Julián Zulueta

Cosme de la Torriente

Cosme Damián de la Torriente y Gándara (1809-1870) was born from the marriage of Juan Antonio de la Torriente Delgado (1763-1835) and Maria Antonia de la Gándara de la Lombana (1765-1835) in Hermosa, Medio Cudeyo, Cantabria, Spain. He established residence in Matanzas, Cuba in the 1820s and was involved in the slave trade. He married Isabel Hernandez y Rodriguez and had two children, Elena who married Francisco Rionda y Polledo and Leandro (1851- ) who married Maria Ignacia Peraza y Ceballos and were the parents of Cosme de la Torriente y Peraza (1872-1956) born at Central Isabel, noted Cuban politician and President in 1923 of the Assembly of the League of Nations. In the 1920s de la Torriente y Peraza acquired the Matanzas American Sugar Co. owner of Central España from Morgan Guarantee who had acquired title due to an unpaid loan from Banco Nacional to José “Pote” López Rodriguez. He could not successfully manage the sugar mill so it was sold to José Manuel Casanova, later Senator and president of the Asociacion de Hacendados de Cuba. 

Cosme’s brother Francisco de la Torriente y Gandara (1798- ) married Maria Andrea Hernandez y Rodriguez and had eight children Cosme, Juana, Francisco Maria, Pablo Maria, Gabriela and Jose Maria, Fernando and Estefanía. By 1875 with two of his brothers Francisco de la Torriente y Gándara (1798-1870) and Antonio de la Torriente y Gándara (1801-1881), they owned  several sugar mills among them: Central Amistad, Central Carlota, Central Maria, Central La Isabel, Central San Pablo and Central Elena which management was entrusted to Cosme’s son-in-law Francisco Rionda y Polledo. Central La Isabel located in Macurijes Province of Matanzas, was built on land gifted to Cosme’s wife Isabel Hernández y Castillo Rodriguez by her father Capt. Sebastián Hernández y Cedres. It was inherited by Francisco and Elena’s son Leandro de la Torriente Hernández (1851-ca1948) who lost it in 1892 when it was acquired by Esnard Hnos.

Another member of the de la Torriente family in Cuba was Cosme’s nephew Ramón Pelayo de Torriente (1850-1932) who arrived in Matanzas, Cuba in 1864 where he worked at the firm Bea, Bellido & Cia. He was born in Valdecilla, Medio Cudeyo, Cantabria, Spain to Ramón Pelayo and Manuela de la Torriente Gándara the sister of Cosme de la Torriente y Gándara. After being in Cuba for a few years he left for New York where in 1889 he married Maria Teresa Piedra-Perez Abreu. She was the daughter of Pedro Ignacio Piedra-Perez, co-owner of Central Feliz which was acquired in 1906 by the New York Sugar Co. and in 1915 by the Cuba Cane Sugar Co. In 1892 Ramón acquired Central Rosario in the town of Aguacate, Havana Province, established in 1851 by Pedro Morales y Armenteros which he improved with modern equipment and made it one of the most advanced sugar mills at the time in Cuba. Among these improvements was the acquisition in 1907 of the land, machinery and a locomotive of Central Averhoff which he demolished and incorporated to Central Rosario.

In 1915 King Alfonso XIII granted him the nobility title Marqués de Valdecilla for his philanthropic work in his native Spain which included contributing money for the construction of schools and universities, police offices, the Royal Palace of the Magdalena, the Hotel Real and Hotel Sardinero in Santander and the Casa de Salud Valdecilla today the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital. In 1920 he sold Central Rosario to the Hershey Corp. for 8 million pesos and returned to his hometown in Spain where he had built a mansion today known as Finca Museo Marqués de Valdecilla where he lived until his death.

