Coaster with marlin-fishing cartoon, Cuba

Object/Artifact

-

Archive of Cuban Socialism

Name/Title

Coaster with marlin-fishing cartoon, "Cuba"

Entry/Object ID

2025.1.294

Description

Round pressed-pulpboard coaster printed in red on a cream ground. A line cartoon shows a cheerful boy angler in a hat, striped shirt, and sandals, holding a rod, with a large billfish — a marlin/swordfish (aguja), rendered with its long bill, spiny dorsal and fin rays — beside him; the scene is filled out with a radiant sun, clouds, a small sailboat, and a dock piling. Bold rounded letters at the bottom read "CUBA." 15 identical items.

Use

In the Arús Caraballo household

Context

The marlin (aguja), rod-and-reel angler, and sailboat evoke big-game billfishing, and most likely allude to the Torneo Internacional de la Aguja — the Ernest Hemingway International Billfish Tournament — long associated with the Marina Hemingway west of Havana (the tournament traces back to a competition Hemingway himself inaugurated in 1950 and later carried the marina's name). With no venue, brewery, or printer line, the piece functions as a generic "Cuba" souvenir rather than the branding of one establishment.

Collection

The Cabrera Arús family collection

Acquisition

Accession

2025.1

Made/Created

Place

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Notes

Source/publisher: not stated; generic "Cuba" sport-fishing souvenir/barware (plausibly tied to the Marina Hemingway / Torneo de la Aguja milieu — to confirm). Date: undetermined; tentatively 1970s–1980s (cartoon and lettering style). Not closely datable from the object.

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Notes

"CUBA" in bold rounded red capitals; pictorial cartoon.

Dimensions

Diameter

9.5 cm

Materials

Material

Cardboard

Material Notes

Pressed wood-pulp coaster board; red printing ink.

Condition

Overall Condition

Good

Relationships

Related Places

Place

City

Havana

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Notes

use

Research Notes

Notes

Open questions: the cartoonist/artist; the publisher or printer; the date; whether it belongs to a series.

Notes

Marlin fishing is a deep strand of Cuban–Hemingway lore (The Old Man and the Sea).

Created By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Create Date

March 31, 2022

Updated By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Update Date

June 18, 2026