The life of Ivette Valentina Pupo Pupo—an economist and entrepreneur from Holguin—represents more than just a means of supporting her family. It embodies an attitude toward adversity. Demonstrating how she learned to overcome challenges through hard work and dedication, turning obstacles into opportunities.
A personal health experience motivated her to study the properties of fruits and plants by making wines for home consumption.
She noted that she used to serve wine instead of coffee; what began as a household habit soon extended to family and friends. Also who encouraged her to commercialize the product she crafted with her own hands.
In 2005, a small-scale winery operation began using small containers. Over time, it evolved into a full-time occupation requiring discipline, technical knowledge, and the aptitude to learn from every challenge.
For this Holguin native, entrepreneurship means more than just production and sales. It involves creating solutions when resources are scarce, making the most of available materials. Ensuring the final product maintains the necessary quality when it reaches the consumer.
Ivette acknowledges the challenges of running her own business and believes that both the mindset and the active pursuit of growth are essential. A constant effort that entails seeking investment, improving processes, and expanding ties with local entities.
As the business grew, the producer integrated her expertise into daily operations. Resulting in a portfolio that includes white, rosé, and red wines—ranging from dry and semi-dry to sweet and semi-sweet varieties. As well as sparkling wines—crafted from grapes, cashew apples, raisins, cherries, plums, and tamarind.
The winery establishes cooperative production arrangements with local entities and reuses raw materials to cope with the scarcity or high cost of certain inputs. A creativity-driven strategy that ensures production continuity.
More than 20 years after those initial steps, VC Ivette now operates with tanks holding up to 1,000 liters and shares her home with her workspace. Embodying a model of female entrepreneurship rooted in the domestic sphere.
Her story illustrates how a family need can evolve into a contribution to the local economy. With preparation and production responsibility serving as the pillars of that transformation.
With information from Guilian Cruz López/CNA
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