Cuban firm creates Che Guevara cologne

Those who spent time up close to Ernesto “Che” Guevara might balk at the idea of the Argentinian revolutionary’s personal aroma being summed up as fragrant citrus and woodsy notes. This was, after all, someone who so disliked bathing or changing his clothes that his youthful nickname wasEl Chancho, or The Pig.

But citrus and wood is the carefully selected smell for Ernesto, a new cologne designed by a Cuban company in association with French perfumers. For those with more modern revolutionary tastes there is also a fruitier scent, with hints of mango and papaya, called Hugo, after Hugo Chávez, the late Venezuelan president.

“They will be very attractive colognes, but the names also mean a lot to us,” said Isabel Gonzalez, of Labiofam, a Cuban company better known for making homeopathic medicines and dietary supplements.

Labiofam spent 18 months working with a French company, Robertet, to formulate the scents, uncorked this week at a launch event in Havana. Presented initially in plain bottles, Gonzalez said her firm planned to develop more distinctive packaging to market the colognes both in Cuba and overseas.

Guevara, who played a significant role in the revolution that overthrew Cuba’s dictator Fulgencio Batista before being executed aged 39 in Bolivia, has long had a presence far beyond far-left politics, mainly through the ubiquitous T-shirt reproductions of his handsome, bearded face.

According to those who knew him, Guevara could be a less appealing prospect at closer proximity, even by the standards of ascetic revolutionaries in tropical climates. His avoidance of showers or baths supposedly dated back to his youth, and is variously explained by a disdain for bourgeoise conventions or, more charitably, a fear of asthma attacks brought on by cold water.

According to Mario Valdes, who led the scent design team, the Guevara and Chávez families have both given approval for the names to be used. The head of Labiofam is a nephew of Fidel and Raúl Castro.

Valdes said there was no intention to trivialise the men’s legacies: “We didn’t want to create propaganda, but rather pay homage to them and help their names endure.”