An uncle of Cosme de la Torriente Gándara named Pedro Ramón de la Torriente Delgado married Maria Antonia Gándara Coterón and had a son named Joaquin de la Torriente Gándara, Cosme’s first cousin. Joaquín married Josefa de Valdecilla and had three sons named Esteban de la Torriente Valdecilla, Ramón de la Torriente Valdecilla and Enrique de la Torriente Valdecilla. In the 1940s the three brothers, who were Cosme’s 1st cousins once removed, established in Cienfuegos the firm Torriente Hnos. that was the Cuban correspondent of E. Atkins & Co. in the purchase and shipping of sugar, and when necessary in advancing money to planters to finance their crops.

Esteban de la Torriente Valdecilla married Luisa Madrazo y Mora and had several children among them two sons; Baltazar who established an importing business and in the 1920s was the only de la Torriente left in Cienfuegos. He also had a son named Joaquin de la Torriente Madrazo who became an attorney and was later municipal prosecutor and property registrar of Cienfuegos and two daughters; Isabel de la Torriente Madrazo who married her 1st cousin Joaquin Cacicedo de la Torriente the successor of his uncle Ramón in the management of Torriente Bros. and Ramona de la Torriente Madrazo (1859- ) who in 1882 married her 1st cousin Esteban Cacicedo de la Torriente (1849-1933).

The Cacicedo de la Torriente brothers were born in Ceceñas, Santander, Spain to Isidoro Cacicedo y Barquinero and Rosalía de la Torriente Valdecilla the sister of Esteban, Ramón and Enrique. Esteban and Ramona had six children; Esteban Jr., Isidoro, Ramón, Luis, Rosalía and José María also Cacicedo de la Torriente just like their father. In 1877 Esteban partnered with José Garcia de la Noceda, Antonio Yntreago and Nicolas Castaño to establish Garcia & Cia., one of the most successful firms in Cienfuegos at the time. Later on Yntreago and Castaño left the firm and established Castaño, Yntreago & Co. and in 1895 Garcia & Co. changed the name to Cacicedo & Co. with Asisclo del Valle Blanco and Alejandro Suero Balbín as partners.

In 1849 Esteban de la Torriente Valdecilla established Central Santa Maria in Ranchuelo Santa Clara Province and in 1886 Central Vueltas in Palmira. His Grandson Esteban Cacicedo de la Torriente Jr. was an Electrical Engineer who modernized the sugar mill and according to the Portfolio Azucarero : Industria Azucarera de Cuba, 1912-1914 published by the Cuban Secretary of Agriculture was the owner of both in 1913. The same publication lists him as owner in 1913 of Central Carolina in Palmira, Santa Clara Province.

Esteban Jr. married Carlota Gutierrez Valladón and had two sons Esteban Cacicedo Gutierrez and Felipe Cacicedo Gutierrez. In 1946 Esteban and Felipe acquired Central Caracas from Frank Roberts who had acquired it in the mid 1930 from the First National Bank of Boston. Esteban and Felipe were president and vice president of Central Caracas S. A. and owned the sugar mill until it was nationalized by the Fidel Castro regime.

Laurentino Garcia Alonso

Laurentino Garcia Alonso (1862- ) was a Spanish immigrant from Asturias who married Isabel Eladia Amechazurra y Gomez. In 1913 the Portfolio Azucarero: Industria Azucarera de Cuba, 1912-1914 lists Central Santa Amalia in Cidra, Province of Matanzas as owned by Spaniard Laurentino Garcia. Central Amalia was established in 1843 and at the turn of the century was owned by Taylor Comink. In 1904 it was acquired by Bango & Garcia of which Laurentino Garcia was member, becoming its sole owner in 1914 under the business name Laurentino Garcia S. A. His son Laurentino Garcia Amechazurra (1893-1988) was owner of Central Santa Amalia until the mid 1920s when he lost it due to unpaid debts to The Trust Co. of Cuba.

• Central Progreso near Cardenas Province of Matanzas, was established in the early days of the 20th Century by the firm Suarez & Ruiz and then solely by Evaristo Ruiz who sold it in 1904 to M. Fernandez & Cia. In 1909 it was acquired by the firm Bango & Garcia and in 1913 solely by Laurentino Garcia Alonso. As a result of the sugar industry financial crisis in 1921 Cia. Azucarera del Norte, owner of Central Progreso, was acquired by the General Sugar Co., an affiliate of the National City Bank. In 1932 the sugar mill was acquired by José Arechabala S. A. Where Central Progreso was located is now the home to the Museo de la Agroindustria Azucarera Marcelo Salado.

