Manuel Díaz Díaz

Manuel Díaz Díaz (1904-1993)

Manuel was born in Pinzales, Asturias, Spain on July 26, 1904. His parents were Don José Ramón Díaz Rodríguez and Doña Encarnación Díaz García.

Manuel left for Cuba on September 19, 1920, from El Musel port in Gijón on board the Alfonso XIII ship, being only 16 years old and with 65 duros (Spanish currency) in his pocket.

Once he arrived in Havana, he went to the railroad station and at ten o’clock in the evening left for the Zapata Swamp to meet his brother Zenén in Bermejas' sugar plantation. His first job was as a dishwasher at Helechal Inn (Fern Grove), in the sugar plantation of the same name.

From that moment on, Manuel would start a long and spotless life full of work, honesty and moral and economic successes in a foreign country, which later on he called his own country.

It was at the end of 1922 when Zenén sent Manuel to Güines, placing him in charge of a establishment called Café El Polo (The Pole Café) bought by Zenén. The establishment was located in the corner of Almohalla and Valdés Streets. After El Polo folded due to economic instability in the country, Manuel worked for a time in Don Manuel García Braña’s grocery store and at the same time he was receiving coal shipments sent by Zenén, that were sold to different establishments.

From there, he was in charge of Vedado Neighborhood grocery store whose owner was José García where he stayed for about two years. Once more, and due to the economic situation, Manuel became unemployed and that was the time that Güines almost lost Manuel.

A frequent spectator of Güines soccer games, Don Carlos González de Ancos, who, at the same time, was a sports writer for El Mundo (The World) newspaper and a great admirer of Manuel. He made several offers to take him to play professional soccer in Havana.

When Manuel had already decided to go, a group of businessmen among them, Severo Vázquez, Manager of Casa Hevia y Cía. (Hevia House and Company) and Moisés Gómez, the owner of El Gallo de Oro (The Golden Rooster) clothing store, also great admirers of Manuel, decided that he could not leave the local soccer club, so they went to see him and told him: “Find a suitable corner, open a grocery store and we will supply it.”

Manuel opened his grocery store in the corner of Clemente Fernández and Medio Streets. In the meantime, Zenén kept sending coal to him. This business was so successful, that Manuel decided to sell the grocery store and purchase a truck to sell coal mainly to businesses. Later on, he purchased a horse drawn cart where his employee Cuco the coal-man sold coal on a retail basis.

It was then that throughout Don Constantino Díaz, Manuel acquired the right to distribute Polar beer in Güines, receiving a commission for its sale. It was a good time for Manuel, and he took advantage of it, marrying Teresa Domínguez Jurado on March 25, 1933.

On August of the same year, sales decreased in such a way, that Manuel again became unemployed.

Through his connections, Manuel contacted Jesús López in San José de las Lajas, who gave him the representation of Hatuey beer in the area of Güines, Madruga, Catalina de Güines and Aguacate. With the passage of time, Manuel was appointed a Direct Distributor of Bacardí Rum Company, Inc., giving him the area of Güines, distributing Hatuey beer and malt, besides Bacardí rum and Materva, Ironbeer and Salutaris soda drinks.

During the next 26 years. Manuel would acquire a property that extended from Máximo Gómez Street all the way back to Cristina Ayala (Hospital) Street. Such property housed Güines' Agricultural and Industrial Bank, the Retailers Association, his own private residence and six apartments built on the second floor on top of the warehouse. Later on, he purchased a lot next to the warehouse, corner of Clemente Fernández Street, named Korea the bigger portion of which, was used as a parking lot for his trucks.

Manuel used to spend his summers every year with the family in Rosario Beach where he built the only two story house with its own generator to supply electricity. For many years, he was the President of Güines Chamber of Commerce, and throughout multiple events, he placed it as one of the more prestigious in the Island.

At the end of the 50’s and due to changes in Bacardí Rum Company, Inc., Manuel became again unemployed. That small business started with a little truck, had when he sold it, 25 employees, and a fleet of twelve trucks with monthly sales of more than six thousand cases of beer and fifteen thousand cases of refreshments.

But Manuel’s dismay did not last too long. With part of the money obtained from the sale of his beer and refreshment distributorship, he purchased from Don Elías de la Torre, a vacant lot, several thousand square meters large, next to Güines High School where he built four houses to rent out. Immediately he opened an accounting office where he employed three persons.

In 1965, forty five years after having left his country, he returned to it, without even having the equivalent to 65 duros he originally started with. Four months later, Manuel and Teresa left Spain for the United States. The first job they had was to clean a gymnasium the property of their oldest daughter Teresita. Two years later, Manuel established his first business in the United States, Manuel Díaz Company, an export company that he had for several years. In 1974 he purchased a brand new duplex and in 1984, he made his last payment on his house. Two years later, he sold the duplex earning a substantial profit in this transaction.

Manuel and Teresa had five children: María Teresa, María Migdania, María Encarnación, Ana María and Carlos Manuel. Manuel Díaz Díaz passed away in Miami on May 15, 1993. In his Last Will and Testament he directed his estate to be equally divided among his children.

Nevertheless, his most important legacy was his economic and moral successes, that he achieved not only in Cuba but also in exile, due to his unquestionable tenacity, integrity, kindness and honesty.

Continue to: Miguel Díaz Salinero