Famous Personalities
An emblematic song of the new cuban trova says that death "makes heroes, makes history". Today we will deal with the story of three ariguanabense personalities of the colonial era: the Marquises of Montehermoso.
San Antonio had not recovered from the fire damages suffered in 1821, when another irreparable loss hurt the hearts of its inhabitants. The death of Don Gabriel María Cárdenas, second Marquis of Montehermoso and founder of the Villa. This illustrious personage had worked for the enlargement and progress of the city, consecrating his fortune, his highest energies and feelings of his noble and generous soul. The judge, who had been a fair and loving father of his subjects, died, leaving them wrapped up in sadness and desolation. But his memory and virtues persisted in the hearts of the grateful inhabitants of the beautiful Villa. In 1836, the third Marquis of Montehermoso, Don Antonio Maria de Cardenas died. The Cabildo was a worthy and constant reformer, so he promoted the improvement of adornment, built roads, bridges, hospitals and many other works, as the best compliment for the venerable Marquis.
The fourth Marquis of Montehermoso died twenty years after his predecessor. Don Gabriel Maria Cardenas was the son of Antonio Maria and had been named like his grandfather, the last representative of Cardenas’ lineage. An unforgettable institution was established in 1858, the Domiciliary Benefaction Association.
San Antonio de los Baños was shocked by the death of another celebrity. We refer to the wise, Tranquilino Sandalio de Noda, who was born in San Marcos de las Artemisas, Guanajay in 1808 and died in 1866. He was an autodidact who spoke nearly ten languages. Philosopher, mathematician, stenographer, surveyor, teacher, publicist, critic, poet, historian, economist, philologist and orator. This man, not at all linked to Cardenas’ lineage, but to the progress of Cuba. Those men still live in the memory of the people.