Journalist, diplomat, and author, born in the Cuban legation in Lima, Peru, to distinguished parents from a Camagüey family. In 1900 he was secretary to Gonzalo de Quesada during the Washington negotiations for the establishment of the República de Cuba, and then took charge of Cuba’s participation in the Paris World Fair. He tied for 16-17th in the Paris 1900 chess tournament (Emanuel Lasker won) played during the world exhibition.
He subsequently devoted himself to journalism until appointed Cuban chargé d’affaires in Buenos Aires, minister in Rio, 1909, in Lima 1911, and in Mexico City in 1912, where he failed in an attempt to save the life of President Francisco Madero. Retiring from diplomacy in 1913, he was associated with the Heraldo de Cuba and then founded the Partido Liberal La Nación. He returned to Mexico as Machado’s ambassador, resigning January 5, 1931. In 1933 he became president Grau San Martín’s foreign minister. When Grau’s regime fell, Márquez Sterling was offered the presidency, but was vetoed by Fulgencio Batista. Among his many books are Ideas y sensaciones, Hombre de pro, Alrededor de nuestra psicología, Los Últimos días del Presidente Madero: mi gestión diplomática en México, and Las Conferencias del Shoreham: el cesarismo en Cuba.