• Central Socorro in Matanzas was acquired by Garcia Alonso in 1913 and sold to Jose “Pote” López Rodriguez who in turn sold it to the Cuba Cane Sugar Corp. in 1915. In the case of Central Socorro, 60% of the sugarcane it processed was harvested by only one colono named Pedro Arenal.

Juan Aspuru Isasi

Juan Aspuru Isasi (1854-1917) was born in Arrankudiaga in Spain’s Basque Country just south of Bilbao. He emigrated to Cuba where he married Clara San Pedro y Pola and in 1884 with his relative Juan Antonio Isasi established a very successful hardware business named Ferreteria Isasi at 113 Mercaderes Street. He also established Aspuru & Cia., S. A. dedicated to import hardware and agricultural products together with Ignacio Ucelay, Santiago Martorell and Juan Antonio Isasi.

• Central Providencia was established in Güines by Francisco de Arango y Parreño (1765-1837) in 1800 and inherited by his son Francisco Arango. In 1874 it was owned by Maria de los Angeles Gómez de Echarte who in 1878 sold it to Pascual de Goicochea who owned it until 1895. Aspuru’s first venture into the sugar industry was in 1902 when he acquired 51% of the shares of Central Providencia, Inc. In the early 1910s under the corporate name Cia. Azucarera Güines he acquired the remaining 49% outstanding shares of Central Providencia Inc. owned by Antonio Larrea and Francisco Gelats and others.

• Central Toledo in Marianao was supposedly was the oldest sugar mill established in Cuba at the time (1675) renamed Central Toledo in 1865 by its then owner Francisco de Durañona ( -1878) in honor of his town of origin in Spain. In 1909 it was the second sugar mill acquired by Aspuru.

• Central Fajardo was established in 1802 by Catalonian immigrant Domingo Fajardo in San Antonio de los Baños, Havana Province. Felipe Ruiz Hernandez bought Central Fajardo in 1874 and sold it in 1890 to Spaniard Benito Arxer who owned it until 1924. Between 1924 and 1934 it was owned by the Rodriguez Lanza family and Fernando Lobeto Miguel during which time it was inactive. In 1934 it was acquired by Manuel Aspuru San Pedro who operated it and Central Toledo under the corporate name Cia. Azucarera Central Toledo S. A.

The great capital Aspuru was able to amass was inherited by his widow Clara San Pedro and the four children born from their marriage; Manuel Aspuru San Pedro (1892-1982 ), Juan Aspuru San Pedro, Maria Aspuru San Pedro and Clara “Clarisa” Aspuru San Pedro (1889- ) who married Trino Alejo the administrator of Central Providencia. Guillermo Jiménez in his book Los Propietarios de Cuba places Manuel Aspuru San Pedro among the richest men in Cuba in 1958. In addition to Central Providencia and Central Toledo he also owned Licorera de Cuba S. A. manufacturers of liquors and rums, was a pioneer in the manufacture of paper from sugarcane bagasse, was a shareholder of Antillana de Acero and Cabillas Cubanas S. A. both in the steel manufacturing industry, owner of several insurance firms and the second largest shareholder of Banco Financiero, owned by Julio Lobo. He was also the owner of Hotelera del Oeste which owned a hotel in Barlovento (now the Marina Hemingway), was a member of the board of directors of the Cuban North American Cultural Institute and a benefactor of the Academy of Cuban History. He was a substantial contributor to the financing of the Electromechanical School of the Colegio de Belén.

In February 1955 when the Vice President Richard Nixon visited Cuba, he visited the paper from sugarcane bagasse factory at the invitation of Manuel Aspuru who was his host for several days. All of Manuel Aspuru’s holdings in 1959, including Central Providencia, Central Toledo and Central Fajardo were nationalized by the Fidel Castro regime. He emigrated to the US where he died in Palm Beach, FL.

