Ernest Hemingway
(1899-1961)
A key figure in the development of twentieth century fiction and winner of the Pullitzer (1953) and Nobel Prize (1954) for literature, Hemingway is inextricably linked to Hispanic culture.
A bullfighting aficionado, he published Death in the Afternoon in 1932. He was heavily influenced by the Radical Republican Spanish writer Pío Baroja. Hemingway’s experiences of reporting on the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) form the basis for his novel For Whom the Bell Tolls and short story collection Four Stories of the Spanish Civil War.
Hemingway, a great fisherman, was also a notable lover of Cuba where he owned an estate, Finca Vigía, for over twenty years. He wrote most of The Old Man and the Sea and For Whom the Bell Tolls in this house. His residence and activities in Cuba aroused the suspicions of J. Edgar Hoover and he was placed under surveillance when he returned to live in the USA in 1961.
However, Hemingway is perhaps now most memorably linked in the minds of tourists with his drinking habits… Bars around Madrid and Havana sport the legend “Hemingway drank here”. In particular, he is associated with a number of classic cocktails: the daiquiri, the mojito and the Papa Hemingway. The famous phrase is “My mojito in La Bodeguita, my daiquiri in El Floridita”. These legendary bars still stand in Havana. The story goes that when Hemingway tasted a daiquiri in el Floridita he commented to the bartender, "That's good but I prefer it without sugar and double the rum". Prepared to his taste, the Papa Hemingway was born. Later grapefruit juice was added to make the Hemingway Special.
To make your own cocktails, visit the Havana Club and Havana Club Foundation pages where you can also find out more about the history of rum and sample Cuban music:
www.havana-club.com/english/home.htm
www.havanaclubfoundation.com/en/rones_tragos.asp?show=2