In the true spirit of Marxist revolution, a Cuban company has concocted a cologne named after guerrilla leader Ernesto “Che” Guevara. The development of the fragrance—presumably an exercise in capitalism—is an homage to the iconic South American revolutionary, the company said. But what exactly does revolution smell like? “’Ernesto’ promises to be a woodsy and refreshing citric scent with notes of talcum powder,” the BBC reports. The company has also come up with a scent dedicated to late-Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, which the BBC notes, “offers a softer, fruitier fragrance with hints of mango and papaya.”
Here’s more on the scented tribute from the AP:
“They will be very attractive colognes, but the names also mean a lot to us,” said Isbel Gonzalez, vice president for research and development for Labiofam, which produces homeopathic medicines, cleaning products and dietary supplements. Formulated by a French company and produced in Cuba, the colognes are being presented this week at a Labiofam convention in Havana. The two scents so far have generic bottles and simple printed labels bearing only their names. But Labiofam is developing more attractive bottles and labels with hopes of putting the colognes on sale in Cuba and internationally, Gonzalez said. She declined to provide a timeline. Labiofam officials said they and French firm Robertet worked for more than 1 1/2 years to produce the colognes. The Cuban company polled 122 visitors to other pharmaceutical conventions to determine what names people preferred from a pre-selected list of options. Labiofam’s director…said the families of Guevara and Chavez had been consulted and approved the use of the names.
