Antonio Gonzalez Prado
Antonio Gonzalez Prado was born 157 years ago in Asturias, a region of Northwest Spain, known for its rugged coast, beautiful mountains, religious sites, and Mediterranean architecture.
** Interesting events that occurred around the World during Mr. Prado's birth year of 1862 included...
• On February 1st, 1862 Julia Ward Howe's now historic "Battle Hymn of the Republic" is published for the first time in the Atlantic Monthly.
• On February 25th, 1862 the Legal Tender Act of 1862 is passed by the U.S. Congress, authorizing the United States Note (Greenback) into circulation. It is the first fiat paper money that was legal tender in America.
• On March 31st, 1862 Victor Hugo's epic French historical novel "Les Misérables" is published.
• On April 20th, 1862 the first pasteurization test is completed by Frenchmen Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard.
• On June 1st, 1862 General Robert E. Lee assumes command of the Confederate Armies of North Virginia after decorated General Joe Johnston is wounded in his shoulder and chest by an artillery shell fragment at Seven Pines
• On September 17th, 1862 Union forces strategically defeat Confederate troops at Sharpsburg, Maryland in the bloodiest day in U.S. history, with over 22,000 casualties.
• On September 23rd, 1862 U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in his Emancipation Proclamation says he will free slaves in all states on Jan 1st, 1863.
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Antonio would eventually immigrate to Cuba where he settles in Havana and becomes involved in the field of cigar manufacturing.
He would marry his Wife Maria Miranda and together the couple would have three children ( Two Daughters and a single Son )
In the late 1880s most of the traffic from Spain to the Americas consisted of bachelors going to Havana, Cuba looking for work. Men who were married often immigrated alone, and would send for their families once established in their new homeland.
As tensions begin to rise with the impending Cuban War of Independence which officially began in 1895 there was a definitive uptick in immigration to the United States from Cuba. The passage to the U.S. was not as stringent as it was from Europe during this time. When the cigar industry came to Tampa there was a wave of immigration to the area from the Cuban capital of Havana, where many had been employed in cigar manufacturing.
In Havana, there were many organizations, representing various regions of Spain, whose sole mission was to provide health assistance and “A little taste of home” for their members. In Tampa there were no such organizations to provide group medical benefits.
The Centro Asturiano de Tampa is a social club for immigrants and the descendants of immigrants from Asturias, Spain. Historically, a hospital, cemetery and health insurance all came with membership. The purpose of the club was to take care of members from before birth until after their passing
The first organizational President and tonight's honoree of the now legendary El Centro Asturiano de la Habana, Antonio Gonzalez Prado, came to Tampa, Florida at the end of the 19th century
Because no organizations existed to support the Cuban / Spanish community in this area at that time a committee was organized with Antonio Gonzalez Prado as its chairman to propose to El Centro Asturiano de la Habana that it establish a branch in Tampa... Gonzalez Prado's ties with the leaders of the Havana Centro proved invaluable in obtaining approval from the parent club in Havana since the organizational efforts were opposed by the cigar manufacturers and local doctors and pharmacists, who formed the Latin Medical Association seeking to prevent the establishment of the association.
Centro Asturiano de Tampa officially came to be on April 8th 1902 !!
. On July 24th, 1974, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places !!
It may come as a surprise that there are few documents that feature the Prado family but in reality Antonio although his impact everlasting for generations to follow his time here was very brief.
Antonio Prado will pass away at the age of 41 on March 29th, 1904. His youngest daughter Estela would be added to his impressive Monument when she passes at the age of 21 in June of 1925.
Antonio and Estela Prado... Beloved Father, Daughter, Husband, Sister, local pioneer...