Branch B: Romagosa Arteaga/Buelta
Manzanillo/Bayamo
Manuel de Jesus
Maria Fermin (Lico) Romagosa Arteaga, son of Sebastian Jose Gines
Romagosa Dalmau and Mariana Arteaga-Estrada Arroyo, was born on July 1 and
baptized on July 19, 1833 in Manzanillo.
His godfather was Miguel Moreno. He married Claudina Buelta Ramirez, daughter of Rafael
Buelta, from Navarra, and Dolores Ramirez Fornaris, from Bayamo, on April 13,
1861. According to Mercedes
Ramirez de Cardenas, great-grandniece of Dolores, Rafael Buelta was so wealthy
he had a slave just to clean his gold coins. As the years went by and the
couple did not get along, Rafael built another house next to his for his wife,
on the corner of Maceo and 22 Street. One of those houses was later bought by the Sotto
Cespedes family (See Branch D).
Lico had a
property, called el Repelón, with 200 caballerías (about 6,000 acres), with
sugar cane and cattle, near Veguitas, which was between Manzanillo and Bayamo.
The battle of Peralejo, during Cuba's war of independence, was fought in that
area in 1895.
"A major
battle which Maceo had been provoking finally took place in Peralejo,
near Manzanillo, on the 12th of July. Maceo and Martinez Campos faced each
other on the battleground of an open pasture of coarse grass, surrounded by
vegetation-enmeshed barbed wire fence. Maceo gave the order to attack the
marching Spanish column of four hundred men, as they came into view inside the enclosure.
Among the mingled shouts of 'Viva Cuba!', 'Viva Maceo!', 'Viva Espana!', 'Viva Isabel la Catolica!'. The face-to-face
combat took place in the pasture, beyond which rose the Peralejo heights lapped
by the River Mabay. The battle screams of the charging attackers increased and
rose above gun shots, and were more intimidating than the fire itself to the
Spanish foot soldiers fighting in battle formation. Both the Cuban leader and
the Spanish general received aid from their respective sides: Bartolome Maso
dispatched a troop to Maceo, when he learned of the magnitude of the battle.
General Santolcides with 1,000 men came to the aid of his captain-general and
lost his life in the five-hour hard fought encounter.
When the Spaniards
appeared defeated and retreated to the river's edge, Maceo ordered infantry
troops under Rabi to stop their flight. The order could not be carried out as
the men had run out of ammunition. Martinez Campos managed to cross the river,
proceeding to the safety of the fortified town of Bayamo." (From: Cuban
History and Its Patriots: Cuba's Freedom Fighter Antonio Maceo, 1845-1896,
website: www.juanperez.com)
This area is also
where there is now a town called Romagosa, . It appears on a map when a search is made
through the web. None of the
family, however, has any information as to how the town's name came into being. Lico and Claudina
had three children: 1. Manuel, 2. Adela and 3.
María Caudina Romagosa Buelta. The sisters married two brothers, Virgilio and
Angel López Chaves Gavazzo and later moved to Havana with their families.
1. Manuel Romagosa Buelta
Manuel de Jesus,
also called Lico, was born around 1861 in Manzanilo. He married his first cousin, María de Jesús (Chuchina)
Romagosa Venecia (See Branch A). When his father, Lico Romagosa Arteaga, died, Manuel
sold the family property to the Kirsh family, in order to give his sisters
their part of the inheritance. Manuel
moved to Santiago de Cuba, but later returned to Bayamo and bought another property,
Jabaco, near the river Cauto, also with 200 caballerías.
Manuel is
mentioned several times in the book Efemérides de Manzanillo, beginning
in 1889, when reference is made to a letter from Manuel, Angel López Chaves,
and others to Jorge Milanés, from Manzanillo, asking for contributions to help
Eduardo Yero, director of the newspaper
El Triunfo, who suffered
"multas y prisiones" [fines and imprisonment] "por su
valiente defensa del derecho de las gentes" [for his valiant defense of
human rights] (Vol. I, p. 200). In
1894, José Martí, who was then in Costa Rica, in a letter to Antonio Maceo,
mentions that Manzanilleros who had just arrived related how "se ve bullir
toda aquella comarca...todo está en sazón, cautos y ansiosos, y con toda su
gente de importancia: Bartolomé
Masó, Amador Guerra...Enrique Céspedes...Luis Sotto, Manuel Romagosa, los
hermanos Figueredo... todo lo que allí es fuerte y principal" [that whole
region is boiling...ready, watchful and impatient, including all those of importance: Bartolomé Masó, Amador Guerra...Enrique
Céspedes...Luis Sotto, Manuel Romagosa, the brothers Figueredo...everyone who
is strong and essential] (Vol. I, p. 205). Manuel, who was an autonomist (favoring political
independence, but retaining ties
to Spain) offered his house for a meeting between Bartolomé Masó (general in
the rebel army) and the Alcalde Corregidor Coronel Ricardo Vallespín on October 9, 1894. Later Manuel, Virgilio López
Chavez (Manuel's brother in law), and José L Ramírez joined an autonomist
commission and in 1900, Manuel and José Ros Ros, among others, were elected
councilmen in the first City Council after the first popular election (Vol. II,
p. 382).
Manuel and Ma. de
Jesus (Chuchina or Chuchinita, to differentiate her from her aunt Ma. de Jesus
Romagosa Arteaga) had five children.
