After the communist takeover of Cuba, Alfonso Fanjul reestablished his family’s business south of Lake Okeechobee in 1960. Today the politically powerful Fanjul family controls vast sugar and real estate conglomerates in both the US and the Dominican Republic. Their company, Florida Crystals, has grown into one of the largest and most successful agricultural companies in the world. The Hacienda is located on their fields, off US 27 near the town of South Bay, and is used by the family for business meetings, events, and special guests. The fields around it cultivate Florida’s contribution to the world’s largest crop, sugar cane. The carbohydrate is actually a perennial grass, and it needs around six to seven months of growing time. When it is ready for harvesting, the crop is burned. While the fire does not hurt the stalks or roots of the cane, it does remove all the dry leaves—not to mention snakes and varmints. The cane is then harvested from just above ground-level and trucked from the field.
Small 8” x 12” – $140.00 | Medium: 36” x 24” – $240.00 | Large: 48” x 32” – $430.00