Nicolas Arroyo

Nicolás Arroyo Márquez (31 August 1917 in Havana, Cuba - 13 July 2008 in Washington, D.C.) was a Cuban architect, diplomat and minister. He was the last Cuban Ambassador to the United States in 1958 before Fidel Castro's rise to power. He had previously served in the government of Fulgencio Batista as the Minister of Public Works (1952–1958).[1]

Nicolás Arroyo
Cuban Minister of Public Works
In office 1952–1958
President	Fulgencio Batista
20th Cuban Ambassador to the United States
In office 1958 – January 1959
President	Fulgencio Batista
Preceded by	Miguel Ángel de la Campa y Caraveda
Succeeded by	Ernesto Dihigo
Personal details
Born	Nicolas Arroyo y Marquez 31 August 1917 Havana, Cuba
Died	13 July 2008 Washington, D.C.
Nationality	Cuban, American
Spouse(s)	Gabriela Menendez Garcia-Beltran (1942–2008)
Children	Nicolas Arroyo-Menendez
Alma mater	University of Havana
Profession	Architect

Arroyo was the third of five children born to lawyer Nicholas Arroyo, and Hortensia Marquez. He received his architecture degree from the University of Havana in 1941 and practiced in Cuba until 1959, during which time he also served as Cuba's minister of public works. In December 1942, he married fellow architect Gabriela Menendez Garcia-Beltran (died 10 July 2008) and formed the architectural firm "Arroyo y Menendez." Arroyo was the Cuban ambassador to the United States from 1957 to 1958. After the 1959 Cuban revolution, he settled in Washington, D.C., and established an architectural practice focused on residential and commercial projects; he also had business interests in South America and Arlington, Virginia. Arroyo was a member of the American Institute of Architects and served on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts from 1971 to 1976.[2]

References

1. Nicolás Arroyo
2. Thomas E. Luebke, ed., Civic Art: A Centennial History of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, 2013): Appendix B, p. 539.

• El Nuevo Herald; Vintage Havana Modern Architecture Leader Dies by Wilfredo Cancio Isla; 27 July 2008.
• Guillermo Jimenez; Los Propietarios de Cuba 1958; Editorial de Ciencias Sociales, Havana, Cuba, 2007; ISBN 959-06-0830-2