Leopoldo Aguilera

Leopoldo Aguilera, Jr., affectionately known as Polo, Polito, Papy, and Abuelo, passed away peacefully on November 24th, 2025 in Austin, TX, with family that loved him dearly, by his side.
 
He was a sweet man that captured everyone’s interest and attention. He was also a fighter, and he spent much of his life fighting for the freedom of Cuba and trying to preserve her history. He fought in the Bay of Pigs with the 2506 Brigade. He was a member of the Cuban Constitutional Government in Exile, based on the 1940 Constitution, and advocated for a peaceful return to constitutional rule and democracy. Often, he spoke out and lectured against communism, as he carried lifelong burdens and hardships that he endured during Fidel Castro’s rise to power and the transformation of his homeland.
 
He was born on April 16th, 1933,  in his grandfather Fernando Ortiz’s house in Havana, Cuba. During WWII, the family hired a British woman that came to Cuba to avoid the war. He and his sister, Esther (Beba), learned  English from her.  Polo often mentioned and referred to her as Mrs. Brooks. He  was very fond of her and said she had become family.
 
At the age of 12, Polo left Cuba for New York and attended The Storm King School for three years. Next, he attended The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey for three years.
 
After school in the US, he returned to Havana, Cuba where he was on the rowing team and the football team. In his words, he was “the guy that threw the touchdowns”. In the early 50’s, on the Cuban rowing team, he travelled to a championship regatta in Mexico and despite rowing at an altitude much higher than Cuba, his team prevailed. He kept many newspaper clippings and media photos from the victory. Later he settled into running one of the family ranches in Camaguey, Cuba. He ran a large rice business and became captivated by the idea of  introducing cattle to the business. He traveled across the US to study the big ranches and brought this research back to Camaguey. The cattle acclimated perfectly to the land and he became a successful rancher.
 
After Fidel Castro took control of Cuba and confiscated his family properties and land, Polo fled to the United States circa 1961.  He brought his mom, Isis Ortiz y Aguilera, with him, carrying just $700, which he had hidden in a pack of cigarettes.
 
They arrived in Miami, Florida, where Polo reunited with Aimee de la Camara, whom he’d previously known in Cuba and later married. They were married for 60 years and raised a family in Houston, TX.
 
Polo worked many jobs when he arrived in the US. As a diver in the Miami Seaquarium, he fed the sharks while the tourists watched. He later worked in construction supply and sales in Houston at All States Steel Company and later back in Miami.
 
Polo moved to Austin, Texas, in October 2023 to be near his daughter, Sofia Maria Aguilera. He enjoyed three great years there with Sofia and her family where he was very loved and well cared for. He was extremely grateful and appreciative. A couple of his favorite times were the duck tour on Lake Austin and a lake park cook out, as well as attending many of his grandson, Nico’s, basketball games. He often said how wonderful it was to be around such a great group of young folks (the grandkids). He was always fascinated by the vast Texas horizon and the rolling hills of the Texas hill country. A passionate and gentle soul and a master storyteller, he was loved by everyone, everywhere.
 
Leopoldo was predeceased by his wife Aimee Aguilera y de la Camara, his sister Esther Aguilera, his father Leopoldo Aguilera, Sr, and his mother, Isis Ortiz y Cabrera.  He is survived by his daughter Sofia Maria Aguilera of Austin and his daughter Aimee Aguilera Cibran of Miami, and grandchildren, Marcos Cibran, Aimee Maria Cibran, Sofia Isabella Kiske, and Nicolas Thomas Kiske.
 
Plans for a memorial service at Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery in Doral, FL will be shared soon.