José Manuel Cortina
Encyclopedia
José Manuel Cortina y Garcia (3 February 1880 in San Diego de Nunez, Pinar del Río
, Cuba
- 9 March 1970 in Miami, Miami-Dade County, Florida
USA) was a Cuban politician, lawyer and journalist.
Cortina was the son of Constantino de Cortina y Arteaga, an agriculturalist of Basque descent, and Maria Luisa Garcia y Gutierrez.
He graduated from the Colegio de Belen (1898) and graduated as a lawyer in 1903. He wrote for Democracia, El Mundo, La Lucha, La Revista de Derecho, and La Nación.
Cortina was first elected to public office in 1908 as a member of the Cuban House of Representatives and was later elected to the Cuban Senate. He served as Secretary of the Presidency under Alfredo Zayas y Alfonso. In 1927, he was the Cuban delegate to the League of Nations
. He was Cuba's Foreign Minister from 1936–1937 under the presidency of Miguel Mariano Gómez
and again from 1940–1942 under the presidency of Fulgencio Batista
. Cortina was instrumental in the elimination of the Platt Amendment
in the early 1930s and served as President of the coordinating committee under Carlos Márquez Sterling
at the convention that created the 1940 Constitution of Cuba
. Among his many publications he is best known for his work "Ideales Internacionales de Cuba" (Cuba's International Ideals).
José Manuel Cortina y Garcia is considered one of Cuba's most outstanding orators and diplomats. He had two large farms one in Arroyo Naranjo the other in Pinar del Río
and his family also had property in Camagüey Province
. All of his property was confiscated by the government of Fidel Castro
. One of his properties, Las Cuevas de los Portales, located in La Palma
in Pinar del Río
; confiscated by the Cuban Revolution
in 1959 was declared a Cuban National Monument in 1987.
He later married Adela Ramirez y Blanco, his second wife, and they had a son Aníbal. Aníbal had six children, Aníbal Jose, Maria Elena, Jose Antonio (deceased), Jorge Alberto, Ana Maria and Ignacio Agustin. Aníbal has 16 grandchildren. Aníbal retired from a successful career as an economist and lawyer for The Organization of American States (OAS).
His childhood sweetheart was Leocardia de la Concepcion de Verna y Peñes, born on December 9, 1893, died 1982. Leocardia was nicknamed "Cheche". José and Cheche had two children, a daughter, Judith (1912–2005), and a son Aquiles (1916–1962). Judith de Verna Cortina married Mario Milian and had one daughter, Judith Marty née Milian (founder and principal of Mater Academy Charter School
. Aquiles married Daisy Breton and had one child, a daughter, Daisita. Other famous descendants of José Manuel Cortina include Nestor Carbonell
, Aileen M Marty, and Elena Marty-Nelson.
Pinar del Río
Pinar del Río is a city in Cuba. It is the capital of Pinar del Río Province.Inhabitants of the area are called Pinareños.Neighborhoods in the city include La Conchita, La Coloma, Briones Montoto and Las Ovas.-History:...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
- 9 March 1970 in Miami, Miami-Dade County, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
USA) was a Cuban politician, lawyer and journalist.
Cortina was the son of Constantino de Cortina y Arteaga, an agriculturalist of Basque descent, and Maria Luisa Garcia y Gutierrez.
He graduated from the Colegio de Belen (1898) and graduated as a lawyer in 1903. He wrote for Democracia, El Mundo, La Lucha, La Revista de Derecho, and La Nación.
Cortina was first elected to public office in 1908 as a member of the Cuban House of Representatives and was later elected to the Cuban Senate. He served as Secretary of the Presidency under Alfredo Zayas y Alfonso. In 1927, he was the Cuban delegate to the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
. He was Cuba's Foreign Minister from 1936–1937 under the presidency of Miguel Mariano Gómez
Miguel Mariano Gómez
Miguel Mariano Gómez y Arias , was a Cuban politician who served as President of Cuba for seven months in 1936....
and again from 1940–1942 under the presidency of Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was the United States-aligned Cuban President, dictator and military leader who served as the leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1944 and from 1952 to 1959, before being overthrown as a result of the Cuban Revolution....
