 11, 1926. He was the first child of Emilio Masnata y Azcue and Aurora de Quesada y Miranda, grandson of Gonzalo de Quesada, an associate of Cuban revolutionary hero José Martí, and great-grandson of Dr. Ramón L. Miranda, the family physician of José Martí.
Masnata’s interest in genealogy and history developed during his early years. He founded the Instituto Cubano de Genealogía y Heráldica (Cuban Institute of Genealogy and Heraldry) in 1950 and served as secretary until 1961. He was also a member of the Sociedad Cubana de Estudios Históricos y Internacionales (Cuban Society of Historical and International Studies) from 1956 to1961 and was an honorary member of the Academia Mejicana de Genealogía y Heráldica (Mexican Academy of Genealogy and Heraldry) from 1950 to1988.
Following Castro’s communist takeover of Cuba, Masnata moved to New York in 1961 and left behind a large collection of Cuban books and research papers on Cuban and Spanish history, genealogy, and heraldry. While in exile, Masnata compiled a new collection of approximately three thousand books and thousands of records and documents on Spanish and Cuban genealogy. He became a proficient genealogist, and traced his ancestors from the sixteenth century to the early twentieth century.
At the age of twenty-five, Masnata received his law degree from the University of Havana and practiced law in Cuba until 1961. From 1951 to 1961 he was a member of the Colegio de Abogados de la Habana (Bar Association of Havana). He received another degree from New York University in 1967 and entered the Bar Association of New York City in 1969. From 1970 to 1971 Masnata served as a professor at Columbia University. Masnata was acknowledged by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1973 and licensed to practice in Washington, DC, and New York. In 1979, Masnata was licensed to practice law in Spain and became a member of the Ilustre Colegio de Abogados de Madrid.
He received the Prix de Liechtenstein in 1985 from H.R.H. Frank Josef II, Reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, for his work “La Casa Real de la Cerda” (“The Royal House of La Cerda”).
David Masnata died in New York on October 5, 1988.
Frank Smathers graduated from the University of Miami’s Law School in 1934 and served as a member of the Board of Trustees from 1953 for over 40 years. The estate “Four Fillies Farm” was named by Mr. Smathers after his four daughters, Lila, Ann, Lowry, and Pamela. He passed away in 1998, and his obituary in The Miami Herald declared that “his life and career touched virtually every aspect of greater Miami.”
Manuel Lamar Cuervo (b. 1929) was born in Bogotá, Colombia to a Cuban diplomatic family. His stay in Colombia was brief as he left at six years of age for Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 1951 he moved from Montevideo, Uruguay to Havana, Cuba, where he would live for many years and where he would create his well-known comic strip and animated cartoon Matojo on February 17, 1964.
Before he dedicated his life to the arts, Cuervo studied diplomatic law and journalism at the University of Havana. He was offered a position as consul in Puerto Cortés, Honduras but the post never materialized. After spending some time working in bureaucratic positions, he became a filmmaker and a caricaturist. Cuervo was working for the magazine Mellawriting sports related humor when he was asked to do a comic strip, which then became Matojo. Cuervo moved to Miami in 1992 where he has continued his artistic career.
Cruzada Educativa Cubana (C.E.C.) was an organization in exile, founded on August 2, 1962, in Miami, Florida by María Gómez Carbonell, the first Congresswoman of the Republic of Cuba. The organization promoted the diffusion of the main principles of the Cuban education and culture within the framework of freedom and democracy in the United States of America.
The theme of the C.E.C. "A la Libertad por la Educación y la Cultura" ("Toward Freedom for Education and Culture") represents the primary objective of the organization: to avoid the penetration and expansion of the international Communism in education along a path of a clear and strong democratic process. This organization looked forward to the rejection of the Communist doctrine in order to achieve complete freedom for all by means of democratic education and culture for all.
Cruzada Educativa Cubana was formed by the central Executive body and the delegates designated by the Central Executive for each state of the Union and for each country. The delegates appointed representatives in other important cities. Following the main tasks and objectives of the organization, the delegates worked by recruting professors living in the United States and Latin America. Each delegate worked towards the C.E.C. Objectives by using the media and created programs such as "Tertulias Infantiles," weekly workshops for children about Cuban history, democratic ideals, geography, music and poetry. They also proposed educational projects to the Central Executive Body.
C.E.C. prepared a variety of programs over the years. Among these programs were "Día del Maestro Cubano" ("Cuban Teacher Day"), "Día de la Cultura Cubana" ("Cuban Cultural Day"), and the "Democratic Rehabilitation of the Cuban Schools."