Domingo León

Domingo León Gonzalez (1861-1943) was born in Realejo Alto, Tenerife, Canary Islands from where he emigrated to Cuba in the early 1880s. During the WWI years in the period called the Dance of the Millions, he was one of the so called “great speculators” of the sugar industry in Cuba along with José I. Lezama, Federico Almeida and José “Pote” López Rodriguez. Although . During those years they used extensive financing from Cuban as well as US and Canadian banks to expand the capacity of their existing sugar mills and or acquire new ones but with the price of sugar dropping from 22.5¢ in May 1920 to less than 4¢ by December 1920, in 1921 all of four of lost all or part of their sugar holding to creditors or were forced to sell to pay debt. León was able to maintain some of his holdings for some time in spite of the ut eventually succumbed to the dire financial situation created by his large and speculative investments. He was owner of the following sugar mills:

• Central Caridad

• Central Pilar located in Artemisa Pinar del Río Province was established ca. 1850 by Miguel Chapottín. In the 1870s it was acquired by Francisco Durañona also owner of Central Toledo and Central Antonia.

• Central Ramona located in Rancho Veloz Santa Clara Province was established in 1837 as Ingenio San Francisco de Paula by José Manuel de Cadaval. In 1869 during the Ten Year War, while owned by Lorenzo Arrechavaleta y Arteta of Basque origin, it was damaged by fire and when rebuilt was renamed Central Ramona. Domingo León bought it in 1911 and operated it under the corporate name Sagua-Placetas Sugar Co. together with Central Fidencia. In 1921 it was acquired by Marcelino García Beltrán and sold by his heirs in 1945 to brothers Enrique, Alfredo and Florentino Blanco Rosell who were its owners under the corporate name Cia. Azucarera Central Ramona S. A. until 1960 when it was nationalized by the Fidel Castro regime and its name changed to Central Quintin Banderas which supposedly is still in operation.

• Central San Pedro located in Rancho Veloz Santa Clara Province was owned by Leon in 1913 was acquired by General Sugar Co. and dismantled in 1921

• Central Fidencia was established ca. 1874 by José Vergaga Iñarra as Central Convenio in Placetas Santa Clara Province, it was acquired by León in 1900 who renamed Central Fidencia in honor of his wife. As a result of the sugar price crisis of 1920, ownership was transferred to Sagua-Placetas Sugar Co. controlled by León. Domingo León remained owner of the sugar mill until his death in 1943. It was then owned by Gregorio Escagedo whose family owned it until it was nationalized by the Fidel Castro regime in 1960. The Escagedo family were also owners of Central Caracas in partnership with Esteban Cacicedo Gutierrez.

• Central Estrella located in Céspedes Camagúey Province was established in 1919 by Domingo León in partnership with Federico Almeida, was acquired in 1922 by General Sugar Corp. and incorporated to the Camagüey Sugar Co. In 1958 it was owned by Cia. Azucarera Vertientes-Camagüey which was the company formed in 1937 by the merger of Camagüey Sugar Co. and Cia. Azucarera Vertientes S. A.

Juan Pedro Baró

A 2016 biography by Josep Arasa y Ferrer of Joan Pedro y Roig (1830-1890) confirms that the surname of Juan Pedro Baró as Pedro as opposed to Baró as would be commonly believed. It states that Joan Pedro y Roig was born on April 4, 1830 in Cunelles, Catalonia after his parents had spent eleven years in Cuba. He states that Josep’s uncle Llorenç Pedro was the owner of an important sugar factory called Asunción[1] located in Mariel which he would later inherit. He states that in 1859 Joan Pedro y Roig married Concepción Baró y Jiménez (1835-1902) the daughter of Josep Baró y Blanxart (1798-1878) who at the age of seventeen emigrated to Cuba where he made a fortune in the slave trade. In 1878 upon the death of her father, Concepción inherited Central Conchita which at the time produced 6,700 bags of raw sugar and had four hundred slaves.