Following the Hispanic custom of using both parents' last names, they
were all Romagosa Romagosa. After Chuchina's death, Manuel married Dolores
(Lola) Ramirez, daughter of Manuel Ramirez Romagosa, grand daughter of Ma. de
Jesus Romagosa Arteaga and Jose Ramirez Fornaris (Branch D).
Children of Manuel
Romagosa Buelta and Ma.de Jesus Romagosa Venecia:
(a) María Emilia
Romagosa Romagosa, born around 1890, never married.
(b) Manuel
Romagosa Romagosa, born on March 15, 1894, married his second cousin,
Matilde Romagosa Guerra, daughter of Sebastián Romagosa Rosabal and Ana Guerra (Branch C). Manuel died in March 1980.
Their daughter, Elena Romagosa Romagosa (and Romagosa!), married
Alfredo Marrero Pérez, mayor of Bayamo in 1950.
(c) Raul and Rafael (twins) Romagosa Romagosa, born around
1896, never married.
(d) Virgilio
Gerbacio Romagosa Romagosa, was born on June
19 and baptized on August 4, 1901 in Manzanillo. His godparents were
his maternal uncle and aunt, Juan Evangelista and Angela Romagosa
Venecia. He married Zoila Rojas (1905-1993) and
had four children: Olga, Claudina, María Isabel (Maritza), and Virgilio. Olga married Guillermo Echevarría and had a son, Lucas. Claudina married Carlos Elías. Maritza married Rafael Rodriguez and had three
children: Maritza, Rafael and Luis
David. Virgilio married Gladys
Cedeño and had two children:
Graciela and Virgilio.
2. Adela Romagosa Buelta de Lopez Chaves
Adela married Virgilio
Felipe Lopez Chaves Gavazzo, born on August 14, 1849 in Manzanillo. He was the son of Antonio Lopez Chaves Elfao and Angela Gavazzo Real,
from Caracas and de la Guaira, Venezuela, Antonio's father had been Agustin
Lopez Chaves Leon, son of Antonio Lopez Chaves and Agustina de Leon and
Arellano, from Malaga. Adela and
Virgilio had eight children:
(a) Angela
Georgina Lopez Chaves Romagosa , born on May 23, 1885, was baptized on July
9, 1885 by Presb. Ismael José
Bestard. Godparents: Manuel
Romagosa Arteaga and Claudina Buelta Ramírez.
(b) Rafael Angel
Sixto Lopez Chaves Romagosa, born on March
28, 1887 and baptized on January 2, 1888, by Presb. Ismael José Bestard. Godparents: Antonio López Cháves
Gavazzo and Angela González Gavazzo.
Married Graciela, but did not have any children.
(c) Antonio Angel
Teófilo Lopez Chaves Romagosa, born on November
3, 1889, was baptized on January 8, 1890 by Presb. I.J.Bestard. Godparents: Angel López Chaves and María Romagosa. Did not marry.
(d) Angel Clemente
Juan Bueno Lopez Chaves Romagosa, born on November
23, 1891 and baptized on
April 3, 1892, by Fco. Pérez Acevedo. Godparents: Juan López Chaves and Angela Georgina López Chaves
Romagosa.
(e)
María de los Dolores Juana Leona
Lopez Chaves Romagosa, born June 12, 1893 and baptized on
September
18, 1893 by F.P. Acevedo. Godparents:
Manuel Romagosa Buelta and María de Jesús Romagosa Venecia. Died young.
(f) Carlos Angel
Juan
Lopez Chaves Romagosa born
on June 2, 1894, was baptized on December 25, 1894. Godparents: Manuel Romagosa Arteaga and Claudina Buelta Ramírez. Married
Josefita Aldo and had one daughter,
Josefita .
(g) Juan Angel Lopez Chaves Romagosa, born on December 5, 1896, was
baptized on January 21, 1897. [Information on godparents is not
available.]
(h)
María Claudina Amparo Lopez Chaves
Romagosa, born on October 30, 1899 and baptized on
June 4, 1900. Godparents: Manuel Romagosa Arteaga and
Claudina Buelta Ramírez. Claudina
married Manolo Rodriguez.
They had four children: Manolo, Virgilio (Vilo), Olga, and Silvia Rodriguez Lopez
Chaves.
(i) Mercedes Lopez
Chaves Romagosa, born around 1901.
Married Manuel Gonzales. No children.
3. Maria Claudina
Romagosa Buelta de Lopez Chaves
Maria Claudina, daughter of
Manuel Romagosa Arteaga and Claudina Buelta Ramirez, was born on April 4 and
baptized on August 12, 1865 by Presb. Antonio Fernandez at the Church of the
Immaculate Conception. The
godparents were Sebastian Benigno Romagosa Arteaga and Emilia Venecia. She married Angel Lopez Chaves
Gavazzo, brother of Virgilio (see 2 above) and son of Antonio Lopez Chaves Elfao and
Angela Gavazzo Real. Maria and
Angel had two sons:
(a) Virgilio Angel
Demetrio Lopez Chaves Romagosa, born on April 9, 1886, was baptized on August 9, 1886 by Presb. I.J.
Bestard. Godparents: Antonio Lopez Chaves and Angela
Gavazzo. Virgilio married Nena
Ascorbe and had two daughters: Maria Elena and Lourdes Lopez
Chaves Ascorbe.
(b) Manuel Lopez
Chaves Romagosa, was assassinated when he was around 45 years old,
possibly related to some money
owed to him.