Angel Cuesta walked with kings, endeared himself to charity groups and helped put Tampa cigars on the map.
By MICHAEL CANNING
Published June 13, 2003
Though small in stature, Angel Cuesta stood large in his industry. During Tampa's "Cigar City" heyday, he co-founded of one of its biggest cigar makers. Cuesta furthered his reputation with charitable works here and in his homeland, which earned him the respect of his competitors and even a nod from European royalty.
Angel LaMadrid Cuesta was born in Asturias, Spain, in 1858. He arrived in Havana, Cuba, in 1873, attended school for two years, and then apprenticed as a cigar maker. He later rolled cigars in Key West and New York, and by 1884 opened a small factory in Atlanta.
Cuesta moved to Tampa in 1893 and set up a small cigar factory in Port Tampa. Two years later, he joined with Peregrino Rey to form Cuesta-Rey and Co., which was based in West Tampa. Cuesta would also go on to organize cigar companies in Jacksonville and Havana.
In the meantime, Cuesta-Rey became one of the largest factories in Tampa. It had the further distinction of being the only factory in the United States with the royal appointment as "purveyors of Havana cigars to the Royal Court of Spain," granted by King Alfonso XIII in 1915. Cuesta and the king were actually personal friends, and Cuesta's charitable work in Spain garnered him three decorations from his highness.
Cuesta, who stood 5-foot-3, was an active Rotarian and helped organize clubs in Havana and in several cities in Spain. In Tampa he was director of the Childrens Home, Florida Fair and Gasparilla Association, and a supporter of schools around Tampa.
Cuesta's Craftsman Bungalow at 800 S Willow Ave. in Old Hyde Park was built in 1912. Today it is known as the Cuesta-Hixon house, as it was later purchased by late Tampa mayor Curtis Hixon. A few doors south, at 901 S Willow, is the Cuesta House, which was built in 1921 for Angel Cuesta Jr.
Cuesta Sr. died in 1936 at age 77. In a show of respect, Tampa's cigar factories closed for a day.
Cuesta-Rey ceased operations at its Howard Avenue factory when M and N Cigar Manufacturers (today known as J.C. Newman Co.) bought the Cuesta-Rey brand in 1959. Within a few years, the familiar red Cuesta-Rey neon sign was installed on top of M and N's Ybor City factory, which is historically known as the El Reloj building.
The neon sign can still be seen from Interstate 4, heralding one of only two working cigar factories left in Tampa.
- Sources: Tampa Bay History Center, J.C. Newman Co.
