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Prodigious noses
• All the scents of perfumes, soaps,
cosmetics, toiletries and cleaning products made by
the Cuban light industry come together under Suchel
Fragancias, an enterprise with Cuban capital
BY
RAISA PAGES
—Granma
International staff writer—
THE
beginnings of perfume go back to the Stone Age, when
men burned aromatic woods and resins to please their
gods.
European perfumes arrived in Havana during the 17th
century, and during the 18th century some Parisian
houses began to open shops there. The French
perfumeries Molinard and Guerlain had affiliates in
downtown Havana, among the first to be established
in the country.
In
Cuba, with its intense sun and humid climate,
hygiene is vital. Cubans have never been able to do
without perfume, colognes, deodorants and scented
soap as part of a culture of smelling good in order
to counteract the rigors of the climate.
France has always been recognized as the cradle of
perfume and Grasse as the specific region where the
planet’s most subtle essences emerged.
When
you cross the threshold of Suchel Fragancia’s
laboratory in Havana, you find yourself looking at
dozens of amber bottles. Each one holds an essential
oil that goes through a laborious process in order
to obtain its intoxicating extract.
Zunilda Martínez, Suchel Fragancia’s director, does
not hesitate to affirm that the main working tools
of her group, composed of 54 workers, the majority
of them specialists and technicians, are their
noses.
“We
all need to have a good sense of smell here, because
it contributes to preventing problems throughout
every part of the production process,” she notes.
However, the most refined noses, trained to
distinguish between dozens of scents, can be found
in the laboratory from which new fragrant mixes
emerge after being researched and designed.
Some
of the most successful Cuban perfume brands include
Alicia, Mariposa, Coral Negro, Montecristo and
Vegueros. “There is no scented product made by
Cuba’s light industry whose fragrance didn’t come
from our enterprise,” Martínez affirms.
As
part of the business reorganization of the light
industry in 1996, Unión Suchel emerged. It currently
comprises 12 enterprises, some with foreign capital
and others 100% Cuban.
A
MAGICAL ACT
No
machine, robot or computer has been able to
substitute perfumery workers’ refined sense of
smell. While the chemical industry has been able to
artificially reproduce certain essences and
compositions used by in perfumery, nobody has as yet
been able to artificially reproduce a human nose
The
early morning hours are the best for designing a new
perfume; that is the judgement of Maritza Carballal,
who has 20 years of experience. Observing the
meticulous way in which essential oils are combined
is like watching a magical act.
The
experts’ prodigious noses select, combine and
balance until they find a new fragrance, which
always has a little input from everyone, because
they work together as a team.
Jorge Dávila, the only male perfume worker in the
lab, explains that in Cuba, the myth has been
shattered that the best in the business are the
so-called “man-noses.”
“They can do it as well as we can,” Dávila says,
explaining that that is due to the opportunities
offered to women by the Cuban revolutionary process
for their professional fulfillment in any career or
profession, without sexual discrimination.
The
perfume worker’s mood transmits to the fragrance
that he or she is designing. When one is rested and
happy, the best combinations emerge. If the perfume
worker is in love, that emotion impregnates the new
perfume.
BAD
ODORS MAKE THE GOOD ONES STICK
Nature’s odors don’t stick without other substances
possessing qualities that make the scent last.
Fixatives are used which may have a natural or
animal origin, as well as essential oils from
flowers, tree resin and chemical compositions.
The
endangered civet cat has the peculiarity of
producing a substance in a gland located between its
anus and testicles, which is an excellent fixative
and modifier, given the sensual notes that it lends.
Other animals, like the Himalayan musk deer or the
sperm whale produce substances that are likewise
very good scent fixatives. But in face of the danger
of these species going extinct and the expenses of
caring for and reproducing the animals and
extracting the substances from them, chemistry has
provided more stable and more affordable fixatives
as replacements.
The
Cuban perfume industry designs and manufactures
fragrances for all tastes, from the most economical
to the most refined.
“We
have well-known, very expensive fragrances, but we
must also offer a variety of perfumes, colognes and
soaps that are more economical for people, available
in the network of hard currency stores,” Zunilda
Martínez explained.
More
than 500 lines of fragrances for perfumes, soaps,
detergents and cleaning products can be found in
production and development in Suchel Fragrancia. The
raw materials used come principally from France,
Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Holland and Spain.
Roses, gardenias, carnations, lilies, mimosas and
jasmines are the main flowers currently used in
world perfume making, modified with fruity, green
and other mixed notes.
From
within this Cuban enterprise, fragrances have
emerged for more than 300 brands of Cuban perfume,
which are not only known and sell well in the
network of hard currency stores, but also among
consumers in Spain, Italy, Germany and several Latin
American countries.
The
demanding 1SO-9000 standard, which confers the
quality seal on the international market, has been
granted and certified to Suchel Fragancia, in its
most current version.
Cuban House of Perfume
The
Cuban House of Perfume is soon to open at No. 13
Calle Teniente Rey, between Oficios and Mercaderes,
in Old Havana.
In
the old days, that area used to be called “garbage
street” because of its bad smells. However, now
perfumed water will circulate inside of an
illuminated fosse at the entrance of the new
facility.
Carenix Lorenzo, a museologist, and Mercedes Karan
García, public relations person for the Cuban House
of Perfume, informed Granma International
that visitors will be able to watch how perfume or
soap is made, and more importantly, learned about
the perfume maker’s history.
The
facility will offer aromatherapy, a science that
employs certain scents for relaxation and
eliminating fatigue, headaches and other malaises.
Items on display at the perfume museum will include
a French still, through which steam drew the essence
of the vegetable material. That steam passed through
a condensation device and then through a filter
system where liquids were
separated according to density.
Without fancy containers – the majority are made by
hand – visitors will be able to buy an exclusive
product in the House of Perfume’s boutique, where
what is natural predominates. Gel candles with
cinnamon, sandalwood and lavender scents will be
available, as well as soaps, colognes and perfumes –
all with exquisite fragrances.
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