Tom Gjelten

Think about this for a second. The Bacardi business started in 1862. When you think "rum" what brand comes to mind first? Exactly.
My favorite takeaway from Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba is how brilliant the Bacardi Moreau family has been at business marketing and self promotion. Early on they knew how to tap into supply and demand during Prohibition. They understood the importance of moral advertising in Puerto Rico, removing women from their posters, for example They knew when to exploit the World's Fairs happening around the world in places such as Charleston, St. Louis and as far away as Paris. They were involved in any major event that would draw attention. [As an aside, I just finished watching the Tim Burton movie, "Big Eyes" and I couldn't help but think of mastermind Walter Keane as he exploited his wife's artwork anyway that he could.] Bacardi treated their employees well with profit sharing as early as 1916. When they couldn't go to the marketing, the marketing came to them in the form of public figures, such as Ernest Hemingway who put the name Bacardi in his book, Islands in the Stream.
Deeply tied to the Cuban cause, as patriots the Bacardi struggled to make a real difference, but as producers of high quality libations, they flourished. Their drink, the daiquiri was a nod to Cuba Libre. But Cuba was not its own. In 1898 it was either Spain or U.S. flags that were flown. When Spain was no longer in control it was like making deals with devil. The U.S. swoops in and changes everything. Infrastructure is improved but the locals are confused. Then along comes Castro...even he cannot ignore the Bacardi name which causes major trouble for the Bacardi name. Let me stop there. Read the rest.… (más)

Tom Gjelten’s Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba is a beautiful and somewhat heart-breaking history of the Bacardi rum company in Cuba. Founded by Facundo Bacardi Masso in the 1843 as “Facundo Bacardi y Compania”, he sought to create a general store that would service the entire population of Cuba, from the plantation worker to the fair-skinned elite. This small store was eventually restructured into a burgeoning rum distillery on February 4, 1862 and has been in continuous operation since.

From the beginning, Bacardi was embroiled in one fight or another, starting with the wars for Cuban Independence from the 1870s to the 1890s, to the U.S. occupation in the early 1900s, to the republic era, and finally the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Each new political struggle brought new challenges for the extensive family and the ever-expanding global business. And early on, the Bacardi did not shy away from entangling themselves into the fights. Facundo’s son Emilio helped to finance and communicate with Cuban independence fighters.

http://lifelongdewey.wordpress.com/2012/03/31/338-bacardi-and-the-long-fight-for...… (más)