His birth took place in Havana on May 29, 1911 in a proletarian family.

He had to work from a very young age to help his family, since his father had passed away.

So he began to work as an apprentice in a tobacco factory and at the age of 15 he was already an operator.

He soon began to rebel against the injustice being committed against the workers by the owners of the factory where he worked. He stood out for organizing workers' protests and for that he was expelled from the center.

When he was 18 years old he joined the ranks of the then underground Communist Party and actively participated in the struggle to organize workers against the dictatorship of Gerardo Machado. He had to face the repression unleashed by the forces of the dictatorship and suffered several imprisonments.

With the passing of his existence, he continued to develop battles for the economic and social demands of the proletariat and became an outstanding union leader.

As early as 1934 he was elected to the position of General Secretary of the Torcedores Union and in that same year he was appointed member of the Executive Committee of the National Workers' Confederation of Cuba.

Later he held other responsibilities until in 1939 he was elected General Secretary of the National Confederation of Cuban Workers when said organization was established.

He was in that function until 1947 when the Cuban government encouraged the occupation of the workers' organization, which made it possible for corrupt elements to assume its leadership.

Years later he also made clear his condemnation of the dictatorial regime imposed in Cuba by Fulgencio Batista after having carried out a coup on March 10, 1952.

Some time after the triumph of the Revolution in Cuba, Lázaro Peña returned to direct what was then called the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba. He was in that function until 1965.

Later, between that year and 1973, he held other responsibilities in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba. As early as 1965 he had been elected to the Central Committee of the Party.

In 1973, during the celebration of the thirteenth congress of the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba, he was again elected Secretary General of said organization.

Precisely when the maximum leader of the Revolution closed the congress of the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba on November 15, 1973, Commander in Chief Fidel Castro pointed out the qualities of Lázaro Peña.

Fidel pointed out in this regard: “…this election constitutes, first of all, a tribute to a comrade who has dedicated his entire life to the cause of the workers; It constitutes recognition of his status as a teacher of union cadres, because what the labor leaders told us is that Lázaro has been like a teacher to them, and that during these months with him they had learned more about issues of the labor movement, and about deal with the workers, and union tasks, than what they had learned before in their entire lives. But it is also a recognition of the extraordinary talent of comrade Lázaro Peña to treat and direct the workers.”

Despite his health limitations, Lázaro Peña continued to carry out this responsibility until his death on March 11, 1974 in Havana.

After the death of Lázaro Peña, it was decided to identify the theater of the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba with his name.

And in 1979 the "Lázaro Peña" Order was created, which is awarded to Cuban and foreign workers for extraordinary work merits, for important contributions made to the national economy or for a correct and sustained attitude towards work, whether in industry, agriculture, services, administration, construction, transportation, sciences, arts, culture or technology.

It can also be granted to companies, economic units and groups of Cuban and foreign workers for similar reasons. In addition, it is conferred on those who, during their stay in Cuba or from their respective countries, contribute to the improvement and economic, scientific and cultural development of our country.