Name/Title
"Fiesta" (agua de colonia) Eau de cologne bottleEntry/Object ID
2025.1.272Description
Colorless glass bottle of oblong section with strongly chamfered (beveled) vertical corners — giving a flattened octagonal cross-section — rounded shoulders, and a short neck closed by a tall black molded-plastic (phenolic/"bakelite"-type) screw cap. The bottle is nearly full of pale-yellow cologne. A paper front label in a mid-century modernist style carries a grid of navy-blue blocks on a (now browned) light ground: "agua de colonia" reversed out of a blue block, "FIESTA" in serif capitals beneath, "HECHO EN CUBA" below that, and a small navy block at the foot bearing a cursive monogram.Use
Belonged to Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez. Unused.Context
A domestically produced Cuban eau de cologne made by the Cuban state perfumery-and-cosmetics enterprise that succeeded the island's pre-1959 private houses (Crusellas, Sabatés, Gravi, the perfumer Agustín Reyes). State perfumery was consolidated as the Empresa Consolidada de Jabonería y Perfumería, founded in 1961 under the Ministry of Industries (then headed by Ernesto "Che" Guevara), with the Suchel/Suchel-Fragancias identity emerging in the mid-1960s. Everyday domestic colognes such as "Fiesta" were standard revolutionary-era consumer toiletries.Collection
The Cabrera Arús family collection, Gertrudis Caraballo Gálvez collecitionMade/Created
Manufacturer
MINILPlace
City
HavanaCountry
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaEdition
FiestaNotes
Date: circa 1960s–1970s (tentative). Terminus post quem ~1961 for nationalized state perfumery, with the "Suchel" producer identity in use from roughly the mid-1960s; the modernist grid label fits that period.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Type
LabelLocation
bottleTranscription
agua de colonia, Fiesta, hecho en cubaLanguage
SpanishTranslation
eau de cologne, Fiesta, made in cubaNotes
Label: "agua de colonia" / "FIESTA" / "HECHO EN CUBA" followed by an indistinct numeral or mark; a cursive monogram (not securely legible) reversed out of the lower navy block.Parts
Glass bottle; threaded screw cap.Materials
Material
Glass, Plastic, PaperMaterial Notes
Colorless molded glass; black molded plastic (phenolic/"bakelite"-type) cap; lithographed paper label; cologne liquid (contents present).Relationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Gertrudis Caraballo GálvezNotes
ownerRelated Places
Place
City
HavanaCountry
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaNotes
production, acquisition, useCreated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsCreate Date
April 29, 2022Updated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsUpdate Date
June 15, 2026