Nicolás García Pérez

Nicolás García Pérez (1846-1918)

He was born in Pinar del Río on May 6, 1846, growing up and getting an education in Güines. Nicolás parents had to leave their farm because they were humiliated, mistreated and persecuted by the Spanish military, when they offered refuge to the illustrious Venezuelan General Narciso López in his expedition of 1850 that landed in Pinar del Río.

Nicolás’ parents and their three children first went to live in Batabanó where the oldest child died. Maybe looking for consolation they moved to Güines in 1855.

Nicolás and his brother Antonio started to attend Arango y Parreño School in the Villa. He, who was the youngest, had a great desire to improve himself, going to Havana and obtaining a degree as a Teacher at the Normal School for Teachers in Guanabacoa. He returned to Güines and was appointed teacher at the Arango y Parreño School that he had attended as a child.

He was a member of the school’s Faculty until 1895 when he declined the position of Principal. He resigned from the school to join the ’95 conspirators.

He married Filomena de Cárdenas Hernández. When the war ended he was appointed as Principal of Arango y Parreño a position that he held until his death on October 1, 1918. He was a pioneer of modern pedagogy, introducing new teaching methods that encouraged the student and at the same time taught him discipline and ethical and moral principles.

His last will indicated that he was to be laid out in the living room of his house, where he had a museum. His descendants have given Güines luster and prestige throughout the years, especially in the fields of literature, journalism, teaching and civic-patriotic endeavors for the benefit of the Villa. His sons Rafael, Manuel, María, Mercedes and Ramón García Cárdenas, his grandchildren Nicolás and Aida García Curbelo and Juvenal, Zenaida and Gladys Valdés García and his great-grandson, Nicolás García Callejas, are clear examples—encompassing several generations of Güineros—of the high human quality possessed by this prestigious family.

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