Cuban colognes honor Che, Chavez

Call it Eau de Revolution.

Cuba's biggest producer of natural products has come up with cologne for the discerning supporter of Argentine-born guerrilla leader Ernesto "Che" Guevara who wants something more than just an iconic "Che" T-shirt.

A woodsy and refreshing citric scent with notes of talcum powder called "Ernesto" salutes Guevara. For those seeking something softer and fruitier, there's a blend with hints of mango and papaya called "Hugo", named in honor of former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.

"They will be very attractive colognes, but the names also mean a lot to us," said Isbel Gonzalez, vice-president for research and development at Labiofam, which produces homeopathic medicines, cleaning products and dietary supplements.

Formulated by a French company and produced in Cuba, the colognes are being presented this week at a Labiofam convention in Havana. The two scents so far come in generic bottles with simple printed labels bearing only their names. Labiofam is developing more attractive packaging with hopes of offering the colognes for sale in Cuba and internationally.

Labiofam officials said they worked for more than a year and a half with the French firm Robertet to produce the colognes. The Cuban company polled 122 visitors to other pharmaceutical conventions to determine what names people preferred from a pre-selected list of options.

"It was a great challenge," said Cuban biochemist Mario Valdes, who led the scent design team.

Labiofam is also producing a pair of women's perfumes called "Amalia" and "Alba". While ALBA is the Spanish acronym for the leftist Latin American regional alliance founded by Chavez, Gonzalez did not provide details about whether the new perfumes' names also have political connotations.

Celebrity endorsements are a vital part of the perfume and cologne business, but scents inspired by political figures are rare.

Visitors' reactions

Guevara's image has long been appropriated for products as diverse as clothing and automobiles. But the marketing has often run into objections from people aligned with opponents of the revolutionary, who helped rebels forces overthrow Cuban president Fulgencio Batista in 1959.

At the Labiofam convention, visitors' reactions to the revolutionary scents were largely positive.

"I'd probably be more likely to buy 'Ernesto' because the scent is a little more striking," said Reymundo Miranda, an expert in traditional medicine.

Valdes said the colognes are not intended to trivialize the two men's legacies.

"We didn't want to create propaganda, but rather pay homage to them and help their names endure," he said.

(China Daily 09/26/2014 page10)