John Guiteras was born on January 24, 1930, in Havana, Cuba, and graduated from el Colegio de Belen in 1948.

He established Lorraine Travel and began to grow his business. In 1954, he married Luisa in the Belen Chapel in Marianao and went on to have six children and eight grandchildren.

In 1960, they fled Cuba and relocated to Miami where Jack re-established his company and it continued to thrive.

During the early 1970s, Jack worked tirelessly to bring the Ramón Guiteras Memorial Library to Belen Jesuit along with the famed Cuban Collection. 

Thanks to his efforts and the stipulations made by Gertrude Guiteras in her trust to establish a public library in her father’s name, the Ramón Guiteras Memorial Library was established at Belen’s Little Havana campus and later at our West Miami-Dade location.

Jack was extremely committed to Belen Jesuit and served on the Board of Trustees for the library and the Executive Committee of the Belen Alumni Association in Miami. Through his leadership, the library collection and technology offerings grew significantly. 

He died in 2011 and the school remains grateful for his devotion and dedication to education and persevering Cuba’s literature and cultural heritage. 

He is posthumously inducted into the Belen Hall of Fame inaugural class.