Carlos Márquez Sterling

Dr. Carlos Márquez Sterling y Guiral (born Carlos Guiral y Márquez Sterling on September 8, 1898 in Camagüey, Cuba - May 3, 1991 in Miami, Florida USA) was a Cuban lawyer, writer, politician and diplomat.

Dr. Márquez Sterling was an attorney and professor of law and economics at the University of Havana. He founded the Manuel Márquez Sterling School of Journalism at the University of Havana. He was also a member of the Cuban House of Representatives and served as president of that body. He also served as Minister of Education and Labor.

In 1940, he was the president of the constitutional assembly which wrote the Cuban Constitution of 1940. That convention lasted six months and resulted in a constitution with 19 chapters, 32 sections and 286 subsections.

In the 1950s, he was detained many times by the government of Fulgencio Batista because of his opposition to Batista dictatorship.

In 1958, he ran unsuccessfully for President of Cuba. The following year the government of Fidel Castro placed him under house arrest. He then went into exile.

Exile

He started his exile in New York where he taught at Columbia University and at C.W. Post College on Long Island. In 1979, he moved to Miami and taught at Biscayne College (now St. Thomas University) and gave conferences at Florida International University. He also wrote columns for the Spanish-language newspaper Diario Las Américas. He was also the author of over 20 books. In 1984, the Florida House of Representatives honored him for his contribution to "Cuba, democracy, justice and liberty".

Family

Dr. Márquez Sterling was the son of Captain Guillermo Guiral Dominguez of the Spanish Army and of Maria Dolores Márquez Sterling y Loret de Mola (sister of Cuban President Manuel Márquez Sterling). He married two times, first to Silvia Dominguez y O’Mahony and then with Uva Hernandez Cata. He had two sons, Carlos and Manuel Marquez Sterling y Dominguez. He is buried at Miami Memorial Park.

References

• Carlos Márquez Sterling, Memorias de un estadista: Frases y escritos en correspondencia (edited by Manuel Márquez Sterling) (Miami, Florida: Ediciones Universal, 2005) ISBN 1593880510 (Spanish)
• Cuba: Anuario Historico 1991; Esteban M. Beruvides (Miami, Florida: AD Ventures International, 1992) (Spanish)
• Memorias de Carlos Márquez Sterling", extensive video interview produced as part of Florida International University Cuban Living History Project. The documentary is available at FIU's Green Library as part of the Cuban Living History collection ((Coral Gables, Florida: Village Films; 1990) (Spanish) video clip
• Cuba and Its Right to Freedom; Lincoln Rodon Alvarez (Miami, Florida: Editorial Laurenty Publishing Inc., 1987)
• Fulgencio Batista: From Revolutionary to Strongman; Frank Argote-Freyre (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2006) ISBN 9780813537016
• Semper Fidel: America & Cuba 1776–1988; Michael J. Mazarr (Baltimore, Maryland: The Nautical & Aviation Publishing Company of America, Inc., 1988)
• Cuba or the Pursuit of Freedom; Hugh Thomas (London, Great Britain: Eyre & Spottiswoode Ltd., 1971)
• Directorio Social de la Habana 1948, (Havana, Cuba: P. Fernandez y Cia S.A.) (Spanish)
• Registro Social de la Habana 1958 (Havana, Cuba: Molina y Cia S.A., 1958) (Spanish)
• Anuario de Familias Cubanas 1988 (Miami, Florida: Trejos Hermanos Sucrs.,Inc., 1988) (Spanish)
• Historia de Familias Cubanas (Miami, Florida: Ediciones Universal, 1985) ISBN 0897293800) (Spanish)