--- title: Hugo Chavez and Che Colognes description: Company sells cologne inspired by Che and Hugo Chavez canonical: https://time.com/3429986/che-chavez-cologne/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-25T14:55:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:13:25.302Z og:title: This Exists: Cologne Inspired by Che and Hugo Chávez og:description: The smell of socialism og:url: https://time.com/3429986/che-chavez-cologne/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9664c8fbedd73985/6986a569f983e7271304fddb/133619400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3552 og:image:height: 1998 og:image:alt: Argentinian-born Cuban revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara. Havana, Cuba, January 7, 1959. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Exists: Cologne Inspired by Che and Hugo Chávez twitter:description: The smell of socialism twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9664c8fbedd73985/6986a569f983e7271304fddb/133619400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Exists: Colognes Inspired by Che and Hugo Chávez > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=db9d2112-47b9-4390-b5e9-8b8eb2e716f9&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Sep 25, 2014 2:55 PM UTC  Argentinian-born Cuban revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara. Havana, Cuba, January 7, 1959. Argentinian-born Cuban revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara. Havana, Cuba, January 7, 1959. Joseph Scherschel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Sep 25, 2014 2:55 PM UTC New in the perfume aisle: the smell of socialism. The [Associated Press reports](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/354782da75974f07a955d2fbe56422ca/new-cuban-colognes-honor-guevara-and-chavez) a Cuban company Labiofam spent over a year working with the French perfumer Robertet to create two new colognes, Ernesto and Hugo, inspired by the Argentinian revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara and the late Venezuelan socialist president Hugo Chávez. [According to AP](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/354782da75974f07a955d2fbe56422ca/new-cuban-colognes-honor-guevara-and-chavez), the Che scent is “woodsy and refreshing” while Hugo is “softer and fruitier” with “hints of mango and papaya.” Mario Valdes, who led the scent design team, [told the AP](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/354782da75974f07a955d2fbe56422ca/new-cuban-colognes-honor-guevara-and-chavez), “We didn’t want to create propaganda, but rather pay homage to them and help their names endure.” But creating a Che Guevara-inspired cologne is an ironic way to “pay homage” to the famous Marxist, since [many report](http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/10/26/reviews/971026.26uhligt.html) that he avoided bathing for most of his life. “Woodsy,” maybe, but “refreshing” he was not. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3429986/che-chavez-cologne/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3429986/che-chavez-cologne/"},"headline":"This Exists: Colognes Inspired by Che and Hugo Chávez","datePublished":"2014-09-25T14:55:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:13:25.302Z","description":"The Che scent is \"woodsy and refreshing\" while the Chávez scent is \"softer and fruitier,\" the AP reports","url":"https://time.com/3429986/che-chavez-cologne/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Bizarre"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9664c8fbedd73985/6986a569f983e7271304fddb/133619400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9664c8fbedd73985/6986a569f983e7271304fddb/133619400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Argentinian-born Cuban revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara. 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