Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba

by Gjelten, Tom

  Print courtesy Compañía Ron Bacardi, S.A.

  Ernest Hemingway (center) was feted by Bacardi in 1956 in honor of his Nobel prize. To his right is Fernando Campoamor, noted Havana columnist and Hemingway drinking pal.

  Print courtesy Compañía Ron Bacardi, S.A.

  Juan Grau, a Bacardi chemical engineer (and classmate of Fidel Castro) who pioneered the analysis and evaluation techniques behind Bacardi quality control procedures

  Print courtesy Compañía Ron Bacardi, S.A.

  Pepín Bosch, during a rare moment of relaxation.

  Print courtesy Compañía Ron Bacardi, S.A.

  The Bacardi administrative offices on Aguilera Street (formerly Marina Baja) in the 1950s. This was the first Bacardi facility in Santiago, and it was where Emilio Bacardi worked for his father as a young man in the 1860s.

  Compañía Ron Bacardi, S.A.

  The Bacardi factory in Santiago as it appeared in the 1950s. The factory was built on the site of the original distillery on Matadero Street, and the coconut palm is the same tree planted at the site by Facundo Bacardi Moreau in 1862.

  Compañía Ron Bacardi, S.A.

  Cubans and foreigners alike were entertained at the world-renowned Tropicana Night Club during Havana’s golden age in the 1950s. Fidel Castro kept the Tropicana open to show that the revolution still honored Cuba’s salsa heritage.

  Vincent Muñiz, Cuban Heritage Collection, University of Miami Libraries, Coral Gables, Florida

  Fulgencio Batista, the former army clerk who dominated Cuban politics in the 1930s, was elected president in 1940, and returned to power through a military coup in 1952. The Bacardis of Santiago were among his most outspoken opponents.

  Cuban Heritage Collection, University of Miami Libraries, Coral Gables, Florida

  Raúl Castro and Vilma Espín at their wedding in Santiago in January 1959. The lavish affair was attended by dozens of Bacardi family members and friends.

  Joseph Scherschel, Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

  Bacardi executive José Espín is served by his daughter Vilma, as her lover and revolutionary comrade Raúl Castro stands at her side. Fidel Castro is at the end of the table, his head bowed.

  Jose Trutie, Courtesy Teo Babún, The Cuban Revolution

  Fidel Castro, Raúl Castro, and Che Guevara in Havana in 1963. Che Guevara was killed in Bolivia in 1967. Raúl Castro formally succeeded his ailing brother Fidel as Cuba’s president in February 2008.

  Copyright Robert Salas

  Fidel Castro, accompanied by local Communist Party and government officials, speaking to workers at the old Bacardi rum aging house in 1963. It was his one and only visit to the former Bacardi facilities in Santiago.

  Alberto Korda

  Fidel Castro with Gilberto Cala, a worker at the former Bacardi factory, in 1963. Castro asked Cala to suggest a new brand name for the rum previously produced there under the “Bacardi” label.

  Alberto Korda

  Bacardi boss Pepín Bosch directed the highly successful reorganization of Bacardi operations outside Cuba after the company’s facilities were confiscated by the Castro government in 1960.

  BusinessWeek

  President Ronald Reagan honors Jorge Mas Canosa, who rose from humble beginnings to a position of power, wealth, and influence in the Cuban exile community. He began his political career at the side of Pepín Bosch, and Mas Canosa’s Cuban-American National Foundation received generous Bacardi support

  Enrique Muñoz Studio

  Eighty-nine-year-old “Emilito” Bacardi with other family members at the annual company anniversary dinner in 1966. The company had survived the loss of its Cuban properties, and family members were prospering with the spectacular growth of Bacardi rum sales across the world.

  Bacardi Family Collection

  A rum cocktail competition at Havana’s Hotel Nacional in 2004, featuring bartenders from around the world. The event was sponsored by Havana Club International, a French-Cuban joint venture. Havana Club, originally produced by the Arechabala family in Cuba, became the government’s top export brand after Fidel Castro came to power and took over the company.

  Author Collection

  The distilling columns installed in the 1950s by the Bacardi Rum Company at their distillery in Santiago are still in use today.

  Author Collection

  The Bacardis’ old rum aging warehouse in Santiago, as it appears today. Horse-drawn taxis are still a familiar sight in Santiago. The slogan on the side of the warehouse says, “Santiago de Cuba—Rebellious Yesterday, Welcoming Today, Heroic Forever.”

