Old Havana, Cuba
One of the Finest Art Deco Buildings
in
Latin America
The Bacardi Building (Edificio Bacardi) is an Art Deco Havana landmark designed by the architects, Esteban Rodriguez-Castells and Rafael Fernandez Ruenes. Construction was started on January 6, 1930 and was completed by the 300-day deadline the company had set for the following December 1930 and was the tallest building in Havana. At the peak of the building is a bronze sculpture of the company logo, a fruit bat.
The iconic Bacardi bat logo came about when Dona Amalia, the wife of the founder, Facundo Bacardi Masso, spotted a colony of fruit bats in the rafters of the first Bacardi distillery in Santiago de Cuba. Symbolizing good health, family unity and good fortune, she knew the bat was the right choice to symbolize the name, Bacardi.
The Bacardi name dates back to 1862 in Santiago de Cuba and unfolds across the Caribean and to the United States. Founded by Spanish born Facundo Bacardi Masso, whose family immigrated to Cuba when he was 16, he eventually set about refining rum under the Bacardi name. Up until this point it had been made cheaply and was not considered to be a desirable drink. He developed a proprietary strain of yeast giving Bacardi its clean flavor profile, filtered it through charcoal to remove impurities and aged the rum in white oak barrels to mellow it. This resulted in the the first clear, or "white" rum in the world.
The Bacardi Building was designed to be the headquarters for the Bacardi Rum Company. It was nationalized by the Castro government in the early 1960s. Sadly, all Bacardi operations and assets in Cuba were illegally confiscated without compensation by revolutionary government forces on October 14, 1960, just shy of the company's 100th anniversary. The Bacardi family remains strong though many were forced to flee the island in exile. Having cleverly moved the company's trademarks and yeast strain out of Cuba, they continued operations in the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain and The Bahamas.
The first floor contained a bar with column archways where patrons of the restaurant in the mezzanine area could overlook the bar while they dined. It was open to the public andwas known to have many celebrities visit. Most of the marble and granite were imported from Europe, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Italy, France, Belgium and Hungary. The first floor walls, floor and ceiling are adorned in pink granite from Bavaria and the two halls are of green marble from floor to ceiling. The construction work took great care in the fine details and the time-sensitivity of the project deadline.
Sidenote: Ernest Hemingway moved to Cuba in 1939 and lived close to Havana. He spent much of his time at the Floridita Bar enjoying daiquiris made of Bacardi. His love for this cocktail lead him to immortalize them in his novels. Bacardi even threw the famous author a party when he won the Nobel Prize in 1954.
Art Deco Bathroom
Ernest Hemmingway Home
Key West, Florida
The Bacardi name is a fascinating history of a successful and industrious family business that became a world-renowed brand. At El Meson de Pepe in Key West, Bacardi is their rum of choice for signature mojitos and other tropical cocktails. If in Key West, stop by their family-owned restaurant for authentic tastes of Cuba. It is located in the Old Town neighborhood next to Mallory Square where tourists and locals enjoy Sunset Celebration each evening.
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