Where I Stand: Arturo Cambeiro - Proud name for an elementary school

Thursday, May 15, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

ARTURO CAMBEIRO ELEMENTARY School will be dedicated today. The children attending the school should learn the lessons taught by the life and death of Arturo Cambeiro. Hard work, honesty, public service, sacrifice and a spirit that refused to be defeated, no matter how tough the problems of life appeared to be, are all examples he left us to practice and follow.

Seven years ago, SUN writer Art Nadler wrote: "Arturo Cambeiro was a successful architect in Cuba before Fidel Castro took over and forced him to flee the island country in 1962 with his wife, small child and nothing but the clothes on their backs.

"The Cambeiros landed in Miami and immediately sought emergency help from the Welfare Department. Though this handout was a bitter pill for the proud Cambeiro to swallow, a strong work ethic and desire to pull his family from the grips of poverty was a hole card Castro never expected.

"By July 1962, a determined Cambeiro had landed a position with an architectural firm in Los Angeles. When a Cuban executive with the Stardust Hotel contacted the Cuban Refugee Center in Miami in search of personnel for the hotel, some of Cambeiro's relatives moved to Las Vegas. By December 1962, he followed them into the Silver State.

"After leaving Cuba stone poor, Cambeiro and his wife Lidia felt no apprehensions about coming to Las Vegas without secured employment. Immediately, he found work with the Round Up Real Estate Co., the largest developer in the city at that time."

This was about the time I came to know Arturo and appreciate the promise he held for a better Nevada. Soon he was the first Latin architect licensed in the Silver State after passing the professional exam given in English. A few years later, he opened his own architectural firm and worked night and day to become one of our most productive and respected professional citizens.

Arturo's skill and personal warmth were obvious in the buildings he designed. He was especially proud of the several elementary schools he designed to meet the practical and psychological needs of students and teachers. It's most appropriate that an elementary school now carries his name.

Almost seven years have passed since I wrote in this column: "The unexpected death of my friend Arturo Cambeiro was a real shocker. He was what America is all about, and his contributions as a Nevadan will never be forgotten because the buildings he has designed are all around us. I last visited with him at the dedication of John Mendoza Elementary School. Some day we should attend the dedication of a school named after Arturo Cambeiro." Today, this dedication becomes a reality.

So what can the youngsters at Arturo Cambeiro Elementary School learn from his life? The late Review-Journal writer Ned Day recalled in a 1985 column the words of wisdom Cambeiro passed on to a group of young Latins. He told them, "You must work hard. If you do, you can get there, you can get what you want. If you sacrifice, this country will give you an opportunity."

Arturo's accomplishments and honors are too numerous to include in this column. I had the honor of appointing him chairman of the Nevada State Board of Architecture. He helped form and was president of the Latin Chamber of Commerce and served as a Clark County planning commissioner. Also, several other leadership roles were carried by this busy man.

Commendations from the president of the United States and Nevada governors decorated the walls of his office when he passed away in 1990. Other awards from the community, state and nation were for his social and professional contributions. He gave a full measure of himself to everybody and every cause he supported.

Few people have received the honors given Arturo, but this didn't impress him because his greatest affection was reserved for his wife, Lidia, and children, Lidia, Deanna and Arthur. His three children followed their father's example. Arthur will soon graduate from medical school, Deanna Remark is a CPA and Lidia Paglia is also a CPA and has an MBA from UNLV. The girls are also the proud mothers of six children -- that's three Paglias and three Remarks.

The legacy Arturo Cambeiro leaves behind for his grandchildren to recall is a very bright light on the important role Spanish-speaking immigrants have played in the development of our state and nation.