  Author Collection

  Acknowledgments

  My friends, family, and work colleagues all know how long it took me to produce this book, and I thank everyone for cheering me on or simply putting up with me through what seemed an interminable period. I did not realize when I began this project how heavily I would depend on others to help me finish it. I must first mention four Bacardi people whose assistance and cooperation was vital. Robert O’Brien, who happens to be a neighbor, agreed at the outset to support me and told his Bacardi in-laws and associates that I would tell their story fairly. Manuel Jorge Cutillas, the retired Bacardi chairman, opened doors for me throughout the family and the company and made himself available to me over and over in spite of his busy schedule. Guillermo G. Mármol, whose career and contacts at Bacardi date from the 1940s, patiently spent many hours with me and answered hundreds of my questions, especially concerning the life and work of Pepín Bosch, whom he served as an aide and attorney for nearly thirty years. Pepín Argamasilla, the Bacardi archivist and historian, generously shared his impressive knowledge (and photographs) and corrected as many of my errors along the way as he could catch. I may have spent five years immersed in the Bacardi story, but Pepín remains the expert.

  Many others in the Bacardi world were similarly helpful, including Tito Argamasilla, Facundo Bacardi, Carlos and Jorge Bosch, José Bolivar, José Bolivar Jr., José R. Bou, Alicia Castroverde, Amelia Comas O’Brien, Clara María del Valle, Georgina García Lay, Richard Gardner, Juan Grau, Barbara Johnson, Raúl Mármol, Patricia Neal, Juan Prado, Rino and Ileana Puig, Rubén Rodríguez, and Elsie Williams MacMullin. In the broad community of Cuban Americans and Cuba experts, I thank Ramón Arechabala, Ernesto Betancourt, Frank Cal zon, Tony Calatayud, Ramón Colas, Oscar Echeverría, Pamela Falk, Antonio Gayoso, Louis A. Pérez Jr., Marifeli Pérez-Stable, Berta Mexidor, José Antonio Roca, Mercedes Sandoval, Mary Speck, Jaime Suchlicki, and Julia Sweig.

  In Santiago de Cuba, I spent many hours with Pepín Hernández, the former director of the Museo del Ron, and with José Olmedo, who directed the Museo Emilio Bacardi and later the Museo del Ron. José’s wife, Daimi Ruíz, also a Santiago historian, helped me, as did Sara Inés Fernández of the Biblioteca Elvira Cape and Rafael Duharte of the Casa del Caribe. In Havana, I was helped by Carmen Guerrero and Regla Jimenez at Havana Club International, María de los Angeles Meriño at the University of Havana, and Patria Cok at the Archivo Nacional, and by my friend and colleague Moisés Saab and his wife, Maite. The late great photographer of the Cuban revolution, Alberto Korda, steered me toward his remarkable pictures of Fidel at the Bacardi plant in Santiago. Korda’s longtime colleague José Figueroa also helped me, as did Korda’s daughter Diana Díaz. The Cuban government officials with whom I worked over the last several years will not be pleased by some of what they read in this book, but I must say that Roberto de Armas, Josefina Vidal, Luís Mariano Fernández, and Lázaro Herrera have been unfailingly courteous and professional in their dealings with me.

  Marisabel Villagómez and Esther Gentile provided superb and invaluable research assistance to me through the course of this project. Esperanza de Varona made available the archival treasures of the Cuban Heritage Collection at the University of Miami’s Richter Library, and Annie Sansone and Zoe Blanco-Rosa helped me explore them. I made use of Monica Klien’s impressive language and literary expertise in translating some (to me) odd Spa
nish phrases and archaic epigrams. I also want to acknowledge the assistance, advice, and solidarity I received from Melissa Appleyard, Phil Bennett, John Boertlein, Don Bohning, Ray Bourgeois, Robert Chapman, Roger Cohen, David Corn, Georgie Anne Geyer, Dan Gjelten, Ed Hamilton, Rod Heller, Syl vio Heufelder and Jeanette Erazo Heufelder, Richard Hurst, Peter Kornbluh, John Lilly, Jay Mallin, Tom Miller, Robert Muse, Mark Orr, George Volsky, Elaine Walker, Abby Yochelson, and Gertraud Zangl. At NPR, many longtime colleagues were supportive of my book writing even though it meant my prolonged neglect of reporting duties. I owe special thanks to Ted Clark, Pam Duckett, Cheryl Hampton, Loren Jenkins, Jim Lesher, Kee Malesky, Bill Ma rimow, Peter Overby, Barbara Rehm, Didi Schanche, David Sweeney, and Ellen Weiss.