Cruzada Educativa Cubana also offered lectures such as "Ciclo Juvenil"("Juvenile Cycle") and "Ciclo Sin Verdad no hay Historia"("Without Truth there is no History Cycle"). Homages given to Cuban personalities were also offered by C.E.C.
Various awards were established by C.E.C. honoring Cuban educators and historians who made important contributions to education in general. Some of these were Candelaria Carbonell Award, Francisco Vicente Aguilera Award, José de la Luz y Caballero Award, Juan J. Remos Award, and José Antonio Saco Award.
O, Miami is a local organization that promotes literary culture in the South Florida region. Founded by P. Scott Cunningham, the organization has a major presence in the literary scene in Miami. Their events include the O, Miami Poetry Festival and a visiting writers series, along with smaller events throughout the course of the year. The organization also maintains a publishing wing, Jai-Alai Books, and produces a literary magazine, also under the Jai-Alai title.
Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, FAIA, LEED AP, is Malcolm Matheson Distinguished Professor of Architecture and Director of the Master of Urban Design Program. She has a joint appointment in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the Miller School of Medicine. She was dean of the School of Architecture 1995-2013. She teaches courses on urban design and built environment adaptation to climate change. Plater-Zyberk has collaborated with faculty across the University including recently with Engineering colleagues researching net-zero water management in buildings. She is a member of the UM Built Environment Behavior and Health Research Group, working with Miller School faculty on projects researching the well-being of children and elders’ relation to characteristics of the built context in which they live. As a consultant with DPZ Partners, she has worked with healthcare systems in Richmond and Chicago on the design of their campuses and community surroundings. Plater-Zyberk is recognized as a leader of the movement called the New Urbanism, promoting walkable resilient urban design. A co-founder of the Congress for the New Urbanism in 1992, her teaching, research and consulting professional practice has ranged across new community design, community rebuilding, regional plans and zoning codes. A number of innovations in professional practice, such as the traditional neighborhood design zoning code (TND), were initiated with students in School of Architecture design studios and first implemented through community outreach in South Florida. Recent professional projects include the design of the University President’s house and the City of Miami Zoning Code, Miami 21. Plater-Zyberk’s publications include refereed journal articles and book chapters. She is co-author of Suburban Nation: the Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream (over 85,000 sold), and The New Civic Art: Elements of Town Planning. Her work, with Andres Duany and DPZ Partners, has received numerous awards and recognitions including honorary degrees, Architectural Record’s first Women in Architecture Award, and the Richard H. Driehaus Prize for Classical Architecture. She has served on numerous review and editorial panels, including the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts.
An architect and an artist, Rocco Ceo teaches courses in design, Design/Build (with Jim Adamson), foundation courses in freehand and mechanical drawing, drawing seminars on color theory, Michelangelo, Historic American Building Survey/HABS and Historic American Landscape Survey/HALS. He has produced drawings of the elements of Florida’s landscapes as well as the documentation of seminal sites in the history of South Florida such as Vizcaya and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas home. His published work includes the award winning books, Redland: A Preservation and Tourism Plan done with Margot Ammidown and Maria Nardi and Historic Landscapes of Florida co-authored with Joanna Lombard. His architecture practice focuses on the unique relationship between architecture and landscape found in the American Tropics. His work has received awards from the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation, Progressive Architecture, and I.D. Magazine and the Miami Chapter of AIA. His interest in paradox found in the study of the natural world informs his architecture, research and painting.
Brigade 2506 was the name given to a CIA-sponsored group of Cuban exiles formed in 1960 to attempt the military overthrow of the Cuban government headed by Fidel Castro. It carried out the abortive Bay of Pigs Invasion landings in Cuba on 17 April 1961.
Roberto Torres (1940-) began his music career in his hometown of Güines, Cuba at an early age. In 1959, Torres emigrated to the United States where he continued his music career, starting the Orquesta Broadway in New York City in 1963. His major break came in 1965 when he signed on as singer for the Latin band, Sonora Matancera.
In the 1970s, Torres embarked on his solo carreer and founded Guajiro Records in 1973. In later life, Torres organized and played lead for the Miami-basedband, Roberto Torres y su Orquesta.
Torres is credited with inventing the charanga-vallenta, a style of Latin music blending the traditional rythms of the Cuban charangaand the Colombian vallento. He is perhaps most known for the hit 1980 rendition of Simón Díaz's Venezuelan folksong, Caballo Viejo, done in the charanga-vallenata style.
