[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 135 (Thursday, October 1, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1868]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING THE LIFE OF ROLAND MANTEIGA

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JIM DAVIS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 1, 1998

  Mr. DAVIS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, my community is in mourning. We 
are saddened by the passing of Roland Manteiga, one of the most 
prolific, influential and admired chroniclers of politics and history 
in my hometown of Tampa.
  For decades, you could count on walking into La Tropicana in the 
morning and at lunch and seeing Roland dressed in his trademark white 
suit sitting at his private table chatting with leaders of our 
community. Without fail, he always knew what was going on in Tampa 
politics and he faithfully shared it with his readers every week in his 
newspaper, La Gaceta. His ``As We Heart It'' column was a must read for 
thousands. If you wanted to know the pulse of the town, you read 
Roland.
  The passion for the news business grabbed Roland early and hooked 
him. As a young boy, he started working for the paper his father, 
Victoriano, started in 1922. Except for his distinguished service in 
World War II, he spent his life at the paper and became its owner when 
his father died in 1982. He transformed the paper into the only 
trilingual weekly newspaper in the country. In addition to political 
news, Roland's paper was the voice of the Latin community and reported 
on it better than anyone. La Gaceta thoroughly documented the story of 
the immigrants who came to Tampa and contributed so much to the fabric 
of our community.
  Roland's work won him many awards and recognitions, including Citizen 
of the Year and Hispanic Man of the Year. But typical of his self-
effacing style, he always downplayed his importance to our town. His 
genteel manner made him equally as comfortable with presidents and 
governors as he was with store clerks and construction workers. And 
that's just one of the qualities that endeared him to so many people.
  I think Ferdie Pacheco, the ``Fight Doctor,'' summed up Roland's 
contributions to our community best when he wrote, ``Years from now, 
when we are all gone, the historians will know exactly how we were and 
who we were because of the lifetime of dedicated work of one man.''
  Mr. Speaker, I know I speak for everyone at home when I say that we 
will miss our dear friend, Roland. May he rest in peace.

                          ____________________