Magis: Celso González Falla '53
(This article was first published in the Belen Jesuit Alumni Magazine - Summer 2024 edition.)
Magis isn’t simply a word; it is a way of being and of living in the world.
Magis isn’t simply a word; it is a way of being and of living in the world.
Ask a Belen Jesuit alumnus, student, family, teacher, administrator, or staff member, and they will describe Magis as “doing more.” More, not in terms of consumption, but in the spirit of generous excellence. What more can I do for Christ? What more can I do for the world?
Celso González-Falla ’53 has not stopped living the Magis since he left Belen. In fact, he considers his most important accomplishment to be “trying to help people.” “I believe in education,” he said. “I believe in the beauty of art. I help support the theater and organizations that help people create something they need to create.”
Upon graduating from El Colegio de Belén in Havana, he attended Universidad Católica de Santo Tomás de Villanueva (St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic University). He earned a law degree, married, and started a family. Then, life as he knew it changed. González-Falla was involved in the counterrevolution against Fidel Castro. Following the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion, an order of arrest was issued against González-Falla, causing him to go underground.
He left Cuba in 1961 and settled in Texas, eventually becoming an executive in the oil & gas and banking industries. He built a life, became a United States citizen, practiced law and flourished.
“The only thing I had when I left Cuba was my education,” he said.
These days, González-Falla splits his time between his home in Corpus Christi, Texas and his apartment in New York City, that is, when he is not traveling the world. While he has redefined “home” throughout the decades, the roots of his Belen education have remained firmly planted.
“The important thing is to remain active, to create,” he said. “And to have good friends.”
Community continues to be an important value for González-Falla. His late wife, Sondra M. Gilman, inherited land near St. Mary’s, GA, when her first husband died. Sondra and Celso developed the land for real estate, primarily to serve families at the nearby Lockheed Martin facility and the Naval Submarine base. The community they created includes four schools and a four-year college, further demonstrating his commitment to and passion for education.
That passion was instilled, not surprisingly, during his days at Belen. “Education is the only thing that can save you,” he said. “The Jesuits understand education.” He firmly recognizes his education at Belen prepared him for life because Jesuit pedagogy encourages students to think more deeply, and to look at any given situation from more than one vantage point. At Belen, he said, “we had debates, we read poetry, and we wrote for the newspaper. Physical education was important as well.” And, of course, “there was a beautiful church.”
Beyond that, González-Falla appreciates the inner work a Jesuit education provides. That self-reflection comes from the daily Examen. “The Examen invites you to reflect on your life,” he said. “What areas do you want to improve? That is impressed upon students from the beginning. I still do a lot of self-analysis.”
Indeed. Seeking the Magis.
Love ought to show itself in deeds more than in words. — St. Ignatius of Loyola
Living a full life and embracing opportunities that have come his way, González-Falla is generous with all that he has, graciously sharing his time, talent, and treasure. A magnanimous supporter of the arts, he is a member of the American Theatre Wing. In that role, he is tasked with seeing all new Broadway shows as a Tony Award voter. While that seems to fall into the category of “it’s a tough job, but someone has to do it,” González-Falla is cognizant that he must also see the bad plays.
He is a past president of, and is still involved with, Aperture, a nonprofit publisher established to advance and support creativity, particularly photography. His late wife was an avid collector of photography and together they supported and shared their own collection through numerous exhibitions within the United States and abroad. González-Falla is a photographer in his own right, believing that photography is a way for people to go deeper into an understanding of what matters most. To him, photography should beckon the viewer to come back and look again and again.
“Art is important to society because it represents life,” he said. “It reflects what is happening today.”
His work in the arts doesn’t stop there. He has produced three movies and is the author of a book of poetry and the novel, “My Lost Cuba,” a story of the Cuban countryside juxtaposed against the glamour of Havana in the 1950s.
Perhaps closest to his heart is his work with the Cintas Foundation, the organization formed to support and encourage the development of creative artists in architecture and design, literature, music composition and visual arts. The foundation is named after its founder, the late Oscar B. Cintas, former Cuban ambassador to the United States, industrialist, and patron of the arts. The Cintas Foundation awards fellowships to creative artists of Cuban citizenship or lineage. One of the fellowships is exclusive to photography and is named in honor of Sondra Gilman González-Falla.
Of Cintas, González-Falla said, “We help others create. Creation is the most important thing we can do. It’s an expression.”
Recollections of Colegio de Belén, Havana
González-Falla describes the large campus with its patios, dining rooms, church, basketball court and pool. He mostly remembers the strong and deep friendships formed there, many of which continue today. He remains in touch with fellow classmates. Most are in Miami now, but he also wistfully acknowledges that his class is “getting smaller.”
“I love Belen,” he said without hesitation. “I think Belen really formed us and that is important for life.”
His advice to current Belen students is simple: study hard, do your best, and create friendships. And, of course, live the Magis.
BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was founded in 1854 in Havana, Cuba by Queen Isabel II of Spain. The task of educating students was assigned to the priests and brothers of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), whose teaching tradition is synonymous with academic excellence and spiritual discipline. In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the School property and expelled the Jesuit faculty. The School was re-established in Miami the same year, and over the next decade, continued to grow. Today, Belen Jesuit sits on a 30-acre site in western Dade County, only minutes away from downtown Miami.