MIAMI, United States. – The Cuban intellectual Emilio Roig de Leuchsenring, the first historian of Havana, was born 133 years ago, on August 23, 1889 in the island’s capital. His extraordinary work in historical research and in the preservation of important documents has kept him until today as an unavoidable reference for the entire nation.
Roig de Leuchsenring was a man of vast knowledge. He ventured into legal research, literature and costumbrista themes, although it was the historical themes that captured all his attention.
Between 1913 and 1917 he assumed the direction of the Law Magazine. That year he graduated as a doctor in Civil and Notarial Law and from 1916 he was appointed head of the Office of the First National Legal Congress.
His broad culture was also demonstrated by his collaborations in important press media of his time, such as magazines. Contemporary Cuba Y Socialwhere he joined the so-called Retail Group together with Rubén Martínez Villena, Juan Marinello, Alejo CarpentierJorge Mañach, Conrado Massaguer and Mariblanca Sabas Alomá, among others.
Right at the time of the heyday of the Retail Group, Emilio Roig de Leuchsenring was the Editor-in-Chief of Social. From 1925 he was its literary director, a position that alternated with the deputy director of the very significant posters.
As a member of this group, Roig participated in the Protest of the Thirteen, a revolutionary reaction to the Government of Alfredo Zayas, which placed the group at the forefront of national politics at the time.
But it was from 1935, when he was appointed Historian of the City of Havana, when his intellectual work became closely linked to historical research. On his initiative, he created the Office of the City Historian in 1936, dealing since then with the preservation and publication of important historical documents such as the Notebooks of Havana historyand many others.
He entered the Academy of History in 1938 with his research entitled “Martí in Spain”. In fact, he devoted great attention to the Apostle through titles such as The revolution of Martí, February 24, 1895 Y Life and thought of José Martí.
Likewise, his investigative diligence led him to delve into the study of forgotten topics of our history and nationality. Undoubtedly, his legacy constitutes one of the highest of the Cuban intelligentsia of the last century.
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