Havana Club

Havana Club is a brand of rum created in Cuba in 1934, and now one of the best-selling rum brands in the world. Originally produced in Cardenas, Cuba by family-owned Jose Arechabala S.A., the brand was nationalized after the Cuban Revolution of 1959. Since 1994 it has been produced in Cuba and sold globally (except the United States) by Havana Club International, a 50:50 joint venture between Pernod Ricard and the Cuban government. Bacardi also produces a competing product with the same name in Puerto Rico, sold only in the United States. The two companies have engaged in ongoing litigation about ownership of the brand.

History and production

The Arechabala family founded a distillery in Cardenas, Cuba in 1878. Later renamed Jose Arechabala S.A., the company created the Havana Club brand in 1934, and sold rum under that name in both Cuba and the United States. The company was nationalized by the Castro government in 1960. Subsequently, the Arechabala family left Cuba for Spain and the United States.

Buena Vista

Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to:

Places

Argentina

Belize

Bolivia

Canada

Colombia

Cuba

Dominican Republic

Gibraltar

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Puerto Rico

United States

(by state)

Buena Vista Social Club

The Buena Vista Social Club was a members' club in Havana, Cuba, that closed in the 1940s, as well as a 1990s band, a 1997 album, a 1999 film, and an unofficial brand name representing the musical spirit of the original Havana club.

The original Buena Vista Social Club held dances and musical activities, becoming a popular location for musicians to meet and play during the 1940s. In the 1990s, nearly 50 years after the club was closed, it inspired a recording made by Cuban musician Juan de Marcos González and American guitarist Ry Cooder with traditional Cuban musicians, some of whom were veterans who had performed at the club during the height of its popularity.

The recording, named Buena Vista Social Club after the Havana institution, became an international success, and the ensemble was encouraged to perform with a full line-up in Amsterdam in April 1998 (two nights). German director Wim Wenders captured the performance on film and the one that followed on the 1st of July 1998 in Carnegie Hall, New York City for a documentary—also called Buena Vista Social Club—that included interviews with the musicians conducted in Havana. Wenders' film was released on 4 June 1999 to critical acclaim, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary feature and winning numerous accolades including Best Documentary at the European Film Awards.

Social club

A social club may refer to a group of people or the place where they meet, generally formed around a common interest, occupation or activity (e.g. hunting, fishing, science, politics, or charity work). This article covers only three distinct types of social clubs, the historic gentlemen's clubs, the modern activities clubs, and an introduction to fraternities and sororities. This article does not cover a variety of other types of clubs having some social characteristics, for example specific single-activity based clubs, military officers' clubs, university clubs and country clubs.

History

Working men's clubs developed in Britain during Victorian times as institutes where working class men could attend lectures and take part in recreational pursuits. The Reverend Henry Solly founded the Working Men's Club and Institute Union (CIU) for this purpose in 1862. Many middle class social reformers founded these clubs during the temperance movement as a place to relax without alcohol, but in time this changed. They became a combination of public houses (pubs), music-halls, and clubs, becoming places to be entertained, to drink socially, and to play bar games. Their mainly working-class patronage is not seen as fashionable among some sections of society today, and they have come under increasing pressure regarding attitudes to membership rights for women and ethnic minorities. The CIU was heavily involved in resisting the smoking ban in private clubs; it remains to be seen how many survive the change of law.

Havana

Havana (/həˈvænə/; Spanish: La Habana, [la aˈβana]) is the capital city, largest city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of 728.26 km² (281.18 sq mi) – making it the largest city by area, the most populous city, and the third largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean region. The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet and which divides into three main harbours: Marimelena, Guanabacoa and Atarés. The sluggish Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay.

The city of Havana was founded by the Spanish in the 16th century and due to its strategic location it served as a springboard for the Spanish conquest of the continent becoming a stopping point for the treasure-laden Spanish galleons on the crossing between the New World and the Old World. King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City in 1592. Walls as well as forts were built to protect the old city. The sinking of the U.S. battleship Maine in Havana's harbor in 1898 was the immediate cause of the Spanish–American War.