Jorge Miguel Guitart, professor emeritus in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, died Oct. 28. He was 88.

Born in Havana, Cuba, Guitart came to the U.S. as a refugee in 1962 at the age of 24, earning a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University and a master’s and doctorate from Georgetown University. He moved to Buffalo in 1973 to teach at UB as an assistant professor and was later promoted to full professor in 1984.

Guitart’s taught Spanish and linguistics in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, formerly the Department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese until 2020. He was a widely published scholar and influential teacher in the field of Spanish linguistics, specializing in phonology and semantics. In addition to teaching at UB, he also lectured in Spain, Peru, Mexico, Venezuela, Finland and Cuba throughout his career. He retired in 2019 after 47 years at the university.

Guitart was also a prolific poet, watercolorist and visual artist. Recognized by the Buffalo art community — including the Burchfield Penny Art Center — for his art, Guitart’s whimsical drawings and poems demonstrated his playful nature. He delighted in showing his work in galleries and having his poetry published in journals, anthologies and several volumes of his own. Guitart loved singing and knew every word to thousands of songs in English and Spanish. His paintings appeared in the Cuban-American Artists from Western New York exhibit at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center in 2005; he had a solo show at Buffalo's El Museo in 2006.

“It is impossible to over-estimate the impact of Professor Jorge Guitart on language and linguistic study at the University at Buffalo,” says Elizabeth Scarlett, professor in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. “He has been our bard, our sage, our Chomsky and our Groucho, all rolled into one.”

Much beloved by his students for his charismatic personality and excellent teaching, Guitart was passionate about sharing knowledge in a wide array of fields aside from linguistics, including history, science and art.

He was an avid tennis player and lifelong Yankees fan. He was affectionate, quick to tell family and friends what he loved about them and was adored for his warm and sparkling personality.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please write a poem and cast it into the wind and/or donate to an arts organization. Colleagues may share memories online.