{"id":126142,"date":"2025-09-17T00:06:48","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T00:06:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/2025\/09\/17\/the-jaxson-viva-jax-jacksonvilles-hispanic-heritage-jacksonville-today\/"},"modified":"2025-09-17T00:11:52","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T00:11:52","slug":"the-jaxson-viva-jax-jacksonvilles-hispanic-heritage-jacksonville-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/2025\/09\/17\/the-jaxson-viva-jax-jacksonvilles-hispanic-heritage-jacksonville-today\/","title":{"rendered":"THE JAXSON | Viva Jax: Jacksonville\u2019s Hispanic heritage | Jacksonville Today"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-8864793242727901\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Though less well known than those in South Florida or Tampa Bay, Jacksonville\u2019s Hispanic community has roots that are hundreds of years deep, and it\u2019s helped shape all aspects of life in the city throughout its history. It\u2019s high time Jacksonville\u2019s Hispanic heritage got its due.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Colonial period and Los Floridanos<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>San Juan del Puerto was a major Spanish Franciscan mission to the Mocama Timucua on Fort George Island. | Courtesy: National Park Service.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Jacksonville area\u2019s connection to the Hispanic world predates the founding of the city by centuries \u2013 in fact, it dates back to the earliest days of Spanish colonization in the mainland U.S. The Spanish Empire established the colony of St. Augustine in 1565 to solidify its claims on Florida and expel the French settlement of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejaxsonmag.com\/article\/fort-caroline-the-french-settlement-on-the-st-johns\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Fort Caroline<\/a>, founded two years earlier in what\u2019s now Jacksonville. Thereafter, the Spanish settled haciendas and established missions to the Indigenous peoples around northern Florida and southern Georgia. Among the lasting contributions of this time, Spanish colonists named the Rio San Juan, or the St. Johns River.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest Spanish mission in what\u2019s now Jacksonville was San Juan del Puerto, a mission to the Mocama Timucua people living on Fort George Island. Friar Franscisco Pareja served at the mission from 1595 to 1616. He devised a writing system for the Timucua language and wrote several works in the tongue which survive today, preserving invaluable information about the region\u2019s Indigenous peoples.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-dominant-color=\"c2a588\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #c2a588;\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"769\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/San-Juan-del-Puerto-Fray-Francisco-Pareja-1024x1363-1-769x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-101758 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/San-Juan-del-Puerto-Fray-Francisco-Pareja-1024x1363-1-769x1024.jpg 769w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/San-Juan-del-Puerto-Fray-Francisco-Pareja-1024x1363-1-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/San-Juan-del-Puerto-Fray-Francisco-Pareja-1024x1363-1-768x1022.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/San-Juan-del-Puerto-Fray-Francisco-Pareja-1024x1363-1-180x240.jpg 180w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/San-Juan-del-Puerto-Fray-Francisco-Pareja-1024x1363-1-100x133.jpg 100w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/San-Juan-del-Puerto-Fray-Francisco-Pareja-1024x1363-1.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 769px) 100vw, 769px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Artist\u2019s rendition of Fray Francisco Pareja, Franciscan missionary to the Timucua and translator of the Timucua language.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Spanish Florida was governed out of Cuba, establishing long and continuing ties with the island and other parts of the Spanish Empire. Spanish subjects born in Florida were known as <a href=\"https:\/\/losfloridanos.org\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Floridanos<\/a>, a group that still has thousands of descendants in Northeast Florida today. Spanish Florida was diverse, with a population including the Floridanos, Timucua and other Indigenous peoples, free and enslaved Africans, and others from across the Spanish Empire and various European countries. During Florida\u2019s British period from 1763-1783, another group with Spanish connections arrived in northern Florida. Andrew Turnbull recruited hundreds of settlers from the Spanish island of Menorca and others from the islands of modern Italy, Greece and Turkey to work the failed New Smyrna colony. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejaxsonmag.com\/article\/9-hispanic-jax-history-facts\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Minorcans<\/a> relocated to present-day St. Johns County, where their descendants number 25,000 today, and they\u2019ve heavily influenced the culinary culture of Northeast Florida with contributions like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejaxsonmag.com\/article\/jacksonvilles-9-signature-foods\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">datil pepper and Minorcan chowder<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Floridano population was never large, and in Florida\u2019s second Spanish period from 1784 to 1821, the colonial government issued land grants to encourage further settlement from the empire, the United States and elsewhere. One such land grant, issued to Maria Suarez Taylor, in 1815, formed the basis of the original town of Jacksonville. After Taylor\u2019s husband Purnal had been killed by U.S.