Cubana de Aviación advertising drink stirrer / swizzle stick — yellow

Object/Artifact

-

Archive of Cuban Socialism

Name/Title

Cubana de Aviación advertising drink stirrer / swizzle stick — yellow

Entry/Object ID

2025.25.11

Description

Single pale-yellow (now amber-discolored) plastic drink stirrer. The top is a parallelogram-shaped paddle with a double-line border, embossed with the Cubana de Aviación logo (an abstract geometric device — a bold diagonal bar with three parallelogram panels). The flat shaft carries a small embossed cavity mark ("4") and terminates in a small ball foot.

Collection

María Teresa Cornide Hernández collection

Acquisition

Accession

2025.25

Made/Created

Manufacturer

Cubana de Aviación

Place

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Notes

Maker: Cubana de Aviación (Cuba's national airline) — promotional/in-flight barware; stirrer manufacturer not marked. Date: Not closely datable from the object. The airline has run continuously since 1929, so the brand doesn't fix a date; the aged plastic and mid-century logo style suggest mid-20th-century manufacture, plausibly around the pre/post-1959 boundary, but this cannot be confirmed within 1959–1990 and may fall outside it. (Tentative; boundary/transitional.)

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Notes

Embossed Cubana de Aviación logo on the paddle (diagonal bar with three parallelogram panels within a rhomboid border); small embossed cavity number ("4") on the shaft. No other text.

Materials

Material

Plastic

Material Notes

Materials: Molded plastic (polystyrene/acrylic), originally pale yellow, now amber-discolored/stained with age. Technique: Injection-molded stirrer with integrally embossed logo; ball-foot terminal.

Condition

Overall Condition

Fair

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Cubana de Aviación

Related Places

Place

City

Havana

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Notes

use

Research Notes

Notes

Cubana de Aviación, founded 1929, is Cuba's flag carrier and one of the oldest airlines in Latin America. Pre-1959 it had Pan American involvement and flew international routes (including to the US and Madrid); after the 1959 revolution it was nationalized as the state airline, reorienting toward socialist-bloc and other destinations. An airline-branded stirrer like this would have served in-flight bar/lounge contexts.

Created By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Create Date

April 27, 2026

Updated By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Update Date

June 14, 2026