  I have been blessed with the best professional support team an author could dream of having. Gail Ross of the Gail Ross Literary Agency has encouraged me, prodded me, and stood up for me for years and years, assisted by her talented associate Howard Yoon and her editor Kara Baskin. And words fail me in characterizing the guidance, insight, wisdom, and—yet again—patience of the wonderful Wendy Wolf of Viking, the best editor in the business. Wendy first asked for this book about a decade ago, never gave up on it, and helped me turn a thousand-page manuscript into something much more readable. In that thankless effort she and I were ably assisted by Ellen Garrison and the rest of the top-notch Viking staff. Finally, I am thankful for good friends who provide bottomless moral support and invigorating company: Dick, Judy, Kim, Joel, Nancy, Sunisa, George, Sheila, Pete, and Beth.

  My wife, Martha Raddatz, is an awesome journalist, a deeply devoted mother, and a loving and supportive mate. In the time I have been working on this book, she has been around the world about a dozen times, reported and written a bestselling book of her own, and held down one of the most demanding jobs in the news business, but her belief in what I was doing all these years in my upstairs study never wavered. Jake made sure that I stayed focused on the important things and marked my weighty manuscript with cartoons just when I needed it most. Greta inspires me with her sparkle and energy and kindness. She and Jake and Martha are my foundation, and I dedicate this book to them.

  My one regret is that my mother and father did not survive to see me finish this work, though they followed my progress closely and with enthusiasm. The two of them provided unconditional love and support throughout my life.

  NOTES

  Chapter 1. Santiago de Cuba

  p. 6. “Tell me,” Hatuey: This is Emilio Bacardi Moreau’s version of the Hatuey story, related in his Crónicas de Santiago de Cuba, Vol. I, 99-100. Emilio’s version of the Hatuey story is based on the contemporary account by Bartolomé de las Casas, who was with Velázquez in Cuba.

  P. 8. With turkeys and cakes: Bacardi Moreau, Crónicas, 2:373.

  P. 9. There were also the developments: Ibid., 344; also Speck, 58.

  P. 10. “A people’s history can be seen: Bacardi Moreau, Crónicas, 2:5.

  P. 10. “The deed with all its rawness: Bacardi Moreau, Crónicas, 1:8.

  Chapter 2. Entrepreneur

  P. 11. Facundo Bacardi Massó, Emilio’s father: Accounts of life in Sitges and the early years in Santiago come from Bacardi family histories, including Amalia Bacardi Cape, Emilio Bacardi and José Argamasilla Bacardi, Las Crónicas de Bacardi. Other sources for this chapter include Padura Fuentes and Aixalá and Argamasilla, as well as archival documents in Cuba.

  P. 11. As one American visitor: Rev. Abiel Abbot, Letters Written in the Interior of Cuba (Boston, 1829), quoted in Atkins, 65.

  P. 13. Town records show: Fondo Protocolos Notariales, Archivo Histórico Provincial, Santiago de Cuba. Notario: José Ramón Chacón. Libro 397, folios 397-98, August 9, 1851. Libro 398, folios 214-15, May 19, 1852.

  P. 13. The sky that morning: The account of the earthquake is from Estorch.

  P. 14. “God does with us: John Neumann, “A Very Special Patron: Saint Anthony María Claret,” From the Housetops, no. 17 (1979).

  P. 17. By one estimate: McCusker, 234.

  P. 17. The dean of Cuban sugar: Moreno Fraginals, 1976, 122.

  P. 19. As early as 1816: Marrero, 10: 260.

  P. 19. Given the high cost: Moreno Fraginals, 1976, 122; Wurdemann, 152.

  P. 19. “able to satisfy: Missen, et al., 15

  P. 19. Between 1851 and 1856: Campoamor, 56-77.

  P. 20. A Bacardi company narrative: Roig de Leuchsenring, El libro de Cuba, 838.

  P. 21. A distiller writing in 1757: Quoted in Broom, 15.

  P. 23. “It was a light product: Bonera, 76.

  P. 24. “It was the end-product: H. Zumbado, The Barman’s Sixth Sense (Havana: Cubaexport, 1980), quoted in Barty-King, 110.

  Chapter 3. A Patriot Is Made

  P. 26. Upon his return: Sources for the account of Emilio Bacardi’s adolescent and early manhood years are Bacardi Moreau, Crónicas; Bacardi Moreau, Florencio Villanova y Pío Rosado; and Bacardi Cape, Emilio Bacardi.

  P. 26. “All nerves: Bacardi Moreau, Florencio Villanova, 37-38.

  P. 29. The slightest transgression: Goodman, 220.

  P. 29. In 1864 they invited: Foner, A History of Cuba 2:166.

  P. 29. (fn) Juan’s mother was: Juan Bacardi Moreau to Elvira Cape, September 20, 1922, Bacardi archives. The June 16, 1947, memorandum was dictated by José M. Bosch to his secretary Bessie Story and is in the Bacardi archives.