In 1845 Josep Baró y Blanxart (changed in Cuba to Blanchart) Juan Pedro’s uncle, established Central Santa Rita in Agramonte, Matanzas Province, he was later given the nobility title 1st Marqués de Santa Rita and 1st Vizconde de Canet de Mar by King Alfonso XII of Spain. The Marqués de Santa Rita title was in reference to his ownership of Central Santa Rita. By the 1870s he was also owner of Central La Luisa in Villa Clara and Central Esperanza un Guantanamo. In 1913 Central Santa Rita was owned by Cia. Azucarera Caobillas.

Juan Pedro Baró (1861-1939) was born in Matanzas, Cuba from the marriage of Joan Pedro y Roig and Concepción Baró y Blanxart. He inherited Central Conchita in Matanzas from his father when on November 5, 1890 he died along with fifty nine others when the ship Victoria sank during a voyage from New York to Havana. In 1910 Juan Pedro Baró sold Central Conchita for 3,500,000 pesos to José “Pote” López Rodriguez who in a matter of six months sold it to the Cuba Cane Sugar Corp. for 6,000,000.

In 1890 Juan Pedro Baró inherited Central Asunción in Mariel Pinar del Rio Province from his mother upon her death. Juan sold it around the same time he sold Conchita as rumors have it due to the circumstances of his personal time at the time as they relate to the failure of his marriage and subsequent involvement with a married woman. His name will forever be associated with his love affair with Catalina Lasa which was a big scandal in its day, has been widely publicized and of which you can read the complete history here.

__________________________________________________

[1] established in 1800 by Spaniard José A. Escobar

José I. Lezama

The publication Portfolio Azucarero: Industria Azucarera de Cuba, 1912-1914 lists only one sugar mill associated with the Lezama last name, Central Unión in Agramonte, Matanzas Province owned by the heirs of J. Lezama. Antonio Santamaría García in his book Sin Azúcar No Hay País lists Central Unión as Owned by J. I. Lezama in 1919 and by Cia. Azucarera del Sur in 1925 and dismantled by 1937. Santamaria García states that in 1919 the sugar mills controlled by Lezama produced 1.8% of the total sugar produced in Cuba.

Muriel McAvoy in her book Sugar Baron states that in 1917 Jose I. Lezama’s four Matanzas plantations produced some 380,000 bags. The four plantations were:

• Central Limones in Guamacaro Matanzas Province, acquired from the Sucn. Emilio Terry who in turn had acquired it in 1879 in payment of a $600,000 loan Terry had made to Ricardo O’Farrill in 1869. It was lost in the 1921 price debacle to the Banco Nacional de Cuba.

• Central Triunvirato, in Santa Ana Matanzas Province was owned in 1913 by the sons of Antonia Madan y Madan (1803-1878) and her husband Julián Alfonso y Soler (1796- ) which marriage took place in 1820 and of which twelve children were born. On November 5, 1843 at Central Triunvirato, then owned by the Alfonso y Soler family, took place the largest slave uprising on the island. In 1991 in commemoration of the events the Monument to the Rebel Slave was erected.

• Central Luisa, in Limonar Matanzas Province was owned in 1913 by Cia. Azucarera Central Luisa, was dismantled.

• Central San Cayetano in Cidra.

Other sugar mills reportedly owned by J. I. Lezama were:

• Central Presidente, owned in 1919 by Lezama under the Cia. Azucarara Central Rey, was acquired by Punta Alegre and was dismantled

• Central Resolución in Qemado de Güines Santa Clara Province was owned in 1913 by Messrs. Rodas and Molina Sell a Spaniard

• Central Progreso

John Paul Rathbone in his book The Sugar King of Havana states; “Eleven days after José “Pote” Lopez Rodriguez committed suicide on March 28, 1921, Cuba’s leading sugar speculator José Lezama met his creditors, declared himself bankrupt and fled the country leaving debts of $24 million behind.”

Federico Almeida/José Marimón

The dramatic increase in the price of sugar during the WWI years enticed several local investors to venture into the sugar industry and/or increase their sugar industry holdings. One of these local investors was a Spaniard from Moya, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands named Federico Almeida Cauvín who arrived in Cuba in the 1880s. After arrival in Cuba, Almeida became a colono of Central Unión and Central Hatillo both in Oriente Province, the latter which he acquired in 1912.

