Materva
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Materva is a mate-based soft drink, originally produced and popularized in Cuba prior to the Cuban Revolution. It has been produced in Miami since the 1960s by Cawy Bottling Company.
DrinkEdit
Materva is a carbonated drink made from yerba mate, a tea popular in Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay. Unlike the somewhat bitter tea-like mate on which it is based, Materva is sweet, with a flavor described as similar to ginger ale<ref name="3guys">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> or cream soda.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Current production includes a diet version called Diet Materva.<ref name="cawy">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
HistoryEdit
The Materva Soft Drink Company was founded in Matanzas, Cuba, in 1920. Materva became known as a "famous Cuban brand"<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and advertising included celebrity endorsements that touted the drink's energizing properties.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
During the Cuban Revolution, the Materva bottling plant was targeted for strikes by revolutionaries, along with the Coca-Cola and Pepsi bottling plants in the country.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Materva was produced and sold in Cuba until 1960 when it was nationalized along with other private industry. It is no longer produced in Cuba.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>
The Cawy Bottling Company of Miami was founded to produce the Cawy lemon-lime soda that had been popular in Cuba. The company began producing Materva in the United States in the 1960s in an attempt to diversify after the founder of the company realized that there were many large American companies already competing with lemon-lime drinks.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Significance in Cuban and Miami cultureEdit
Materva has been described as a part of the "standard Cuban pantry",<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and as "the old standby Cuban soda".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Because of its significance as a popular drink in Cuba prior to the Revolution, it is often cited as a source of "shared memories" and "nostalgia" of pre-Revolutionary Cuba by Cubans who live in the United States.<ref name=JandW>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":0" />
In Miami, politicians use the drink to symbolize Cuban-ness, such as when a congressional candidate told local media in 2010 that he had spoken about Materva to President Obama during a presidential visit to the city.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Travel books also often recommend the drink to visitors to Miami.<ref>Petit Futé New York 2013-2014 Dominique Auzias, Jean-Paul Labourdette 2746967529 2012 p. 207 "Les Cubains rencontrés lors de notre dernier passage nous ont assuré qu'ici on sert les meilleurs sandwichs cubains de la ville. Tout y est à point, même ce curieux soda à saveur de malte, le Materva."</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 2002, Materva was given the "Best Local Soft Drink" award by the Miami New Times.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>