1956 is a difficult year. Claudio Álvarez LeFebre passes away, and six months later, his grieving son Claudio Álvarez Soriano dies of lung cancer. Their passing leaves the Company, in the midst of its success, without real leadership.

That same year, Fidel Castro renews his guerilla war against President Fulgencio Batista.

In 1959, Fidel Castro seizes control of the Cuban Government. The days of the Matusalem brand as a Cuban-based enterprise are numbered.

It is the end of an era.