Together with José “Pote” López Rodriguez, J. I. Lezama and Domingo León they were dubbed “the great sugar speculators”. López Rodriguez and Lezama lost all their holdings in 1921 at the end of the so called Dance of the Millions when they were unable to satisfy bank loans outstanding due to the fall in the price of sugar from 22.5¢ in May 1920 to less than 4¢ by December 1920. Lezama and León were able to hold on to some of their sugar mills but eventually also lost them. Some of Almeida’s business ventures were in partnership with Saniard from Villafranca de Penedés, Barcelona, Catalonia José Marimón Juliach (1866-) who arrived in Santiago de Cuba in 1878 and who since 1907 was the president of Banco Español de la Isla de Cuba, the second largest bank in Cuba in 1915 after Banco Nacional. Marimón business enterprises were extensive and included the firm Marimón Bosch & Cia. inn association with Juan Bosch, Central Canarias in partnership with Almeida and Compañia Azucarera Oriental established in 1914 owner of six sugar mills. Due to the critical financial situation he faced as a result of the sugar price debacle that caused the demise of his sugar business and the ensuing financial crisis that caused the closure of the Banco Español de la Isla d Cuba, Marimón left the island unexpectedly in 1921 without leaving any trace of his destiny.

According to Antonio Santamaria Gracía in his book Sin Azúcar No Hay País the sugar sugar mills owned by F. Almeida in 1919 produced 1.3% of the total sugar production of the whole island of Cuba. His sugar mills were acquired by its major creditors banks as follows:

Acquired by the Santa Ana Sugar Co., a subsidiary of the West India Sugar Finance Co.

• Central Hatillo - located in Oriente Province was established in 1850 went bankrupt in 1875, purchased by Santiago Rousseau in 1880by Almeida in 1912, acquired by the Santa Ana Sugar Co. before 1925

• Central Santa Ana located in San Luis Oriente Province was established in 1854 by Simon O’Callaghan, was acquired in 1868 by Francisco Auzá and was owned in 1917 by Sucrs. de Auzá y Escoriaza[1] who owned it since 1889, was acquired by the West India Sugar Finance Co. before 1925

Acquired by General Sugar Corp.

• Central Santa Rosa, acquired by General Sugar before 1925

• Central San Isidro, acquired from Federico Almeida and José Maria Beguiristain, acquired by General Sugar before 1925

• Central Estrella, built in 1918 by Almeida in partnership with Domingo León, was acquired by General Sugar before 1925

Acquired by Sugar Plantations Operating Co. (Royal bank of Canada) ,

• Central Borjita located in Dos Caminos Oriente Province, acquired after 1925 by Cia. Azucarera Maisí a subsidiary of Sugar Plantations Operating Co.

• Central Almeida-Baltony in Los Reynaldos Oriente Province - acquired after 1925

______________________________________________________________

[1] was owned in 1889 by the firm Auzá & Escoriaza then in 1900 by Dolores Castañeda vda. de Auzá and Nicolas Escoriaza and in 1916 to Sucrs. de Auzá y Escoriaza

Vicente Gonzalez-Abreu

Vicente Gonzalez-Abreu y Jiménez (1821- ) was born in the Province of Santa Clara the son of Spanish immigrants from Realejo de Arriba, Tenerife Canary Islands Manuel Gonzalez-Abreu (1773-1838) and Cuban born of Spanish parents Rosa María Jiménez Peña whom he married in 1802. The couple had seventeen children. Vicente married twice, first in 1862 to Brigida Maria de los Dolores Lopez-Silvero y Gutierrez and a second time in 1881 to Lutgarda Lopez-Silvero y Ledón. The family sugar business passed on to his son from his first marriage Vicente Gonzalez-Abreu y Lopez-Silvero (1863-1928) and then to a third generation represented by Vicente Gonzalez-Abreu y Silva (1890-1959).

