Roland Manteiga

A bronze figure leaning against a brick wall, absorbed in a newspaper, commemorates Roland Manteiga’s place in Tampa’s public life. As editor and publisher of La Gaceta, he connected the city’s immigrant communities with the political decisions shaping their future.

The newspaper began in 1922, founded by his father, Victoriano Manteiga, a former cigar-factory lector. Lectors read newspapers and literature aloud to workers as they rolled cigars. Establishing a newspaper extended Victoriano’s work of sharing information with Tampa’s Spanish-speaking community.

Roland joined the family business as a boy and returned to it after military service during the Second World War. In 1954, La Gaceta added English and Italian material to its Spanish-language pages, reflecting both the neighborhood’s immigrant heritage and the changing lives of its readers.

That same year, Roland began “As We Heard It,” a weekly column that became known for political news and inside information. His connections and commentary made the newspaper influential beyond its size, giving readers a window into local government while providing a voice for Tampa’s Hispanic community.

Roland became editor and publisher in 1962. During the upheavals of urban renewal and highway construction, La Gaceta documented the damage to Ybor City and advocated for its future. The newspaper recorded a community undergoing profound change while arguing that its people and history deserved attention.

After Roland’s death in 1998, his son Patrick continued the family’s publishing work. The statue, dedicated in 2003, remembers a journalist whose influence grew from close knowledge of his community. With a newspaper open in his hands, it connects his public legacy to the everyday act of reading and exchanging news.