José Arechabala Aldama (9 November 1847 – 15 March 1923) was a Spanish

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

who founded the

distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...

''La Vizcaya'' in

1878 Events January–March * January 5 – Russo-Turkish War – Battle of Shipka Pass IV: Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire. * January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy. * January 17 – Battle o ...

in Cárdenas,

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas (Spanish ''Bahia de Matanzas''), east ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. In 1921 it was incorporated, along with other businesses, as

José Arechabala S.A. José Arechabala S.A. (founded as ''La Vizcaya'' in 1878) was one of the largest Cuban Conglomerate (company), conglomerates within the sugar and liquors, alcoholic beverages industries. Headquartered in Cárdenas, Cuba, Cárdenas, Matanzas Pro ...

, which subsequently launched

Havana Club Havana Club is a brand of rum created in Cuba in 1934. Originally produced in Cárdenas, Cuba, by family-owned José Arechabala S.A., the brand was nationalized after the Cuban Revolution of 1959. In 1993, French-owned Pernod Ricard and the gove ...

rum.

Biography

José Arechabala was born on 9 November 1847 in

Gordexola Gordexola is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg ...

in the Spanish province of

Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...

. He was the sixth son of a baker, whose family had been established in the village for centuries. He left his home town and traveled to

when he was 15, seeking better opportunities. He traveled aboard the ''Hermosa de Trasmiera'', a three-masted topsail

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

licensed in

Santander Santander may refer to: Places * Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain * Santander Department, a department of Colombia * Santander State, former state of Colombia * Santander de Quilichao, a m ...

, Spain, 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, he was introduced to Antonio Galíndez, a distant relative who was a businessman involved in sugar production and

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

businessman in the

Matanzas Province Matanzas () is one of the provinces of Cuba. Major towns in the province include Cárdenas, Colón, Jovellanos and the capital of the same name, Matanzas. The resort town of Varadero is also located in this province. Among Cuban provinces, ...

. Arechabala later went to work for Galíndez. 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 Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...

'') of

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

. 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

, ''La Vizcaya'', 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; 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. 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. 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

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!'). His son-in-law (and nephew) José Arechabala Sainz took over the company after his death, but was killed in September 1924. José Arechabala S.A. launched

rum in 1934, months after

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arechabala, José Spanish emigrants to Cuba Cuban businesspeople Drink distillers People from Enkarterri 1847 births 1923 deaths 20th-century Spanish businesspeople 19th-century Spanish businesspeople Businesspeople from the Basque Country (autonomous community)