In 1919 the sugar mills owned by Gonzalez-Abreu produced 1.9% of the total sCuban sugar production but by 1925 that number was reduced to 1.0%[1]. During that period of time, especially in 1921 due to the sugar price crisis, González-Abreu had to get rid of some of his holdings in order to keep others. In 1927 he owned only two sugar mills.

• Central Santa Catalina in 1921 Gonzalez-Abreu was able to retain this sugar mill by transferring title to the Cia. Azucarera Sta. Catalina S. A. who was still its owner in 1937.

• Central San Antonio, according to Antonio Santamaría Garcia in his book Sin Azúcar No Hay Pais was owned by Vicente Gonzalez-Abreu between 1919 and 1925 but appears to have been dismantled by 1937.

• Central San José located in Placetas was established ca, 1840 by Spaniard Antonio Tuero. In 1883 was owned by Tuero in partnership with Agustín Goicochea downer of Zozaya & Cia. It remained in the Goicochea family from 1895 to 1912 when it was owned by Agustín and Juan Goicochea Durañona and then until 1918 solely by Agustin Goicochea Durañona due to the death of his brother. According to Antonio Santamaría Garcia in his book Sin Azúcar No Hay Pais it was owned in 1919 by Vicente Gonzalez-Abreu who was still its owner in 1925 and in 1937 was owned by the Cia. Arrendataria San José.

• Central Santa Rosa in Ranchuelo Santa Clara Province was owned in 1913 by the heirs of Vicente Gonzalez Abreu was acquired by General Sugar Co. and incorporated Central Santa Rosa together with Central Estrella of Domingo León into the Vertientes Sugar Co. who owned two additional sugar mills, Central Agramonte and Central Vertientes.

____________________________________________________________

[1] Antonio Santamaría García; Sin Azúcar No Hay País

José Arechabala

José Arechabala y Aldama (1847-1923) was a Spanish immigrant who since 1878 established in Cárdenas a sugar trading and warehouse business and a distillery he called La Vizcaya where he manufactured the famous Havana Club Rum. In 1921 he renamed his business José Arechabala S. A. which in 1932 got involved in the sugar manufacturing industry thereby reducing its costs and ensuring the quality and consistency of the raw material used in his enterprises.

• Central Progreso was established before the Cuban War of Independence during which period it did not operate. It resumed operations in 1903 when it produced 3.8 m. t. of sugar production that increased to 5.3 m. t. in 1907 after new machinery was installed. In 1899 it was owned by the firm Suárez & Ruiz and in 1904 by Evaristo Ruiz, one of its partners. Ruiz sold it to M. Fernandez & Cia. who in 1909 sold it to Bango & Garcia. In 1913 it passed on to Laurentino Garcia Alonso, one of the partners of Bango & Gracia who left it idle for two years while the sugar mill was modernized. In 1910 Central Progreso produced 10.1 m. t. of sugar and in just three years had doubled its production to 21.6 m. t. In 1921 Central Progreso was acquired by the General Sugar Corp. for unpaid debts to the National City Bank who leased it for the 1921-1924 grinding seasons and in 1925 transferred title to Cia. Azucarera del Norte, a subsidiary of General Sugar Corp. On December 14, 1932 José Arechabala S. A. established Cia. Consolidada Azucarera to acquire Central Progreso which at the time had been idle for two years.

• Central Porfuerza was established in 1874 by Carlos Manuel Garcia under its original name Central Santa Facunda in honor of his wife. The sugar mill was inactive during the Cuban War of Independence and resumed operations in 1901. It had several owners until 1928 when it was acquired by Armour & Co. in lieu of payment from its then owner Casas & Sardiña. The Cuban government seized it in 1937 and sold it to Elisha Walker who in 1943 sold it to José Arechabala S. A. The main reason José Arechabala S. A. had acquired Central Porfuerza under the Cia. Agrícola Indarra name, was that it had a refinery and a distillery. At inception the president of Cia. Agrícola Indarra was José Fermín Iturrioz who was General Manager of José Arechabala S. A. and who it is speculated owned a minority interest in Cia. Agrícola Indarra. Iturrioz, who in 1953 had acquired Central Dos Rosas from the Charles E. Hires Co., in 1959 became sole owner of Central Porfuerza under the name Agrícola Indarra S. A.

