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Representatives from 43 countries
in cigar festival
• Trade fair inaugurated by Raúl
de la Nuez,
Cuban minister of foreign trade
BY JOAQUIN ORAMAS
THE
smoking fiesta has reached its height. While many of
the participants at the 6th International Cigar
Festival are visiting plantations and curing houses
in Viñales Valley in the western province of Pinar
del Rio, others interested in closing deals or
making contacts are touring the trade fair at
Havana’s International Convention Center or visiting
cigar factories and maturing areas.
Inaugurating the fair, Cuban Foreign Trade Minister
Raúl de la Nuez informed that the event has the
participation of 48 companies from all over the
world whose products are related to the culture of
the Havana, a flagship Cuban product whose
exceptional quality has historical connotations.
De la
Nuez added that the festival provides an opportunity
to share the world’s finest cigars with producers,
distributors, consumers and aficionados.
Among
the exhibitors are entities with long histories in
the production of boxes, special cases and humidors
crafted by master carpenters and cabinet makers.
Other stands make the link between the Cuban cigar
and rum, whisky and even perfume. They make a
special connection with the Montecristo Havana, a
name acquired in the galleys of Havana factories,
where the famous novel by Alejandro Dumas, The
Count of Montecristo, was read to workers while
they rolled the famous cigars in their hands.
Other
products for smokers are linked to Partagás, which
has an intense flavor that has been an unmistakable
example of the Cuban character, unique and
impossible to imitate since 1845. Likewise, the
smooth flavors of the Hoyo de Monterrey, and the
aroma and special taste of the Cohiba. Three leaves
are used in its manufacture, a pleasure to the
senses when combined in the air of the festival with
the exquisite San Cristóbal, the label to which this
year’s festival is dedicated. The four labels of
that last cigar were enjoyed at the welcome dinner
in San Carlos de la Cabaña Fortress, adjoining the
emblematic Morro Lighthouse.
One very
popular feature is the collection of objects for
smokers and other curios related to the Cuban cigar
presented by Italian Valerio Comale, resident in the
Grand Caymans, where he is the owner of the Casa del
Habano. Valerio has never sold anything in his
collection – numbering over 4,000 pieces – which he
keeps in his Havana residence. He gathers them as a
tribute to the history of the aromatic leaf, an
important part of Cuba’s culture. Among the most
valuable pieces is the Por Larrañaga cigar case
given to the famous U.S. pilot Charles Lindbergh in
1928 in the Havana Plaza Hotel, and humidors that
belonged to Ernest Hemingway and Cuban singer Benny
Moré.
The
Count of Villanueva guest house, located in the
former residence of that colonial personality in Old
Havana, has its place in the fair because it is the
only hotel in Cuba whose rooms and other areas are
dedicated to the fields where the best cigar in the
world is produced, according to Cuban cigar maker
Miguel Tamayo.
The
Internacional Cubana del Tabaco company, a
Spanish-Cuban joint enterprise, celebrated its third
anniversary at the festival with large production of
machine manufactured three-gram cigars from leading
brands. Its range was complemented by the launch of
the Guantanamera Havana, the largest of the
three-gram variety. They are aimed at those sectors
of the smoking market that do not purchase premium
cigars.
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