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

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

who founded the

distillery Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

''La Vizcaya'' in

1878 Events January * 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 – Russo-Turkish War: ...

in Cárdenas,

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ; ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas Province, Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-American religions, Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Mat ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. 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 Cuban conglomerates within the sugar and alcoholic beverages industries. Headquartered in Cárdenas, Matanzas, it is known for Havana Club rum from 1934 until 1960. Hi ...

, which subsequently launched

Havana Club Havana Club (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Club Habana'') 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 nationalization, nationalized after the Cuban Revolu ...

rum.

Biography

José Arechabala was born on 9 November 1847 in

Gordexola Gordexola is a town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, northern Spain. References External links Gordexola in the Be ...

in the Spanish province of

Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...

. 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. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

licensed in Santander, Spain, and took over the role of

chief cook A chief cook (often shortened to cook) is a seniormost unlicensed crewmember working in the steward's department of a merchant ship. The chief cook's principal role is to ensure the preparation and serving of meals that are both delicious and nu ...

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. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

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 Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

'') of

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.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 Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...

and other

spirits Spirit(s) commonly refers to: * Liquor, a distilled alcoholic drink * Spirit (animating force), the non-corporeal essence of living things * Spirit (supernatural entity), an incorporeal or immaterial being Spirit(s) may also refer to: Liquids ...

, 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 b ...

ended in the United States in December 1933, and continued its production until the company was nationalized by the

Cuban revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

on 31 December 1959.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arechabala, José Spanish emigrants to Cuba 19th-century 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)