TAMPA TRIVIA: The oldest son of Cuban immigrants, Woodrow Woody Anthony Garcia was born November 11, 1918 in Tampa, Florida. He was named after President Woodrow Wilson because he was born on the day that the armistice was signed that ended the fighting in World War I. His father, Emilio was a cigar maker and his mother, Otilia a homemaker. He and his younger brother, Rene grew up in the heart of Tampas Cuban community. He attended Hillsborough High School and was the first in his family to earn a high school diploma. According to his son, Richard, Woody joined the military some time after high school and was stationed in Jacksonville, Florida. It was there that he met his first wife, Doris McEachen. After a few years, they returned to Tampa and had two sons, Woodrow Jr. and Richard. The marriage ended in 1960 and eventually he remarried Marta, who would be with him until his untimely death in 1987. Despite the ups and downs in his personal life, Woody impacted the quality of life for thousands of Cubans. Woody Garcia began his career in the 1950s. He was a big band leader of a Latin orchestra that played at many venues. He hosted Spanish radio shows on stations such as WALT, WTAP, WSOL and WYOU. He also hosted local television shows in Spanish, one in particular known as Lo Nuestro on WEDU. He was known for his unaccented English and his ability to switch back and forth from English to Spanish as needed. For many Spanish speaking citizens, Woody was their only source for the news. Knowing this, Woody pushed for more Spanish radio shows and television programs. In 1977 he along with others like Lois Moral, where able to convince the owners of WYOU to switch to a Spanish format becoming the first all Spanish radio station in the area. Woody was an active member in his community. He helped found the Tampa Bay Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and pushed for improvements for the people of the community. In the 1960s, with the influx of Cuban refugees, he started the freedom center for the Ybor City committee. He hoped to simplify their registration process and encourage more to come to the area. He knew the refugees would bring new life to Ybor. They would increase sales for local businesses and real estate. They would also start their own businesses providing new jobs for others. In 1980, more than 10,000 Cubans took refuge in Havana, Cubas Peruvian Embassy. They were seeking freedom from the dictatorship and wanted a better quality of life. Woody along with Puly Sequeira used the radio waves of WYOU to unite the Tampa Hispanic community to raise funds that for a full page ad in the New York Times to bring nationwide attention to the situation in Cuba. The Hispanic community of Tampa raised the $17,000 needed to place the ad in 3 days. The funds continued to pour in, despite pleas to stop, until it reached $100,000 at weeks end. The funds were used to assist the refugees and 1,000 of the 130,000 people that left Cuba came to Tampa. Woody Garcia is remembered by many as a kind hearted, fun loving man with a great sense of humor. Some have mentioned to me how handsome he was and how well he dressed. They have also spoke of how much he loved his mother. It is obvious he loved the people of his community very much too. Woody passed away June 18, 1987 at the age of 68. While he did have cancer, he had also suffered a stroke that effected his ability to communicate. His son, Richard says that although his dad was going to speech therapy, he believed that it was the lack of improvement that caused Woody to become frustrated and take his own life. Bio contribution by Katherine Carter #donation #giving #tampa #tampahistory #cityoftampa #florida #floridahistory #tampabay #tampamayor #rotaryclub #rotarycluboftampa #tampapix #tampanatives #gift #documentary #film #westtampa #ybor #seminoleheights #northtampa #southtampa #sulphursprings #easttampa #newtampa #porttampa #macdillafb #buschgardens #adventureisland #davisislands #tampageneralhospital #hydepark #soho #harbourisland #woodygarcia #WEDU #PBS #WYOU #WSOL #WALT #cuba #cuban
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 12:41:29 +0000
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