MARIO GARCIA MENOCAL

Hosted One Of The Most Famous Deke Conventions

BY TERRY MILLER, RHO LAMBDA ‘69

Every young Deke learns about the brothers who served the United States as president. They were Rutherford B. Hayes, Theodore Roosevelt, Gerald Ford, and both George H.W. and George W. Bush.

We could count Franklin Roosevelt as the sixth president, even though his membership in DKE was subsequently withdrawn after he joined other fraternities at the same time. But do you recall another national president who was a Deke?

In 1884, Aurelio Mario Gabriel Francisco Garcia Menocal y Deop, more often known as Mario Garcia Menocal, enrolled at Cornell University where he became a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon’s Delta Chi Chapter.

Menocal was born Dec. 17, 1866 in Hanábana, Province of Matanzas, which is about 100 miles southeast of Havana in one of Cuba’s rich sugar plantation areas. His father, Don Gabriel G. Menocal, was a successful sugar planter who was also dedicated to Cuban independence from Spain.

In 1908 he ran unsuccessfully for President of Cuba. He ran again in 1912 and was elected . . . A giant in Cuban history, Menocal led his country during a time of change from colonial backwater to a major economic force in the Caribbean.

After graduation Mario went to work with his uncle, Aniceto Menocal, in Mexico, working on the plans for a proposed canal in Nicaragua. Three years later in 1891, he left Mexico to return to Cuba as an engineer, working first for a French company at its salt works and banana plantations. Later, he surveyed land acquisition on a proposed rail line from Camaguey to Santa Cruz del Sur on the south coast. But it was during this work that life changed dramatically for Menocal. The War of Independence from Spain erupted in 1895, and Menocal still had his father’s revolutionary fever. He joined the fight, serving under General Máximo Gómez y Baez, who was the de facto leader of the revolution’s military.

Baez’s hit-and-run tactics, burning plantations and otherwise confounding Spain’s more traditional military conventions, were perfect for the young Menocal who served in the field for the entire war. That was until the United States’ defeat of the Spanish, which prompted their withdrawal from Cuba.

When Mario was two, his father moved the family first to the United States and then to Mexico after his revolutionary activities made his remaining in Cuba impossible.

The younger Menocal spent his boyhood in San Juan Bautista, Mexico on the Gulf Coast, near the base of the Yucatan Peninsula in the state of Tabasco. That’s where his father again became a successful sugar planter.

In 1879, Don Gabriel sent his 13-year-old son to Chappaqua, N.Y., to boarding school at the Institute of Chappaqua and then to the University of Maryland College of Agriculture. In 1884, Mario enrolled at Cornell University. He graduated in 1888 with a degree in civil engineering.

Along the way, Menocal showed prowess in military strategy, serving under such Cuban greats as Generals Máximo Gómez, Mayía Rodriguez, and Calixto García. Menocal distinguished himself in several battles and, after the capture of Fort Loma de Hierro, was promoted to colonel.

When he captured the town of Guáimaro in Camagüey, Menocal was named a brigadier general. It was in this position that he organized the Lighthouse Service and helped engineer the then-largest sugar factory in the world.

His reputation propelled him into politics and in 1908 he ran unsuccessfully for President of Cuba. He ran again in 1912 and was elected, serving a four-year term. Among his presidential accomplishments were reforming Cuba’s government administration and finances, improving diplomatic ties with the United States, resolving Cuba’s wartime indebtedness, providing additional support for agriculture and improving immigration.

With his military background, he reorganized the Army and Navy, making them more efficient.

Menocal was reelected in 1916 in a close race, and his opponents attempted an armed insurrection against him. After the rebellion was quashed, the war in Europe began, weighing heavily on international trade. Following the lead of the U.S., he declared war on Germany.

Each day, English and Spanish newspapers printed front-page stories about the delegates’ activities . . . the young conventioneers were given red-carpet treatment. They toured the island, visited gambling casinos, attended a jai alai game, and took part in a memorable New Year’s Eve celebration.

A giant in Cuban history, Menocal led his country during a time of change from colonial backwater to a major economic force in the Caribbean.

Through it all Menocal never forgot his DKE roots, and in 1920 he enthusiastically responded to overtures from his brothers in the U.S. and Canada who inquired about holding a Deke Convention in Cuba. On Dec. 26, 1920, 125 Deke brothers departed from New York’s Pennsylvania Station on a specially chartered DKE train headed for Key West, Fla.

Along the way, the train picked up various DKE parties, and by the time the train arrived in Florida, some 250 Dekes prepared to board the coastal steamer Governor Cobb. They raised the DKE flag and set off for Cuba.

Shortly after the Dekes arrived, a delegation of 50 brothers went to the presidential palace to pay respects to Brother Menocal. Because of the president’s personal involvement in organizing the convention, the gathering attracted international attention.

Each day, English and Spanish newspapers printed front-page stories about the delegates’ activities. According to Duncan Andrews’ book, “A Century and a Half of DKE,” the young conventioneers were given red-carpet treatment. They toured the island, visited gambling casinos, attended a jai alai game, and took part in a memorable New Year’s Eve celebration. At the grand finale banquet, every brother was presented with a beautifully inlaid wooden box containing twenty five “of the best cigars ever made in Cuba.” The boxes were made specially for the Dekes, and the cover bore the design of the DKE pin, inlaid in woods of different colors.

Today, DKE Headquarters has in its possession one of the rare gifts from Menocal. DKE Executive Director Doug Lanpher called it one of the fraternity’s most cherished historical items.

After his second term ended, Menocal remained active in Cuba’s Conservative Party politics, unsuccessfully running for office again in 1924. He tried to lead a revolt in 1931 and fled to the United States afterward. He returned five years later, running one final time in 1936. Menocal died on Sept. 7, 1941, at the age of 74 in the city of Santiago de Cuba.