Testimonial: Karelia Martinez Carbonell

Dr. Karelia Martinez Carbonell 

President, Historic Preservation Association of Coral Gables (HPACG)

Past Board Member: Coral Gables Museum Board of Directors, Coral Gables Community Foundation Board of Directors

Visionary Award recipient, Junior League of Miami Foundation

Author, Consultant, Historic Preservation Advocate

Full Statement:

“ Antonio is an exceptional communicator who is particularly effective at using storytelling to preserve local history and build community. I am proud to have collaborated with him and witnessed his deep dedication to celebrating legacies up close.

Antonio has strategically used media, research, and public advocacy to enshrine legacy through historic landmark designations, official City Proclamations, and other governmental and institutional recognitions. In doing so, he assures legitimacy to the history of these sites and the stories connected to them by showing how people and places each contribute to the broader cultural fabric of a community. He peels back and lays out their historic, cultural, and personal context, and threads them together in captivating ways to bring their stories to life.

I have enjoyed our many conversations exploring how historic sites are physical embodiments of the stories within them, and therefore touchstones for the communities they are part of. His philosophy on historic sites can be best summarized with a quote from one of his articles: “Places also serve as crucial beacons that immortalize our own human story, especially those most at risk of being forgotten…”

I look forward to continuing to work with Antonio to honor local stories and their legacies. ”

— Karelia Martinez Carbonell

(March 22, 2024)