architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
.
Early history
Miguel Ángel Moenck was born on September 13, 1890, in
Havana, Cuba
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
He excelled at various sports. In 1907, Moenck who studied engineering at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
introduced basketball to the Havana YMCA. In 1913, Moenck formed the Union of Amateur Athletics, also known as the Union Athletica de Amateurs de Cuba, in Havana.From resistance to revolution: the struggle for control of the Cuban Olympic Committee, 1953-1964.. (n.d.) >The Free Library. (2014). Retrieved May 19, 2024 from https://www.thefreelibrary.com/From+resistance+to+revolution%3a+the+struggle+for+control+of+the+Cuban...-a0268480898 Moenck was a member of the National Amateur Baseball League and also managed Atlético de Cuba, an amateur athletic club.
In the early 1920s, he enrolled at
Tulane University
The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...
and returned to Cuba in the mid-1920s with his architecture degree. The
University of Havana
The University of Havana (UH; ) is a public university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of Cuba. Founded on 5 January 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Originall ...
employed the Tulane graduate as a professor of architecture.
Olympics
He was elected President of the newly formed Cuban Olympic Committee in 1926, and he served in that capacity until 1930, then again in 1934. He was later elected to the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...
(IOC), holding the Cuban seat from 1938 to 1969. In 1953, he became the first Latin American to be elected to the
IOC
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...
Nicolás Quintana Arango
Nicolás Quintana was a Cuban architect.
Early history
Nicolás Quintana y Arango was born in Havana, Cuba, the son of Nicolás Quintana and Celia Arango. His father worked as a Basque cabinetmaker.
Career
Co-founding Moenck & Quintana in 1928 ...
, serving as co-director of the architectural firm. Among the prominent buildings designed by Moenck & Quintana are the Havana Bus Terminal, the Pro-Arte Musical Auditorium, the School of Engineering and Architecture at the University of Havana, and the Biltmore Yacht and Country Club. Following the death of Nicolas Quintana Arango, his son
Nicolás Quintana
Nicolás Quintana (January 26, 1925May 31, 2011) was a Cuban-born architect and one of the frontrunners of modernist architecture in Cuba.
Early life
Nicolás José Braulio del Carmen Quintana y Gómez Arango Díaz was born on January 26, 1925, i ...
would eventually become co-director of the firm in 1951. The 1957 hotel Cabañas del Sol was designed by the two.