The descendants of the founding family of Cervecería La Tropical, established in 1888 in Havana, celebrated the relaunch of the iconic beer Crystal, known as "The Favorite of Cubans," this Wednesday in Miami, after winning a legal battle lasting nearly three decades that allowed them to regain the rights to the brand and its commercial identity in the U.S. following a lawsuit with an American company.
The event, dubbed «Family Reunion», took place at the La Tropical Brewery in the Wynwood neighborhood, with a VIP ceremony at six in the evening and public opening at eight at night.
The celebration brought together the Cuban exile community to commemorate the return of a brand that the family considers part of their heritage and which was taken from them after the expropriation of the company by Fidel Castro's regime in 1960.
A victory to reclaim the Cuban heritage
Manny Portuondo, a member of the fifth generation of the Blanco Herrera family and great-grandson of Federico Kohly, explained to EFE that the judicial victory represents much more than the recovery of a trademark.
"Our brand is coming home, and that brings a great sense of pride, not only for my family, the Blanco Herrera family, who were the founding family of the brewery, but I believe also for the Cuban community," he stated.
Portuondo recalled that the victory is the result of a legal strategy initiated in 1998 to reclaim trademarks and rights in various countries and to prevent the Cuban government from continuing to commercially use names that, according to the family, were confiscated from them after the revolution.
“The idea has always been to prevent the Cuban government from being able to legitimately use our brand, which was La Tropical and Crystal,” he explained.
"Our history belongs to us."
During the event, Portuondo addressed the gathered community to reaffirm the legacy of the brewery.
"Our heritage and our lineage belong to Cubans, no matter where they are. It is our history. It is the history of the community. We are bringing it back home, back to its founders, the Blanco Herrera family, who established this brewery by the banks of the Almendares River in 1888. And no one can take that away from us," he said.
On Instagram, Portuondo also wrote: "Thank you to the Miami community for celebrating with us our recent legal victory that has reclaimed our identity and heritage. Our history belongs to us and the Cuban community no matter where we may live. Cheers."
Days earlier, on July 2, Portuondo had shared images from the promotional shoot for the relaunch, describing the moment as a celebration of "perseverance, determination, and believing that anything is possible if you have a big heart."
And he added, "May freedom also find the Cuban people in 2026!"
The official account of La Tropical Miami celebrated the return with the message: “The Favorite of Cubans is finally home in Miami, and we couldn't be prouder to celebrate our culture together.”
The original recipe from 1928 comes back to life
Portuondo inaugurated a new Cervecería La Tropical in Wynwood in 2021, with the support of the Dutch brewery Heineken.
The establishment revived part of the legacy of the original company, even featuring gardens inspired by those of the historic Havana headquarters, but at that time it was unable to launch the Crystal due to the litigation to reclaim its trademark rights in the United States.
This relaunch has now become a reality with a beer brewed from the original recipe of 1928.
According to Portuondo, the drink was created when Cuban consumers began to favor "lighter, more drinkable beers, more suited for tropical climates, with a bit less alcohol."
"Then, why reinvent something that was already incredibly good?" he commented about a recipe that preserves the spirit of the original beer and is now marketed under the name Tropi Crystal, linking it once again to the La Tropical brand.
A history of 138 years and a forced expropriation
The La Tropical Brewery was founded on July 21, 1888, on the banks of the Almendares River, in Puentes Grandes, Havana, by the Blanco Herrera family on the lands of Federico Kohly.
In 1928, the brewery launched Crystal, a Caribbean pilsner with 4.9% alcohol, designed for the tropical climate, featuring notes of honey and biscuit. The brand came to dominate more than 60% of Cuba's national beer production and gained international recognition with awards in London, Brussels, and Paris.
Everything changed in 1960, when the regime expropriated the factory.
The last master brewer, Julio Fernández-Selles, was forced to hand over the brewery "at gunpoint." The owning families went into exile, but they never gave up on reclaiming their legacy.
Almost three decades of litigation
In 1998, the descendants of the founders initiated a legal strategy to prevent the Cuban Government from using the names "La Tropical" and "Crystal" in the U.S. market.
The process resulted in a lawsuit with an American company that held the trademark rights registered in that country.
The dispute concluded in July 2026 with a settlement that returned control of the Crystal brand identity in the United States to the family, including historical elements such as the royal palm and the green, red, and white color scheme.
"We have revived the iconic symbols of Crystal. We have brought back the color combination, which is green, red, and white, something that the Cuban consumer recognizes anywhere in the world," Portuondo explained while showing one of the new beer cans.
The businessman, son of a Cuban political prisoner who spent two years in jail, downplayed the company involved in the litigation and stated that, for him, the true background of the battle had always been something else.
"I have always seen since I started this project in '98 that these efforts, no matter where they are, are always against Cuba, with the idea that they can take us out of Cuba, but they can never take Cuba out of our hearts. And always, no matter where we are, we will always be Cubans," he affirmed.
"It is possible to recover what has been lost."
For Portuondo, Crystal represents much more than a beer.
"Crystal is a symbol that it is possible; it is possible to take action, it is possible to recover what was lost, and it is possible to think of a future that goes beyond Cuba," she stated.
He also stated that all generations of Cubans have the responsibility to preserve their identity.
"I believe that all Cuban generations have a responsibility, a duty to do what they can to preserve their heritage, their culture, and to ensure that they are never erased. For me, La Tropical is part of that effort," she asserted.
The reunification of Cuban families
Portuondo explained that the name of the event, Family Reunion, symbolizes the desire to bring together Cuban families separated by decades of exile.
"What I want to do with Crystal and the reason La Tropical exists is the reunification of our identity, our heritage, our culture, and our family," she noted.
Regarding the possibility of returning to produce La Tropical in a free Cuba, he responded: "That would be a beautiful way to end the last chapter of La Tropical, but who knows, it's out of our control."
A symbol that transcends beer
The Crystal case is part of a broader pattern of disputes over expropriated Cuban brands, similar to the litigation over Havana Club rum between Bacardí and the Cuban government.
On the island, the brand "Cristal" is currently produced by Cervecería Bucanero, a state-owned company based in Holguín, which the founders in exile consider an illegitimate appropriation of their business legacy.
La Tropi Crystal is now the official beer "Imported from Miami" of the Miami Marlins and sponsor of the team's Cuban Heritage celebrations during the 2026 season, a recognition that reflects the cultural significance the brand holds within the Cuban-American community.
Filed under: