House Bill 9045
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1999 HR 9045
By Representatives Crist, L. Miller, Hart, Murman,
Littlefield, Bradley, Byrd, Wallace, Ogles, Alexander,
Bilirakis and Henriquez
1 House Resolution
2 A resolution honoring Roland Manteiga and
3 designating September 25, 1999, as "Roland
4 Manteiga Day."
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6 WHEREAS, Roland Marcelo Manteiga was born January 16,
7 1920, in Tampa, Florida, and
8 WHEREAS, Roland's father, Victoriano Manteiga,
9 emigrated from Cuba in 1913 and began publishing a daily
10 Spanish-language newspaper, La Gaceta, in Tampa in 1922, and
11 WHEREAS, young Roland learned journalism and publishing
12 from the ground up, beginning by delivering La Gaceta on his
13 bicycle, and later by mastering advertising, circulation,
14 writing, and editing while in his teens, and
15 WHEREAS, Roland Manteiga took a more active role in La
16 Gaceta after serving in the Pacific Theater during World War
17 II, and
18 WHEREAS, La Gaceta became a weekly publication in 1953
19 and added Italian-language features in addition to its Spanish
20 and English, making it the only such trilingual newspaper in
21 the United States, and
22 WHEREAS, Roland Manteiga was committed to his political
23 ideology, often opinionated, but never dull, and his column of
24 political commentary and speculation "As We Heard It" was
25 required reading for Tampa Bay-area politicians and
26 journalists for over 44 years, and
27 WHEREAS, Roland Manteiga, a champion of the underdog
28 and a secret benefactor to people in need, was a modest man,
29 honored many times for his civic and journalistic
30 accomplishments, and
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1999 HR 9045
537-271A-99
1 WHEREAS, Roland Manteiga loved Ybor City and has been
2 recognized by community leaders as a gentleman devoted to his
3 community, who sought to make a difference by reporting its
4 history and celebrating its people, making them come alive for
5 posterity, and
6 WHEREAS, although Roland Manteiga departed this life
7 September 25, 1998, at the age of 78, his spirit lives on in
8 Ybor City, and his legacy shall live on in the community he
9 loved so much, and
10 WHEREAS, Roland Manteiga, pioneer journalist and
11 editor, historian and chronicler of the rich traditions of
12 Ybor City, a voice of conscience in the community, and a true
13 friend to the powerful and the powerless alike, was a man who
14 exemplified the virtues of hard work, insightful reporting,
15 dedication to his community, modesty, and humanitarianism,
16 NOW, THEREFORE,
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18 Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of
19 Florida:
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21 That the House of Representatives pauses in its
22 deliberations to pay honor to the memory of Roland Manteiga
23 and to designate Saturday, September 25, 1999, as "Roland
24 Manteiga Day" in Hillsborough County, Florida.
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