Soft-drink bottle, "Tropi Cola" (TropiCola), Cuban, 207 ml
Entry/Object ID
2025.11.19
Description
Slender returnable soda bottle in colorless/pale-aqua glass with a white applied color label. The shoulder carries a rising-sun (sunburst) logo above the "Tropi Cola" wordmark; the lower body has a white ingredients panel in a rounded-rectangle frame with the sunburst logo repeated below. Empty; no closure.
Acquisition
Accession
2025.11
Acquisition Method
Purchase
Made/Created
Place
Country
Cuba
Region
Caribbean, Central America
Notes
Maker: Cuban state soft-drink industry; brand TropiCola (Cuba's national cola). No specific bottling enterprise or glassworks named on the visible faces.
Date: No printed date. Post-1962 Cuban product; vintage ACL design and 207 ml returnable format suggest c. 1970s–1980s, but in-range placement cannot be confirmed and a later example isn't excluded.
Inscription/Signature/Marks
Notes
Shoulder: sunburst logo + "Tropi Cola."
Reverse: "Ingredientes: agua carbonatada, azúcar refino, extractos aromáticos, ácido fosfórico, caramelo y cafeína. Contenido: 0.207 l. HECHO EN CUBA," with the sunburst "Tropi Cola" logo below.
Materials
Material Notes
Materials: Glass (colorless/pale aqua); fired-enamel applied color label (white).
Technique: Machine-molded glass bottle; applied color label (ACL).
Condition
Overall Condition
Fair
Research Notes
Notes
In 1989, Carlos Varela recorded the song “Tropicollage,” taking inspiration in this carbonated drink’s name for the title of his song.
Notes
Brand: TropiCola was Cuba's domestic cola, a symbol of post-embargo self-sufficiency after Coca-Cola left the island; the brand persists today.
