Eusebio Leal Spengler was born on September 11, 1942, in Havana, Cuba. He was a historian, essayist, researcher, and Cuban intellectual known for his title of Historian of the City, which he held until his death in Havana on July 31, 2020.
Leal, a self-taught individual, completed the sixth grade while working in the municipal government and was taken under the wing of Emilio Roig de Leuchsenring, his predecessor as the Historian of Havana, who guided him in his calling as a historian. He pursued a Bachelor's degree in History at the Faculty of Philosophy and History at the University of Havana from 1974 to 1979, after preparing for the qualifying exams without having officially attained any other academic degree.
He held a doctorate in Historical Sciences from the University of Havana, a Master's degree in Archaeological Sciences from the same university, and a Master's degree in Latin American, Caribbean, and Cuban Studies. Additionally, he served as the City Historian and Director of the World Heritage Restoration Program.
Throughout his long career, he held over 20 positions in various institutions both within and outside of Cuba, such as the Royal Spanish Academy of History, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, the Mexican Academy of Language, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was a member of several associations, held professorial chairs, and was a full and guest professor at various universities in Cuba and Latin America. Additionally, he served as a Deputy in the National Assembly of Cuba, Honorary President of the National Union of Historians of Cuba (UNHIC), and President of the City of Havana Monument Commission.
He has been honored with over forty international awards and decorations and has been awarded an honorary doctorate from more than 10 universities around the world.
He wrote essays, prefaces, and articles on the History of Cuba, topics related to America, restoration, and Museology, which have been published both in Cuba and abroad. He is the author of brochures and books, including: Returning in Time; Stop the Walking; Verba Volant; Fiñes; Carlos Manuel de Céspedes. The Lost Diary, Aeterna Sapientia, and The Light on the Mirror.
For the Cuban people, Leal was a beloved and admired figure for being responsible for the recovery of Old Havana and transforming a marginalized and declining area into one of the most iconic historic districts in the Americas, as well as one of Havana's top tourist spots. Thanks to this ambitious project he led and directed to restore churches, fortresses, mansions, hotels, museums, tenement buildings, shops, and other historical structures, the Historic Center of Havana was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982.
He was the Director of Habaguanex S.A., the governing body of an extensive hotel and non-hotel network (gastronomic and commercial) that was created on January 6, 1994, by the Office of the Historian of the City and currently includes more than 300 establishments, including restaurants, shops, markets, cafés, and 16 hotels and hostels with a total of 546 rooms of various categories. Ironically, on July 31, 2016, exactly four years before Eusebio's death, Habaguanex came under the control of the military empire GAESA, belonging to the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), "to achieve a more efficient operation," according to General Division Leonardo Ramón Andollo Valdés, who officially announced the new allocation in the absence of Eusebio, who remained loyal to his Havana and did not attend. This sudden change of leadership sparked much discussion among Cubans.
Leal starred for years in the television program "Andar La Habana," which made him popular throughout the island, where each day he showcased a corner of the city from a historical and architectural perspective.
In November 2019, despite his significant deterioration, he accompanied the Kings of Spain, Felipe VI and Letizia, on their tour of the historic center of Havana and was honored by the monarch with the Grand Cross of the Royal and Distinguished Order of Charles III.
His most recent public appearance was on June 16, 2020, to bid farewell to the star Rosita Fornés.
