José “Pepe” Llama and his family arrived in Puerto Rico and, like most Cuban families after the revolution, did nothing but get an education and develop a career. At one point along the journey, there was no looking back.
“Puerto Rico became our homeland,” said José ‘Pepe’ Llama, founder of Caribbean Auto Processing & Logistics, as he reflected on his early childhood in an intimate interview with Alberto Bacó-Bagué in El Blueprint’s third episode coming out next Tuesday.
From leaving Cuba at just four years old to building a company that has processed more than 600,000 vehicles and that now provides logistics, inspection and installation services for the automotive industry, Llama’s story is one of adaptation.
The conversation explores the experiences that shaped his outlook on life and business: his family’s exile following the Cuban Revolution, their arrival to Puerto Rico, the example set by his father and uncle, and the lessons he learned from watching a generation of Cubans start from scratch in a new country.
“We did a lot with the little that we had,” Llama said, recalling a time when they ate “bread with butter because that’s all there was.”
That same survival mentality has permeated throughout his business career. What began with air conditioner car installations evolved alongside a fast-changing market: radios, cell phone distribution and, eventually, automotive logistics. Each stage required identifying opportunities, taking risks and, above all, knowing when to pivot.
“Nothing is set in stone; you can’t fall asleep,” he said.
Watch the conversation in the next episode of El Blueprint this Tuesday, September 22, on YouTube, Spotify and caribbean.business
But the conversation goes far beyond business. Llama speaks about leadership, listening to those who think differently from you, learning from mistakes and a colon cancer battle that transformed his perspective on life. That experience taught him to value each day and to see obstacles as opportunities for growth.
For Bacó-Bagué, Llama’s story brings together the very themes he seeks to explore in El Blueprint: business success, the passion for living and the impact one leaves on others.
Watch the conversation in the next episode of El Blueprint this Tuesday, September 22, on YouTube, Spotify and CARIBBEAN BUSINESS: caribbean.business.
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