Subtitled, The Rise and Fall of Julio Lobo, Cuba’s Last Tycoon
by John Paul Rathbone

This is a great book!  It elegantly intertwines the fascinating biography of Julio Lobo and his rise to be the most powerful sugar broker in the world with Cuban history. Much of the history is of revolutionary events, including Castro’s revolution and the close association of Cuba with the United States.  The author’s mother was a friend of Lobo’s daughters, and I think that allows richness to the book that is possible because of the personal connections.

I intend to begin with an overview, which is mostly quoted from the flap of the book, followed by  selected snippets with page numbers for reference.

Overview—The legendary wealth of sugar magnate Julio Lobo and his reign as the most powerful force in world sugar markets ended 18 months after Castro marched into Havana.  Lobo was born in 1898, the year of Cuba’s independence, and he had “…an extraordinary life that mirrored, in almost lurid Technicolor, the many rises and final fall of the Cuban Republic.”  Lobo not only often had the world sugar market cornered, he also had the largest collection of Napoleonica outside of France, faced a firing squad only to be pardoned at the last moment, survived a gangland shooting, and cavorted with numerous movie stars and several mistresses.  He described himself as being a good son, good brother, and good father, but correctly did not mention that he was a good husband.  Lobo was the last tycoon to fall to the Castro revolution.  He had established a reputation as a progressive and philanthropist, which saved him from the fate of many other wealthy Cubans.  He had provided $25,000 to the Castro rebellion, although that might have been to prevent the sugar cane near one of his mills from being burned.  It was not until October of 1960, about a year and a half after Castro had expelled Batista, that Ernesto “Che” Guevara summoned Lobo to a midnight meeting to offer him the position of general manager of the Cuban sugar industry.  The revolution needed the money that came from sugar, and they intended to announce nationalization of Lobo’s fields and mills, but Castro and Guevara wanted Lobo’s knowledge and talents.  Lobo refused the offer, and left on a plane carrying only what would fit in a “regulation” sized suitcase and what would fit in his pockets.  He fled to the United States and offices he had in New York, but eventually had to file bankruptcy and move to France after one of his few failed speculations on the price of sugar.

Snippets

Lobo would have been worth $5 billion in today’s value—p.2

There were hundreds of people given televised show trials led by Che followed by execution by firing squad—p.17

The live broadcasts were from a sports stadium, and five hundred had been executed within 4 months—p.222

Guevara had stumbled out of one of Lobo’s cane fields in 1956.  He and Castro with 80 rebels had shipwrecked at the wrong place, abandoned most of their equipment over the next few days of slogging inland, were ambushed by Batista’s army, Guevara was wounded in the neck and several rebels were killed.  Only 22 of the original 82 eventually made it to the mountains.–p.21

The British captured Havana in 1762 and threw Cuba open to the slave trade.  Slaves were needed to grow and harvest the sugar cane—p.24

The author on a visit to Cuba went to the bar and asked for some ice.  The bartender shrugged and said he had none, adding “A bar man without ice is like a puta (whore) without a cona (vagina)”—p.35

Slavery was abolished in 1880—p.37 (although the freed slaves continued toiling in the cane fields)

The Cubans fought a ten year war against Spain beginning in 1868 that ended with a truce in 1878.  The next revolt began in 1895 organized by Jose Marti, who managed to unite several revolutionary factions from New York—p.39

“For four centuries the country was a colony of Spain, with the last thirty years fighting for independence.  For sixty years after, Cuba was a neo-colony of the United States.  It was only in 1959, with the triumph of the Revolution, that Cuba achieved true independence, or ‘dignity,’ as Castro called it.”—p.43

There was a group of Cubans who were called the “Autonomists” who did not seek revolution to gain independence  from Spain or annexation by the United States because they saw that the usual outcome of a successful rebellion was an oppressive dictatorship—p.44

Thomas Jefferson wrote Monroe in 1821 advocating that Cuba should be added as a State.  A cartoon was published in 1897 showing Cuba as a ripe fruit ready to plucked by Uncle Sam—p.46

General John Rutter Brooke (perhaps in the lineage of my Grandmother Dora Mae Brooke Hobbs) was in Havana with the occupying U.S. Army in 1899 creating a tent city of soldiers. (Brooke was appointed Governor of Cuba.)  The Americans installed electric street lights, sewer systems, and telephone lines and repaired buildings, streets, and docks—pp.51-52

Wealthy Cubans typically sent their children to the United States for education—67  Lobo was educated at Columbia and LSU where he was severely injured in a laboratory explosion trying  to build a better grenade—p.69

There is an elegantly written description of sights and sounds of the author’s walk through Havana–105

Batista, “the pretty mulatto,” resigned from the army to run for president in 1939 and won with the support of the Communists the next year—p.131  By the 1940s large parts of the Cuban economy were state-run—p.133

Celia Sanchez was a friend of Lobos daughter and the author’s mother, and she became Castro’s confidante, personal secretary, and rumored lover—p.139

Lobo’s daughters attempted to climb Turquino, the highest point in Cuba.  One succeeded and became the first Cuban woman to reach the peak—p.141

Lobo was shot and badly injured in a drive by shooting (although it never became clear who was responsible)–146 He was told he might not survive surgery, and confessed to a priest that he had broken all the Ten Commandments several times with the exception of killing and stealing –p.149

Lobo’s collection of Napoleon’s memorabilia included 200,000 documents, 15,000 objects, and was cared for by five librarians—p.169

No one is allowed to open any of the books in the library where Lobo’s collection of Napoleon documents are held by the Castro government.  The author said that it was a common story in modern Cuba.  “That which is possible is forbidden.  Everything else is illegal”—p.171

Castro’s attack on the Moncada barracks in 1953 is described; Castro is captured, granted amnesty, and sent to Mexico where he met Guevara.  The 26th of July date of the attack becomes the name for the revolutionary movement—p.190

Lobo had a sense of humor.  He once observed after losing everything and being expelled from Cuba, “As Jonah said to the whale, you can’t keep a good man down”—p.193

The Havana most commonly remembered was the Mafia infested gambling casinos and brothels, “A decadent facade mired behind a people in want.”  The Mafia coexisted with Batista—p.203

Cuba had the highest standard of living of any Latin American country–p.205

Castro met with Nixon, who  told Ike that Castro was either a Communist or a dupe—224  Castro had moved openly Communist  by a year later and established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union—pp.226-228

The author’s mother found a job as a guide in the United Nations, but resigned after Castro and Khrushchev hugged.  The CIA attempted to recruit her to parachute into Cuba to be a spy in preparation for the failed Bay of Pigs invasion—pp.232-233

An estimated 100,000 people fled Cuba in 1980 on what was called the Mariel boatlift, or the Cuban invasion of Miami, after Castro said anyone who wanted to leave could—p.256

The author predicted that Batista would have fallen without Castro “…and all his madness.”–p.264