-aligned forces during the Patriot War of 1812-14, the Spanish government awarded her 200 acres on the north bank of the St. Johns River at the Cow Ford. In 1816, Maria and her second husband Zachariah Hogans built their home on this property, and in 1822, they joined Isaiah Hart in donating land for the original platting of Jacksonville.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>St. Elmo W. \u201cChic\u201d Acosta<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-dominant-color=\"605a4a\" data-has-transparency=\"true\" style=\"--dominant-color: #605a4a;\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-St-Elmo-Acosta-684x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-101759 has-transparency\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-St-Elmo-Acosta-684x1024.png 684w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-St-Elmo-Acosta-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-St-Elmo-Acosta-768x1151.png 768w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-St-Elmo-Acosta-160x240.png 160w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-St-Elmo-Acosta-100x150.png 100w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-St-Elmo-Acosta.png 777w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 684px) 100vw, 684px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>St. Elmo W. \u201cChic\u201d Acosta<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The original Floridanos integrated into the wider community, and their descendants have contributed to all aspects of life in Northeast Florida. One of the best known is St. Elmo W. Acosta, known as Chic, a Jaxson who lived from 1875 \u2013 1947.\u00a0 He served as a Jacksonville City Council Member (1910 and 1914), member of the Florida Legislature (1913-1914) and City Commissioner of Parks (1919-1936). His major accomplishments included substantial expansion of the city\u2019s park system and securing funding for the first car bridge to span the St. Johns River in Jacksonville.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-dominant-color=\"a8aa95\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #a8aa95;\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"670\" src=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-Bridge-postcard-1920s-1024x670.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-101760 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-Bridge-postcard-1920s-1024x670.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-Bridge-postcard-1920s-300x196.jpg 300w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-Bridge-postcard-1920s-768x503.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-Bridge-postcard-1920s-1536x1005.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-Bridge-postcard-1920s-2048x1340.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-Bridge-postcard-1920s-367x240.jpg 367w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-Bridge-postcard-1920s-100x65.jpg 100w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-Bridge-postcard-1920s-1650x1080.jpg 1650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Acosta was the major driver of the creation of the St. Johns River Bridge, later the Acosta Bridge. | Courtesy: UNF Thomas G. Carpenter Library.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-dominant-color=\"5283ae\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #5283ae;\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"692\" src=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-Bridge-circa-1970-1024x692.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-101761 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-Bridge-circa-1970-1024x692.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-Bridge-circa-1970-300x203.jpg 300w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-Bridge-circa-1970-768x519.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-Bridge-circa-1970-1536x1037.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-Bridge-circa-1970-2048x1383.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-Bridge-circa-1970-355x240.jpg 355w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-Bridge-circa-1970-100x68.jpg 100w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Acosta-Bridge-circa-1970-1650x1114.jpg 1650w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>The old Acosta Bridge in the 1970s. | Courtesy: UNF Thomas G. Carpenter Library<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The St. Johns River bridge, the first of the city\u2019s Seven Bridges, brought massive investment and development to Jacksonville and helped secure its place as the logistics hub of Florida. In 1949, two years after Acosta\u2019s death, bridge was named the St. Elmo W. Acosta Bridge in honor of his contributions. The bridge was replaced with the present concrete structure in 1990, still named after Acosta.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Jacksonville\u2019s Cuban cigar industry<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-dominant-color=\"969696\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #969696;\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"742\" src=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigar-El-Modelo-block.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-101762 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigar-El-Modelo-block.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigar-El-Modelo-block-300x217.jpg 300w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigar-El-Modelo-block-768x557.