The history of Melià Hotels International in Cuba can only be understood within the economic shift experienced by the Caribbean island in the late eighties and early nineties. With the fall of the Soviet bloc between 1989 and 1991, Cuba loses its main economic support and enters the so-called Special Period, a stage of profound crisis marked by a lack of foreign currency, scarcity of basic products, and the collapse of a large part of productive activity.

Ana María Jaume Vanrell, widow of Gabriel Escarrer Julià, founder of Melià Hotels International, passed away early Tuesday morning, her family reported in a statement reported by Europa Press.