Dr. Armando Payas was born in Santiago of Cuba, Cuba, on February 16, 1928. He received his elementary education in Colegio La Salle and the secondary education in Instituto de Segunda Enseñanza de Santiago de Cuba. He earned his Doctorate of Jurisprudence from Havana University in 1953 and began practicing law in his native city, as a criminal attorney. In 1955 he was appointed Notary Public, a prestigious position, by the Ministry of Justice after a very difficult exam and process.

He arrived in Miami, on March 10, 1962, without any knowledge of the English language. He began working as Director of the Foreign Language lab. It was a challenging and difficult position because it was a discipline that he had no expertise and in addition the lack of command of the English language.

In 1966, Dr. Payas was admitted at the Florida State University and in two consecutive summers he obtained his Master Degree. He was appointed Instructor at USF in the 1967-68 Academic year. On January 1, 1969, he and his family moved to Tallahassee to complete his Ph.D. in Philosophy.

During his academic life he published several articles related to the literary work of Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quijote de La Mancha. Dr. Payas was considered an expert on this masterpiece of Spanish Literature.

In 1972, The Supreme Court of the State of Florida approved a program, under which the Cuban-American lawyers would have the opportunity to enroll in the University of Florida Law School, taking courses necessary to earn a Law Degree and to be able to take the Florida Bar examination. On November 19, 1976 he was licensed to practice law by the Supreme Court of the State of Florida.

Dr. Payas and two of his sons, Armando Ricardo and Carlos Eduardo are the founders and senior partners of the law firm, Payas, Payas & Payas, LLP., with offices located in Orlando, Kissimmee and Deltona with a long history of serving the Central Florida, Kissimmee and Deltona communities.

Armando Payas

February 16, 1928 – July 11, 2023