Enriqueta García y Martín was born on November 3, 1862 in Matanzas, Cuba to the wealthy García family of Spain and was noted for her distinctly European features of very fair skin and blonde hair. As she had no siblings, she was the sole heiress of the García estate. At sixteen she was the subject of a poem included in the 1878 literary collection Jardín Matancero. The publication was dedicated to the debutantes of the Matanzas region in which a flower-themed poem was dedicated to each “blossoming" socialite. García resided in historic Camarioca, in close proximity to the famed Varadero resort town, now incorporated into the nearby region of Cárdenas. She was molded by her upbring in the broader Cárdenas community, which was founded by old Spanish aristocracy in 1828 and housed many elite European families. By García's lifetime, the area had a distinct Southern American influence and was known as the "Charleston of the Caribbean" due to its unique design that broke with the traditional central-plaza Spanish layout found in much of Latin America, instead using a North American grid pattern modeled on the city of Charleston. Its unique character, complete with straight and narrow streets and horse-drawn carriages, attracted an influx of European families from Spain, France, and Italy, such as the Garcías and the Martins. These factors would influence her later travel and the upbringing of her children.
Marriage
While residing in Cárdenas as an adult, García would meet lawyer Francisco E. Cazañas, who inherited a large property there in 1890, and the couple wed on April 30, 1894. Cazañas, born in New Rochelle, New York, held dual citizenship with the United States and Cuba, and was descendant of the prominent Castilian Peraza family through his father, Francisco José Cazañas y Peraza. In accordance with Spanish naming customs, after marrying she was known as Enriqueta García Martín de Cazañas, or, more simply, Enriqueta García Cazañas. García herself received American citizenship after her marriage to Cazañas and would travel with an American passport. The couple frequently traveled to and occasionally resided in the US. There are surviving records of visits to New York City and New Orleans. The couple had three sons, the eldest of which, Enrique, they would arrange to have educated in the United States and reside in Nashville and Winter Park.
Buena Vista
García also owned the Buena Vista estate in Camaroica and its vast grounds. The Buena Vista property was renown for its immensity and held its own main roads, stream, hills, prize horses, cattle, ox, as well as full staff and yacht for its proximity to Varadero. The couple resided there and, per the US Consulate records, her husband managed the property’s sprawling farmlands and major sugar plantation, often known collectively as "Finca Buena Vista," which were significant agricultural businesses in the Matanzas province. The property was damaged during the Battle of Cárdenas in the Spanish-American War and became the center of the couple’s high-profile claims case to the Spanish Treaty Claims Commission. The couple first filed their claims with the commission in 1902. It took six years to settle their claims, during which Francisco’s legal background and US ties proved useful as their claims were finally settled in 1908 when the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States awarded the couple total compensation of $13,138, over $360,000 in 2020, after inflation. They received the second highest awards granted by the commission, and the highest among private citizens not representing a corporation. Their legal case was the subject of a book published in 2012, Francisco E. Cazañas and Enriqueta Garcia v. The United States. While the couple also owned property in Santa Clara and Havana, the manor would remain the Cazañas family’s main residence until the Cuban Revolution, after which it was nationalized and made into a village of Cardenas.
Later life and Progeny
Death
Enriqueta García’s health declined later in life as she suffered from brain cancer, eventually succumbing to the disease by the mid-1930s.
Progeny
García is also noted for her descendants. García and her husband had three sons: successful Havana businessman Enrique Cazañas, the prominent judge and close Batista associate Pedro Pablo Cazañas, and Eduardo, the youngest. Her granddaughters by Pedro Pablo Cazañas, Raquel and Marta, would have high-profile marriages to Cuban leaders Rene de la Huerta and Jesús Permuy. Her grandson by Pedro Pablo, Eduardo Cazañas y Díaz, voluntarily enlisted in the United States Army with the rank of SP-4 as an Armor Reconnaissance Specialist. He died in combat in 1967 during the Vietnam War and his death was covered in both English and Spanish media, including the Diario Las Americas. He received the Purple Heart for his actions in battle, was interred in Lauderdale Memorial Park, and is included in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. Her great-grandchildren would include further high-profile figures such as renown author and spiritual leaderChristian De La Huerta and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense and President of the United States-Spain Council Pedro Pablo Permuy.