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigar-El-Modelo-block-331x240.jpg 331w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigar-El-Modelo-block-100x72.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>El Modelo was once Jacksonville\u2019s biggest cigar factory<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-dominant-color=\"676c5e\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigar-The-former-El-Modelo-cigar-factory-building-on-West-Bay-Street.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-101763 not-transparent\" style=\"--dominant-color: #676c5e; width:826px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigar-The-former-El-Modelo-cigar-factory-building-on-West-Bay-Street.jpg 800w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigar-The-former-El-Modelo-cigar-factory-building-on-West-Bay-Street-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigar-The-former-El-Modelo-cigar-factory-building-on-West-Bay-Street-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigar-The-former-El-Modelo-cigar-factory-building-on-West-Bay-Street-320x240.jpg 320w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigar-The-former-El-Modelo-cigar-factory-building-on-West-Bay-Street-100x75.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>El Modelo block today<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>In the late 19th century, Jacksonville saw a new influx of immigrants from the Hispanic world, particularly Cuba. Commercial cigar rolling in Florida dates back as far as the 1830s, and the state became a major locale for Cuban cigar factories starting with Samuel Seidenberg\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.floridamemory.com\/learn\/classroom\/learning-units\/cigar-industry\/photos\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cclear Cuban\u201d cigar factory<\/a> in Key West in 1867. Soon thereafter Jacksonville, a rail hub and port, emerged as an attractive hub for processing Havana tobacco.<\/p>\n<p>By 1895, Jacksonville was home to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejaxsonmag.com\/article\/jacksonvilles-forgotten-cuban-cigar-industry\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">15 cigar manufacturing companies<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejaxsonmag.com\/article\/9-hispanic-jax-history-facts\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">thousands of Cuban immigrants<\/a>. Most of the city\u2019s cigar makers were clustered into two areas within walking distance of Bay Street, East Bay aroud Liberty Street, and West Bay in the vicinity of LaVilla\u2019s Broad Street. The largest, Gabriel Hidalgo Gato\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejaxsonmag.com\/article\/3-surviving-cuban-cigar-factories-in-jax\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">El Modelo Cigar Manufacturing Company<\/a>, employed 225 workers and produced six million stogies annually. The old El Modelo building at 501 West Bay Street was one of the few Downtown buildings to survive the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejaxsonmag.com\/article\/jacksonville-in-flames-great-fire-of-1901\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Great Fire of 1901<\/a>, and still stands today at the foot of the Main Street Bridge.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-dominant-color=\"a6a6a6\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"551\" src=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigar-Jose-Huaus-cigar-store-at-the-corner-of-Bay-Street-and-Pine-Main-Street-in-Jacksonville-1.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-101764 not-transparent\" style=\"--dominant-color: #a6a6a6; width:826px;height:auto\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Jos\u00e9 Alejandro Huau\u2019s cigar shop at Bay and Pine (now Main) streets. Huau was a cigar manufacturer, Jacksonville City Council member and Cuban patriot.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Hidalgo Gato\u2019s brother-in-law <a href=\"https:\/\/stars.library.ucf.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=3385&#038;context=fhq\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jos\u00e9 Alejandro Huau<\/a>, was also a cigar factory owner and a popular Jacksonville personality. Initially operating his factory with another brother-in-law, he became sole owner in 1876 and changed the name to Huau &#038; Co., later appending his wife Catalina Catalina\u2019s initials to make it C.M. de Huau &#038; Co. The business, which made El Esmero cigars, grew to employ 150 workers in a large building on Bay Street and a cigar store at Bay and Pine (Main) Streets that was said to be the finest in the city. Huau parlayed the success of his business into a political career, serving three two-year terms in the Jacksonville City Council. Though a proud U.S. citizen, he kept abreast of the struggles of his homeland and worked for years towards independence from Spain. With the assistance of Huau, Jos\u00e9 Mart\u00ed visited Jacksonville eight times between 1891 and 1898, stirring up enthusiasm and financial support for Cuba\u2019s freedom movement.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-dominant-color=\"898885\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #898885;\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigars-Central-Hotel-formerly-Lolita-Cigars.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-101765 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigars-Central-Hotel-formerly-Lolita-Cigars.jpg 800w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigars-Central-Hotel-formerly-Lolita-Cigars-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigars-Central-Hotel-formerly-Lolita-Cigars-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigars-Central-Hotel-formerly-Lolita-Cigars-320x240.jpg 320w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigars-Central-Hotel-formerly-Lolita-Cigars-100x75.