According to legend, when Christopher Columbus landed in Cuba, he was seduced by the local practice of consuming a certain aromatic plant with supreme pleasure. Tobacco, as the indigenous Taíno people called this endemic plant of South America, dazzled the Spanish royalty, whose appetite for it soon led to its exportation and sale all over the world. Today, it is a symbol of tradition, wisdom, distinction, legend and identity. More than five centuries of selective tobacco cultivation and production of Cuban cigars, or Habanos, on the island certify their uniqueness worldwide.
For the last 15 years, Habanos S.A. has organized the annual Festival del Habano, or Habanos Festival, the largest gathering in the world for Cuban cigar lovers, with the goal of promoting, fostering and increasing knowledge about Habanos culture and processes. This year, the festival will be held from Feb. 26 to March 2 at Havana’s international conference center, the Palacio de Convenciones. And Jorge Luis Fernández, commercial vice president of Habanos S.A., tells us about some of its highlights:
“As a new feature, we will present the Humidor XV Años, which reflects the history of these festivals, and which we will be auctioning to raise funds for Cuba’s public health system. We will also relaunch the Vegueros brand, in the medium-to-low price range, with new packaging and rings, which we hope will make it much more attractive. Of the 27 Habanos brands that we sell and the 275 vitolas that we are currently producing, Montecristo is the best-selling brand and Partagás is the third most-important. That is why the festival will be honoring these two brands with the presentation of their new products: the Montecristo Petit No. II and the Double Edmundo, and the Partagás Gran Reserva.
The festival will include its customary seminars, pairings, cigar rolling classes, trade fair, International Habanosommelier Contest and visits to tobacco farms in Vuelta Abajo. This year, the program also features a “Tobacco and Gastronomy” cooking show, where well-known chefs will prepare exclusive haute cuisine dishes with Cuban tobacco.
“We are still preparing this idea, and we hope that everyone will like it. We have a number of proposals ready, and it will be interesting to view tobacco from another perspective. Usually we think of it as something for smoking, but we want to connect it with another space, which is gastronomy. And there are incredible recipes, from green pepper with tobacco to ice cream. We are also coordinating the pairings, which are a special moment during the event, because a Habano can be paired with coffee, cognac, rum, good wine, or even chocolate or tea. The French say that a Habano is a peace pipe. And that is true, because it can bring together, in the same place, people from different religious, social, political, cultural or other backgrounds.”
“Our repercussion in the mass media continues to grow. Our friends come, even if they cannot participate. For this edition, for example, visitors from more than 60 countries have confirmed, and we expect that number to rise. The festival is a launching pad for emerging tendencies, and it has become a vehicle for the world to learn about Cuba and our history, culture and traditions. Habanos is now in more than 160 countries. We work with a lot of rigor and competitiveness to maintain our leadership and to grow steadily and sustainably. The history of the Habano has been one of rupture and continuity, because we continue to be innovative without losing our tradition. And I can’t remember a single commercial failure in the last 15 years. If there is any product that should make us proud, this is it. There may be hand-rolled cigars from other places, but ours are unique, because they have the strength and character of Cubans and the sweetness of sugar cane. The Habano is and will continue to be the best in the world. And if some day only a single cigar will be smoked, it will be a Habano. I’m sure of that, because it is body and soul.”
