Juan Francisco Calcagno Monzón

Juan Francisco Calcagno Monzón (1827-1903)

The son of Dr. Calcagno Monti, writer, polyglot, author, who continued the cultural work of his father. His mother was Dolores Monzón de la Bodega, from Havana.

He was born in Güines on June 19, 1827, attending Arango y Parreño School in his native Villa for his elementary education. He graduated from the University of Havana with a degree of Doctor of Philosophy and Letters. Besides Latin and Greek, he studied Italian, English and French. He traveled to the United States and England as a student, returning in 1860 to Güines after the death of his father.

He introduced the first print shop in the Villa and founded in 1862, the first local newspaper Álbum Güinero (Güines Album). He also founded the Public Library and a language academy.

He passionately and in an effective way, defended the emancipation of slaves. Devoted as a journalist and as a story teller, he published several works among them Mesa Revuelta (Messy Table) (1860), Calcañatipos (Calcañatypes) (1863), Poetas de color (Colored Poets) (1868), En busca del eslabón (Looking for the Link) (1888), Romualdo, Torquemada, Historia de un muerto (History of a Dead Man), Recuerdos de antes de ayer (Memories from Before Yesterday), Mamá Concha (Ma Concha), S.I. (Spanish abbreviation for Su Ilustrísima [Your Illustrious One]), Mina ó la hija del presidiario (Mina or the Convict’s Daughter) and above all, his Diccionario Biográfico Cubano (Cuban Biographic Dictionary) (1878-1886).

He kept out of the wars of liberation, remaining in Europe, dying in Barcelona on March 22, 1903.

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