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>LaVilla\u2019s still-extant Central Hotel building was once home to the Lolita Cigar Company.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-dominant-color=\"777e81\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #777e81;\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigars-The-Sola-Gonzalez-Company-briefly-operated-out-of-322-Broad-Street-in-LaVilla.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-101766 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigars-The-Sola-Gonzalez-Company-briefly-operated-out-of-322-Broad-Street-in-LaVilla.jpg 800w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigars-The-Sola-Gonzalez-Company-briefly-operated-out-of-322-Broad-Street-in-LaVilla-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigars-The-Sola-Gonzalez-Company-briefly-operated-out-of-322-Broad-Street-in-LaVilla-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigars-The-Sola-Gonzalez-Company-briefly-operated-out-of-322-Broad-Street-in-LaVilla-320x240.jpg 320w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cigars-The-Sola-Gonzalez-Company-briefly-operated-out-of-322-Broad-Street-in-LaVilla-100x75.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>322 Broad St. was home to the Sola &#038; Gonzalez cigar factory.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Lolita Cigar Company was another Cuban cigar factory that operated in the ground floor of the former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejaxsonmag.com\/article\/lavillas-central-hotel\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Central Hotel<\/a> on Broad Street in LaVilla. Its owners were Julio C. Pulgaron and Carlos Ortega. Pulgaron also operated cigar making businesses on Davis, Johnson and West Ashley Streets. Another cigar manufacturer that left a surviving building was the Sola &#038; Gonzalez Company, which briefly operated a factory at 322 Broad Street\u00a0 in 1911. Its owners were Jose de Sola, originally from Havana, and Mario Gonzalez, who lived in Tampa.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-dominant-color=\"7b7b7b\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #7b7b7b;\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"562\" src=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/james-weldon-johnson-4-L.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-101767 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/james-weldon-johnson-4-L.jpg 800w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/james-weldon-johnson-4-L-300x211.jpg 300w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/james-weldon-johnson-4-L-768x540.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/james-weldon-johnson-4-L-342x240.jpg 342w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/james-weldon-johnson-4-L-100x70.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>James Weldon Johnson grew up in LaVilla alongside a large Cuban community. The Spanish he learned in his youth served him well when he was named U.S. Consul to Venezuela and Nicaragua.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Jacksonville\u2019s greatest native son, James Weldon Johnson, grew up in LaVilla at the height of the Cuban cigar industry and was well ingrained with the Spanish-speaking community, and Johnson learned Spanish as a boy. As a teenager, the Johnson family took in a young mixed-race Cuban named Ricardo Rodriguez (later Ricardo Rodriguez Ponce), evidently the son of a Cuban aristocrat. Johnson and Rodriguez Ponce remained lifelong friends; in his autobiography, Johnson credits Ricardo with improving his Spanish and teaching him to smoke. Johnson put his mastery of Spanish to good use as an adult when he served as U.S. Consul to Venezuela from 1906 to 1908 and Nicaragua from 1909 to 1913. Jacksonville\u2019s Cuban community plays a significant part in Johnson\u2019s autobiography Along This Way and his novel The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-dominant-color=\"6a6765\" data-has-transparency=\"true\" style=\"--dominant-color: #6a6765;\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/RTM-DA027.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-101768 has-transparency\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Pedro Mendez Cuban Tailor in LaVilla is another historic Cuban business. Now owned by Pedro Mendez\u2019s grandson Mariano Mendez Jr. keeps the legacy alive at Mariano\u2019s Custom Tailor in St. Nicholas.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Jacksonville\u2019s hand rolled cigar industry eventually declined with the emergence of Tampa\u2019s Ybor City and later, mechanical cigar manufacture such as that pioneered by fellow Jacksonville cigar company <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejaxsonmag.com\/article\/jacksonvilles-forgotten-cuban-cigar-industry-page-3\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Swisher<\/a>, one of the few remaining representatives of an industry that once dominated Florida\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Cuban Independence and Camp Cuba Libre<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-dominant-color=\"575757\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"509\" src=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Cuban-Independence-Army-of-the-Cuban-Republic-1898.