Manuel

Manuel Rionda Polledo · Asturias, 1854 – New Jersey, 1943

Known as a “Sugar Baron,” Manuel Rionda arrived in Cuba from Spain at age 16 and became one of the most influential entrepreneurs in the international sugar industry, helping modernize Cuban sugar and connect it to world markets. He never forgot his birthplace of Noreña, Spain, giving back by helping establish schools for local children and supporting a new water-supply system, roads, workers’ housing, and cultural facilities for the community. Upon his death in 1943, his extraordinary career was honored on Wall Street. His legacy is preserved within the University of Florida’s Braga Brothers Collection, the largest archival collection in its Latin American and Caribbean Collection and one of the richest archival sources on Cuba’s sugar industry.