Man behind a hummingbird

Rolando Rojas Cruz(Cabaiguán, 1992) is a small Cuban businessman living in Valencia, eastern Spain, which he wants to conquer with the flavor of his natural drinks, grouped under the brandZunzún, which also exports to South Korea and wants to do so to the rest of Europe.

He left Cuba when he was twelve years old, but he has never been able to forget the hills and streams, or his friends from school; They were his first clients to whom he sold cane necklaces and plastic pearls, and bracelets made with serum hoses and threads of different colors, he sold them for one peso, and I managed to sell seven at his school, when he only had 8 years.

Already in Venezuela, he manufactured - with his grandmother of Canarian origin - his first artisanal drink, following the family tradition in the town of Sancti Spiritus, also known as the town of the boars. The Chavista night remigrated him to Spain, where he shares his daily work in a telecommunications company with his entrepreneurial passion.

How did you come up with the idea of creating a drink and what was the process of making it and patenting the brand like?

Until now, although I had grown up in the world of making "fruit wines," I had never asked my grandparents what the recipe was. Living in Venezuela, my grandmother and I began making about fifty, the first months; until we made more than a hundred. Seeing that it had growth potential, I registered the company "Casa Rojas Hernández Cía". to produce fruit wines, with the brandZunzún.

A few months after arriving in Spain, with very little money, and without work, that was my idea, to find a way to continue doingZunzún. After raising capital and finding where to do it, I registered the brand and made a first batch; of less than a thousand bottles, coinciding with the fiftieth anniversary of the first wine made by my grandparents, there in Cabaiguán.

Zunzún It is a registered trademark in the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office and, if you look at our label, the word appears in capital letters.

Is it very complicated to establish and commercialize a beverage brand in Spain?

The competition is great, because there are many types of drinks. But you can always identify the type of client and focus on a specific market, such as drinks manufactured in small quantities, aimed at an audience that likes artisanal, gourmet products, without chemicals, with very little human manipulation; and to Cubans who want to feel the flavor of the products of our land.

Before coming to Spain, you lived in Venezuela, what was your life like there, why did you leave?

Upon arriving in Venezuela, the first years were a mixture of joys and sadness. Then I began to adapt to the place; Although I never had a Venezuelan accent despite having lived half my life in Caracas, I always tried to keep Cuban words at least with the family. In Venezuela everything was going relatively well until - since 2013 - the economy began to decline due to product shortages and hyperinflation and, in 2018, I decided to come with my Venezuelan wife to Spain, to have a better quality of life and continue with my idea of creating artisanal and select drinks.

You left Cuba when you were twelve years old, with your parents. What do you remember from that ordeal, have you returned, what memories do you have of your native country?

Leaving the country where you were born at the age of 12 is not easy and, despite having more material abundance, the first year I did not have a good time missing the people I had left in Cuba. Maybe if I had left after I was 18 I would have been a little different.

Every year I returned to Cuba even twice, in the summer to spend the holidays with my friends. My greatest memories of being there are rivers, beaches, fields. If I could, I would like to see the whole island.

What is Cabaiguán like, what were your grandparents and other relatives like?

Cabaiguán is a beautiful town with excellent people. Historically, one of the largest tobacco producers in Cuba; known curiously and affectionately as the town of the boars.

Until we left, my grandparents were very loved by everyone in the town, happy and talkative. We are a humble Cuban family, descended from Canaries.