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-101769 not-transparent\" style=\"--dominant-color: #575757; width:830px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Cuban-Independence-Army-of-the-Cuban-Republic-1898.jpg 800w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Cuban-Independence-Army-of-the-Cuban-Republic-1898-300x191.jpg 300w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Cuban-Independence-Army-of-the-Cuban-Republic-1898-768x489.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Cuban-Independence-Army-of-the-Cuban-Republic-1898-377x240.jpg 377w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Cuban-Independence-Army-of-the-Cuban-Republic-1898-100x64.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>The Army of the Cuban Republic included 40 Cubans from Jacksonville.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Jacksonville\u2019s Cuban community played a role in their homeland\u2019s quest for independence. Cuban businessmen like Gabriel Hidalgo Gato and Jose Alejandro Huau hosted Jose Marti and other leaders, and helped rally support for the cause among both Cubans and the wider public, and numerous Jaxsons took part in the efforts.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In May 1898 with the outset of the Spanish-American War, the U.S. military formed Camp Cuba Libre in what\u2019s now Springfield as a rallying point for troops headed to Cuba. Gathered units included the Army of the Cuban Republic, consisting of 40 Cubans from Jacksonville, 200 from New York and 150 from Key West.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Boricua Jax: Jacksonville and Puerto Rico<\/strong><\/h3>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-dominant-color=\"7b7d7a\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #7b7d7a;\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"738\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Manuels-Tap-Room-spread.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-101770 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Manuels-Tap-Room-spread.jpg 738w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Manuels-Tap-Room-spread-221x300.jpg 221w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Manuels-Tap-Room-spread-177x240.jpg 177w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Manuels-Tap-Room-spread-100x136.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 738px) 100vw, 738px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Manuel\u2019s Tap Room, a restaurant and bar called the \u201cfinest of its kind in the South\u201d by the NAACP<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Jacksonville has a longstanding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seatrade-maritime.com\/ports-logistics\/puerto-rico-ports-and-jacksonville-ink-mou-to-promote-trade\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">trade partnership with Puerto Rico<\/a> and its capital of San Juan. 90% of trade between Puerto Rico and the mainland US goes through Jacksonville. Jacksonville is also the home of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejaxsonmag.com\/article\/a-virtual-look-at-jacksonvilles-industrial-heritage\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Puerto Rican rum distiller Bacardi\u2019s largest factory<\/a> in the Americas region. In 2009, San Juan and Jacksonville were declared sister cities.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-dominant-color=\"937147\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #937147;\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Manuels-Tap-Room.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-101771 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Manuels-Tap-Room.jpg 800w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Manuels-Tap-Room-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Manuels-Tap-Room-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Manuels-Tap-Room-320x240.jpg 320w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Manuels-Tap-Room-100x75.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Manuel\u2019s Tap Room on Ashley Street<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Naturally, Puerto Ricans have long played an important part in Jacksonville\u2019s history and culture. From the early 20th century, Afro-Puerto Ricans contributed to the vibrant music, blues and civil rights scene of the city. Manuel Rivera, a pillar of Black Jacksonville society born in Puerto Rico, operated Manuel\u2019s Tap Room on Ashley Street during the 1940s and 50s. Manuel\u2019s was a 24-hour lounge and restaurant described by the NAACP as the \u201cfinest of its kind in the South\u201d and hosted many up-and-coming jazz musicians including Ray Charles.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-dominant-color=\"878787\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #878787;\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"483\" src=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Felix-Mantilla-crop-XXL.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-101772 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Felix-Mantilla-crop-XXL.jpg 800w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Felix-Mantilla-crop-XXL-300x181.jpg 300w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Felix-Mantilla-crop-XXL-768x464.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Felix-Mantilla-crop-XXL-398x240.jpg 398w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Felix-Mantilla-crop-XXL-100x60.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Felix Mantilla with the 1953 Jacksonville Braves, the first integrated baseball team in Jacksonville and among the first anywhere in the South.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-dominant-color=\"696969\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #696969;\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"563\" src=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Felix-Mantilla-tagging-X3-1024x563.