Juan Nepomucino Goetz () was an Austrian Catholic priest whose arrival in Cuba led to two extraordinary controversies. Goetz became Professor of Philosophy and Morality at the Imperial and Royal University of Vienna, and then, desiring to travel, was appointed music chaplain of the Cathedral of Santo Domingo in Hispaniola (Dominican Republic). Later, as priest and rector, he moved to San Fernando de Monte Cristi, and then to the wealthy parish of Môle Saint-Nicolas in Haiti. There he witnessed the slave uprising and the occupation of his parish by the British. When Toussaint-Louverture drove out the British, he rang the church bells and celebrated. However, in the following period, Goetz fled to Santiago de Cuba, where his knowledge of languages gave him a place as the 'foreigners' priest. Goetz in Santiago de Cuba When Esteban Salas y Castro, choirmaster in the Cathedral of Santiago de Cuba, died in 1803, the election of the new Maestro de Capilla was an extraordinary event. It had been a foregone conclusion that Francisco José Hierrezuelo, long-time assistant of Salas, would be elected. Came the day, and Hierrezuelo spotted a certain well-qualified German priest in the choir. Blind with rage, and fearing the bishop had planned a conspiracy to thwart him, Hierrezuelo refused to take the examination, picked up his pen and wrote infuriated letters. The bishop persuaded the German, none other than Goetz, to renounce his candidacy, but Hierrezuelo had so offended the bishop and the town council by his irate letters that, despite grovelling apologies, he got only a minor position in the chapel. He was never to become a maestro. The competent and hard-working Juan París was appointed, and Goetz moved on to Havana, where his arrival also had remarkable consequences. Goetz in Havana In Havana, choirmaster Lazo de la Vega was ailing and died. After his death, four men sought the post: 28-year-old first violinist José Francisco Rensoli, singer Luis Lazo, maestro Cayetano Solis and the Catalan Cayetano Pagueras, a religious composer and first contralto. The matter was to be decided by competitive examination. Pagueras was a strong candidate, regarding himself as a maestro in four arts: plainsong, organ playing, counterpoint and composition. All were set for the examination when a letter, written on 29 July, 1803, arrived at the cathedral. It was from Goetz, offering his service. Goetz arrived in Havana at the beginning of November 1803, having applied for