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José Miguel González Jiménez (Colón, 8 / V / 1921 _ Havana, 14 / VIII / 2005)

Architect, ceramist, painter, teacher, and historian. Graduated from Architecture at the University of Havana (1950), he bequeathed a group of important works such as the Jagua hotels in Cienfuegos and Gran Caridad de Colón, in addition to banks and houses in several cities of the country, being awarded the National Architecture Prize that it was granted by the Executive Committee of the National College of Architects. His degree thesis on the Regulatory Plan of the City of Colón (1950) was valid until 1974, when he offered the Colombian authorities a group of historical, architectural and urban elements of the city for that historic moment and for the future.

He was one of the founders of Cuban artistic ceramics in the Santiago de las Vegas workshop with renowned creators Amelia Peláez, Rita Longa, René Portocarrero and Marta Arjona. He assimilated the influences of the avant-garde, Pablo Picasso and Amelia, to create in plates, vases and vases an extensive family of fish, pigeons, roosters, flowers and tropical fruits; all symbols of Cuban identity and national identity. With great personal detachment, he donated almost all of his work to the Colón Art Gallery that bears his name, and also donated drawings and paintings to the Municipal Museum that the avant-garde painter Víctor Manuel García gave him.

A diligent researcher of cultural issues and of Colombian history, he published The Flaming Coplas in Cuba, El Ingenio San Martín, Mi amigo, the painter Víctor Manuel, and several articles in the literary magazine Textos from his hometown. He received several decorations, including the Distinction for National Culture (1996)

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