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-101773 not-transparent\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Felix-Mantilla-tagging-X3-1024x563.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Felix-Mantilla-tagging-X3-300x165.jpg 300w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Felix-Mantilla-tagging-X3-768x422.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Felix-Mantilla-tagging-X3-1536x845.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Felix-Mantilla-tagging-X3-436x240.jpg 436w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Felix-Mantilla-tagging-X3-100x55.jpg 100w, https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Felix-Mantilla-tagging-X3.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Felix Mantilla tagging out an opponent while playing for the Criollos de Caguas in 1960.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In 1953, Rivera also played a role in overcoming Jim Crow and the baseball color line by opening his home to three young Black baseball players for the Jacksonville Braves, the first integrated team in city history, and one of the first anywhere in the South. The players were future superstar Hank Aaron, career minor leaguer Horace Garner, and energetic utility man <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejaxsonmag.com\/article\/felix-mantilla-helped-break-jaxs-baseball-color-line\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Felix Mantilla<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Felix Mantilla, an Afro-Puerto Rican like Manuel Rivera, had made such waves in the island\u2019s baseball scene that the Milwaukee Braves recruited him into their farm system. Meanwhile, the Braves\u2019 affiliate in Jacksonville were jumping at the chance to be the first team in the South Atlantic League to integrate \u2013 and to reap the rewards on the field and in the ticket box. Mantilla initially struggled to adapt to the language barrier and the brutal racial politics of the South, but with the help of Aaron, Garner and team leadership, he excelled on the field and helped make Jacksonville the league\u2019s regular season champs. The team was also a smash success financially, and both Mantilla and Aaron were called up to higher leagues at the end of the season. Mantilla went on to an 11-year career in the majors as a distinguished utility player.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A growing community<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Today, Jacksonville\u2019s Hispanic community is more diverse than ever \u2013 and quickly growing. While Hispanics comprised only 2.6% of Duval County\u2019s total population in 1990, this figure has grown to 13.5% \u2013 142,951 people \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/news\/local\/2025\/07\/03\/hispanic-community-in-duval-county-has-grown-nearly-26-since-2020-us-census-estimates-show\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">as of 2024<\/a>. As a result, the cultural makeup, development pattern, and flavor of long-established neighborhoods across the city continue to evolve. Tens of thousands of people of Latin and Caribbean descent, including from Mexico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela, are making Jacksonville their home and reshaping their neighborhoods. Vibrant communities can be found in historic neighborhoods like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thejaxsonmag.com\/article\/census-2020-urban-jacksonville-growing-again\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Phoenix <\/a>in the Eastside, established suburbs\u00a0 like the 103rd Street corridor and Spring Park, and newer bedroom communities like Nocatee.<\/p>\n<p>To accommodate Jacksonville\u2019s booming Hispanic communities, local leadership is reaching out like never before. Mayor Donna Deegan hired <a href=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/2024\/09\/17\/hispanic-heritage-month-celebration-highlights-jacksonvilles-increased-outreach-efforts\/\">Yanira \u201cYaya\u201d Cardona<\/a> as the city\u2019s first ever Hispanic outreach coordinator in 2024 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/community\/2024\/08\/23\/free-monthly-forums-to-provide-resources-support-to-jacksonvilles-hispanic-business-community\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">launched monthly business forums<\/a> and an <a href=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/2024\/09\/17\/hispanic-heritage-month-celebration-highlights-jacksonvilles-increased-outreach-efforts\/\">annual expo<\/a> with the <a href=\"https:\/\/fchcc.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">First Coast Hispanic Chamber of Commerce<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a good thing, too. Jacksonville wouldn\u2019t be what it is today without its long Hispanic legacy, and it\u2019s high time it got its due.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/jaxtoday.org\/2025\/09\/16\/the-jaxson-viva-jax-jacksonvilles-hispanic-heritage\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Though less well known than those in South Florida or Tampa Bay, Jacksonville\u2019s Hispanic community has roots that are hundreds of years deep, and it\u2019s helped shape all aspects of&hellip;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":126143,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126142"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":126144,"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126142\/revisions\/126144"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvbrazilusa.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}