All the businesses that at one time belonged to José Arechabala S. A. were nationalized by the Fidel Castro Regime in 1960. The case of the Havana Club brand was or is subject to extended legal battles that include Bacardí & Co. who purchased the rum formula from Arechabala in 1993, the Cuban government who continues to produce the brand in Cuba for local consumption and for export except to the US and Pernod Ricard who the Cuban government awarded its world wide distribution. In May of 1934 just after the end of the prohibition years in the US, José Arechabala S. A. opened a bar at the Palacio de los Condes de Bayona on Plaza de la Catedral or Havana’s main square opposite the Havana Cathedral, to promote its rum to the increasing number of tourists.

Fulgencio Batista

Fulgencio Batista Zaldivar (1901-1973) was president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and again from 1952 until 1959. Aside from his military and political career, he was involved in many different enterprises usually anonymously. He was involved in the sugar industry as owner of three sugar mills under the corporate names Cia. Agricola Defensa S. A. , Cia. de Industrias Andorra S. A. and Rancho Veloz Sugar Co. He was also a stockholder at Cia. Azucarera Atlantica del Golfo S. A.

• Central Wahington, originally known as Central San José, was established in 1899 by cuban Cirilo Gonzalez. On April 1, 1919 the Washington Sugar Co. was incorporated in New York with Walter Ogilvie as its president and Manuel Rionda as its vice president and George McDougal and Adolfo Pavenstedt as directors. In 1920 Central Washington was sold and in 1922 was again sold at public auction to satisfy an unpaid debt of $250,000. Between 1922 and 1941 when acquired by Batista was owned by several entities including Armour & Cia., Elisha Walker of New York and John E. Sanford of Atlanta. Central Washington was Batista’s first sugar mill acquisition in 1941, made under the corporate name Cia. Agricola Defensa S. A. of which Mario Miranda Blanco, the nephew of Francisco Blanco Calás[1], was its president.

• Central Constancia was established in 1857 by Spaniard from Navarra Martin Felipe de Apezteguía y Apecechea, the husband of Josefa Mariana Tarafá Mechín. Was acquired by the Cuban American Sugar Co. Under the ownership of their son Julio de Apezteguía Tarafá Marquis of Apesteguía (1843-1902) in 1889-1890 Central Constancia was the largest sugar mill in the world. In 1901 it passed on to the ownership of the Constancia Sugar Co. by foreclosure on unpaid debt. The Constancia Sugar Co. operated the sugar mill until 1922 when the Colonial Sugars Co. a subsidiary of the Cuban-American Sugar Co. acquired it. In 1949 Manuel de la Riva acquired it on behalf of Fulgencio Batista under the corporate name Rancho Veloz Sugar Co.

• Central Andorra in Artemisa was the last sugar mill acquired by the Batista interests in 1955 by his wife Martha Fernández Miranda and their son Rubén Batista Fernández under the corporate name Industrias Andorra S. A. Central Andorra was built by Manuel Galdo & Cia. in 1917 for Manuel Gutiérrez. It then had several owners among them Ezequiel Zubillaga and brothers Juan, Manuel and Marcos Zárraga Ortíz until it was acquired by Batista and Gastón Godoy, president of the Banco de los Colonos and of the Cuban House of Representatives.

Another of Batista’s sugar related investments was Cia. Agrícola Punta Felipe S. A. one of the to forty sugar plantations in Cuba that provided sugarcane as a colono of Central Washington.

___________________________________________________

[1] In 1948 Francisco Blanco Calás acquired Central Corazón de Jesús located in Sitiecito, Sagua, Las Villas from Dolores Ramos vda. de Gaye and in 1937 acquired Central Ulacia from Manuel Gómez Waddington. In 1936 he acquired Central Trinidad which he sold in 1942 to Jesús Azqueta.