Nicolás Quintana y Arango was born in Havana, Cuba, the son of Nicolás Quintana and Celia Arango.

[2] Co-founding Moenck & Quintana in 1928 alongside Miguel Ángel Moenck, Nicolás Quintana was the co-director at the architectural firm.

[3] The Havana Bus Terminal,[4] Biltmore Yacht and Country Club, and the University of Havana's School of Engineering and Architecture as well as the School of Medicine[1] are among the notable structures that Quintana designed.

His son Nicolás Quintana would eventually become co-director of the firm following his death.

Nicolás Quintana y Arango died in 1950 in Havana, Cuba.