A Cuban businesswoman thinks she has discovered the recipe for a distinctive DIY perfume that she plans to release on the international market eventually.
One of Cuba’s most important and well-known exports is tobacco, which grows abundantly across the western portion of the Caribbean island, particularly in the province of Pinar del Rio, which produces the greatest tobacco and cigars in the world.
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Green and veiny cigar leaves are crushed, and their aromatic fluids are combined with various essences and alcohol, 53-year-old Clara Camalleri told Reuters in her little laboratory adjacent to her family’s house.
“It gives it a special touch and smell, more well-rounded,” she remarked.
“Vitola Cubana,” the perfume she refers to, has a scent she describes as “exotic” with elements of “acid and wood that confer a seductive and distinctive character.”
Although Camalleri stated she started producing fragrances at home in 2018, the company was only recently established when the communist government of Cuba overturned a prohibition on private businesses that had been in place since shortly after Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution.
As Cuba struggles through its worst economic crisis in decades, entrepreneurs confront unique difficulties, according to Camalleri, who recently worked through a blackout on a morning.
“(Making perfume) is complicated, not just in Cuba, but anywhere. And here we have many more obstacles,” she noted.
It can be difficult to get imports, raw materials, and even necessities like packaging and energy, she continued.
Despite these obstacles, Camalleri continues to manufacture antibacterial gels, colognes, and other scents using the essences of sunflower, chocolate, coffee, and cinnamon.
She said she works with her parents, mother, and two kids and expects to export her goods eventually, but for now, she has found a sizable domestic market.
“In Cuba, there’s a shortage of perfumes…and so we’re trying to meet that demand,” Camalleri stated.