. Cortina was instrumental in the elimination of the Platt Amendment
Platt Amendment
The Platt Amendment of 1901 was a rider appended to the Army Appropriations Act presented to the U.S. Senate by Connecticut Republican Senator Orville H. Platt replacing the earlier Teller Amendment. Approved on May 22, 1903, it stipulated the conditions for the withdrawal of United States troops...
in the early 1930s and served as President of the coordinating committee under Carlos Márquez Sterling
Carlos Márquez Sterling
Dr. Carlos Márquez Sterling y Guiral was a Cuban lawyer, writer, politician and diplomat....
at the convention that created the 1940 Constitution of Cuba
1940 Constitution of Cuba
The 1940 Constitution of Cuba, was implemented in 1940, during the presidency of Federico Laredo Brú. It was primarily influenced by the collectivist ideas that inspired the Cuban Revolution of 1933. Widely considered one of the most "progressive" constitutions in existence at the time, it provided...
. Among his many publications he is best known for his work "Ideales Internacionales de Cuba" (Cuba's International Ideals).
José Manuel Cortina y Garcia is considered one of Cuba's most outstanding orators and diplomats. He had two large farms one in Arroyo Naranjo the other in Pinar del Río
Pinar del Río
Pinar del Río is a city in Cuba. It is the capital of Pinar del Río Province.Inhabitants of the area are called Pinareños.Neighborhoods in the city include La Conchita, La Coloma, Briones Montoto and Las Ovas.-History:...
and his family also had property in Camagüey Province
Camagüey Province
Camagüey is the largest of the provinces of Cuba. Its capital is Camagüey. Other towns include Florida and Nuevitas.-Geography:Camagüey is mostly low lying, with no major hills or mountain ranges passing through the province...
. All of his property was confiscated by the government of Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
. One of his properties, Las Cuevas de los Portales, located in La Palma
La Palma
La Palma is the most north-westerly of the Canary Islands. La Palma has an area of 706 km2 making it the fifth largest of the seven main Canary Islands...
in Pinar del Río
Pinar del Río
Pinar del Río is a city in Cuba. It is the capital of Pinar del Río Province.Inhabitants of the area are called Pinareños.Neighborhoods in the city include La Conchita, La Coloma, Briones Montoto and Las Ovas.-History:...
; confiscated by the Cuban Revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
in 1959 was declared a Cuban National Monument in 1987.
Family
He married his first wife, Maria Josépha Corrales who went by the name Josépha. José and Josépha had four children: Ofelia, Esther, José-Manuel Jr., and Humberto.He later married Adela Ramirez y Blanco, his second wife, and they had a son Aníbal. Aníbal had six children, Aníbal Jose, Maria Elena, Jose Antonio (deceased), Jorge Alberto, Ana Maria and Ignacio Agustin. Aníbal has 16 grandchildren. Aníbal retired from a successful career as an economist and lawyer for The Organization of American States (OAS).
His childhood sweetheart was Leocardia de la Concepcion de Verna y Peñes, born on December 9, 1893, died 1982. Leocardia was nicknamed "Cheche". José and Cheche had two children, a daughter, Judith (1912–2005), and a son Aquiles (1916–1962). Judith de Verna Cortina married Mario Milian and had one daughter, Judith Marty née Milian (founder and principal of Mater Academy Charter School
Mater Academy Charter School
Mater Academy Charter School is located in Hialeah Gardens, Florida. Principal Judith C. Marty opened the school in 2003 and has been since been praised as one of the best charter school principles in America...
. Aquiles married Daisy Breton and had one child, a daughter, Daisita. Other famous descendants of José Manuel Cortina include Nestor Carbonell
Nestor Carbonell
Nestor Gastón Carbonell is an American actor, known for portraying Richard Alpert in ABC's drama Lost and Mayor Anthony Garcia in the film The Dark Knight...
, Aileen M Marty, and Elena Marty-Nelson.