  P. 30. “Ring the bell and call: Emilio’s version of the story is in Bacardi Moreau, Crónicas, 4: 32-34.

  P. 30. Clever as a fox: This Rosado story is from Bacardi Moreau, Florencio Villanova, 39.

  P. 31. In a message to his governors: Bacardi Moreau, Crónicas, 4:33-34.

  P. 32. Gas lanterns: A typical retreta in Santiago is described in Goodman, 141-46. The uprising attempt is described in Bacardi Moreau, Crónicas, 4:46-47; Bacardi Cape, Emilio Bacardi, 48-49; and Alegría, 155-56.

  P. 33. Writing in retrospect: Bacardi Moreau, Crónicas, 4:46.

  P. 33. To the astonishment: Bacardi Moreau, Crónicas, 4:48-49; Bacardi Moreau, Florencio Villanova, 40 -41.

  P. 34. When a group of local: Bacardi Cape, Emilio Bacardi, 49.

  P. 34. A young slave: Bacardi Moreau, Crónicas, 4:112; Buch López, 243.

  P. 34. “The Spanish authorities: Buch López, 243.

  P. 34. The authorities officially defined: Bacardi Moreau, Crónicas, 4:104.

  P. 35. He and his wife: Bacardi Cape, Emilio Bacardi, 52; Alegría, 160.

  P. 36. “glorious and bloody: Toledo Sante, 21.

  P. 36. El presidio político: Martí, Selected Writings, 9-18.

  P. 37. As part of his research: Bacardi Moreau, Crónicas, 5:54.

  P. 37. In October, an American: The Virginius story is told in Foner, A History of Cuba, 2:244-47; Thomas, 262-63; Alegría, 163; Bacardi Moreau, Crónicas 5:363-66; and Bacardi Cape, ed., Steamer “Virginius” Incident.

  P. 38. Facundo Jr. was working: Facundo Jr. recollects the execution in a February 28, 1915, letter to his brother Emilio, excerpted in “Fiel Vigia de Bacardi,“ Bacardi Gráfico 3, no. 8 (January 1958), 10 -11.

  P. 38. In 1874, still in: Reorganization details are from Bacardi Cape, Emilio Bacardi; Torres Hurtado; and archival documents.

  P. 40. José Martí famously described: Martí, Obras Completas 1:675-76.

  P. 41. He cosponsored a measure: Bacardi Moreau, Crónicas 6:259.

  P. 41. “No concrete charges: Bacardi Cape, Emilio Bacardi, 74.

  P. 42. A clerk at the field headquarters: Bacardi Moreau, Florencio Villanova, 46-49; Bacardi Moreau, Crónicas, 6:349-52.

  Chapter 4. A Time of Transition

  P. 43. In October 1880: Bacardi Cape, Emilio Bacardi, 83-84.

  P. 46. In 1879 the Bacardis: Fondo Protocolos Notariales, Archivo Histórico Provincial, Santiago de Cuba. Notario: Rafael Ramírez, Libro 561, folio 604, November 9, 1879. See also, Aixalá and Argamasilla, 34.

  . 47. Martí’s idea: Mañach, 243.

  P. 48. Emilio’s firs
t venture: Bacardi Moreau, Crónicas, 7:155-67.

  P. 49. For the 1888 Barcelona fair: Ibid., 7:194-95.

  P. 50. “A trifling increase: A draft copy of the Bacardi response is in the company archives.

  P. 50. “At a time when: Bacardi Moreau, Crónicas, 7:243-46

  P. 50. When El espíritu: Ibid., 7:238

  P. 51. “the tranquility of: Ibid., 7:232-33.

  P. 51. in Martí’s words, the political: Martí, “On: The Pan-American Congress.”

  P. 52. In March 1889, a Philadelphia: “Do We Want Cuba?” originally published in The Manufacturer and excerpted in the New York Evening Post, March 21, 1889. Martí’s reply was published in the Post on March 25, 1889. Both articles are reprinted in Martí, Selected Writings, as “A Vindication of Cuba,“ 261-67.

  P. 52. “everyone looks like his own: José Martí, “Impressions of America (by a very fresh Spaniard),” in Selected Writings, 32.

  P. 52. “the excessive worship of wealth: Quoted in Mañach, 218.

  P. 52. “to extend its dominions: Martí, “On: The Pan-American Congress.”

  P. 53. “They admire this nation: Martí, “A Vindication of Cuba,” in Selected Writings, 263.

  P. 53. to promote “war and the: Quoted in Foner, A History of Cuba, 2:313.

  P. 53. A dinner party there: Bacardi Moreau, Crónicas, 7:285.