A descendant of the Cuban nobility, Arnaz was a great-great-great-grandson of José Joaquín Portuondo y Rizo, 1st Conde de Santa Inés, who also served as mayor of Santiago de Cuba.Īrnaz describes the opulent family life of his early youth in his autobiography, A Book (1976): the family owned three ranches, a palatial home and a vacation mansion on a private island in Santiago Bay. His maternal grandfather was Alberto de Acha, an executive at rum producer Bacardi & Co. His father was Santiago's youngest mayor and also served in the Cuban House of Representatives. Arnaz was born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, to Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Alberni II (Ma– May 31, 1973) and Dolores 'Lolita' de Acha y de Socias (Ap– October 24, 1988).