José Arechabala

José Arechabala Aldama (9 November 1847 – 15 March 1923) was a Spanish industrialist who founded the distillery La Vizcaya in 1878 in Cárdenas, Matanzas, Cuba. In 1921 it was incorporated, along with other businesses, as José Arechabala S.A., which subsequently launched Havana Club rum.[1][2][3]

José Arechabala
Born(1847-11-09)9 November 1847
Gordexola, Biscay, Spain
Died15 March 1923(1923-03-15) (aged 75)
Cárdenas, Matanzas, Cuba
Family
  • Carmen Hurtado de Mendoza y García (wife, married 1874)
  • Carmela (daughter, born 1879)
  • José Antonio "Toto" (son, born 1881)
  • Mercedes (daughter, born 1884)
  • José Nicolás "Pepucho" (son, born 1885)
  • Juana (daughter, born 1887)

Biography

José Arechabala was born on 9 November 1847 in Gordexola in the Spanish province of Biscay. He was the sixth son of a baker, whose family had been established in the village for centuries.[4] He left his home town and traveled to Cuba when he was 15, seeking better opportunities. He traveled aboard the Hermosa de Trasmiera,[5] a three-masted topsail frigate licensed in Santander, Spain,[6] and took over the role of chief cook on the voyage after the original cook was injured during a storm at sea.

Upon landing in Cuba in 1862,[7] he was introduced to Antonio Galíndez, a distant relative who was a businessman involved in sugar production and trade businessman in the Matanzas Province. Arechabala later went to work for Galíndez.[8] In 1869 he started working for Casa Bea, a hardware, banking and ship consignment company owned by the politician and industrialist Julián de Zulueta, who later became the Mayor (Alcalde) of Havana.[9] In 1873, he was appointed the sole agent of Zulueta's business ventures in Cárdenas. In 1874, Arechabala married Carmen Hurtado de Mendoza y García, with whom he would have five children.

In 1878, he founded a distillery, La Vizcaya,[10][11] where he started producing rum and other spirits, using the leftover molasses from the flourishing Cuban sugar industry. The business prospered, and was able to survive the hurricane that struck Cárdenas in 1888;[12] the damages at the time exceeded $50,000. At the beginning of the 20th century, the factory in Cárdenas already had access to the railway and had been expanded to include several boilers and distillation columns, while the company's businesses expanded to include sugar refineries, jam factories, shipyards and fuel production plants.[13] At the same time, the company dedicated significant efforts to social improvements in Cárdenas, which included contributing to the paving of streets, providing scholarships for local young people and employees' children, and building a theater.[14] In 1919 he was named Hijo Adoptivo (adopted son) of Cárdenas.

In 1921, La Vizcaya and various other companies owned by Arechabala were incorporated under the name of José Arechabala S.A.[15] and the founder was named its chairman. Arechabala died the morning of 15 March 1923, just a few minutes after starting the shift at work and having sent his offspring to the plant saying "¡A trabajar muchachos, ha sonado el pito!" ('To work lads, the whistle has sounded!').[16] His son-in-law (and nephew) José Arechabala Sainz took over the company after his death, but was killed in September 1924.[17]

José Arechabala S.A. launched Havana Club rum in 1934,[18] months after Prohibition ended in the United States in December 1933, and continued its production until the company was nationalized by the Cuban revolution on 31 December 1959.[1][2][10]

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References
  1. Gjelten, Tom (2008). Bacardi and the long fight for Cuba. New York, USA: Penguin Books. p. 295, 296, 327, 334, 335. ISBN 978-0-14-311632-5.
  2. Arechabala, Ramon (13 July 2004). "Testimony of Mr. Ramon Arechabala" (PDF). Senate Judiciary Committee. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  3. Bonera, Miguel (2000). Oro blanco. Una Historia Empresarial del ron cubano. Havana, Cuba: Havana Club. Lugus Libros. p. 78, 91. ISBN 1896266738.
  4. Gutiérrez Rodríguez, Fernando Sigifredo. "Arechabala" (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  5. "José Arechabala Aldama" (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  6. Sanahuja Albiñana, Vicente Luis (2009). "La historia de un Capitán, un velero y un vapor" (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  7. Dale, Michael (7 April 2018). "BWW Review: Immersive AMPARO Tells The Rags To Riches To Revolution Tale Behind Havana Club Rum". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  8. Marqués, Maria Antonia (2002). Las industrias menores: empresarios y empresas en Cuba (1880–1920) (in Spanish) (1st ed.). La Habana: Editora Política. ISBN 978-9-59-010453-4.
  9. Jiménez, Guillermo (1959). Propietarios de Cuba 1958 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). La Habana: Mercié.
  10. Lowis, Ulrike (2016). Rum, Geschichte, Herstellung, Sorten und Rezepte (in German) (1st ed.). Cologne, Germany: Komet Verlag. p. 33,34,37,118. ISBN 978-3-86-941678-6.
  11. Moreno Lázaro, Javier (2015). Rum, business and society in Cuba (1832–1965) (1st ed.). Valladolid: Universidad de Valladolid.
  12. Ramos, Luis Enrique (1 March 2013). "El ciclón de 1888 o el Huracán de Faquineto" (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  13. Dollero, Adolfo (1919). Cultura Cubana. La provincia de Matanzas y su evolución. Havana: Imprenta Seoane.
  14. "José Arechabala S.A." (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  15. de la Fe, E.J. (1 August 2013). "Arechabala Industries History. 'Havana Club'". Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  16. "Centenario de Don José Arechabala Aldama". Gordejuela. VIII (412 (página 16)). 1947.
  17. "Desde Cuba. Detalles de un crimen. Suicidio del agresor". La Prensa. Diario de la Mañana. Santa Cruz de Tenerife. 10 de Septiembre de 1924 (in Spanish). XIV (4618). 1924.
  18. Vingtier, Alexandre (6 September 2016). "The story of Havana Club: from its origins to an explosive success!". Rumporter. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
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