Benito’s Farm in Vinales, Cuba
Most of my tourists have heard of the myth about Cuban cigars being rolled on the thighs of a Cuban virgin woman. It is time, however, to break the myth… Firstly, there are almost no virgin girls left in Cuba. :)))
Each genuine cigar undergoes over 300 manual manipulations before it becomes an end product. The starting point of it all is picking up a good harvest, and to do this “you need to marry the harvest” says an old respected guajiro /cultivator/. Also, the tobacco seeds are very small and therefore need to be planted firstly in a nursery-garden usually around September. In two months when the plants reach 0,10 – 0,15 cm, they are moved onto the open field. The region in Cuba where the most high-quality tobacco can be found is called Vuelta Abajo and is located in the west part of Cuba, near Vinales. The leaves there reach up to 0,30 – 0,40 cm and are very fragrant and soft.
The unique climate conditions and the red clay soils in the region contribute to the deeper plant root system, which nourishes the leaves with minerals, and makes the tobacco leaves here the most fragrant in the world. This is why tobacco factories in the neighbouring countries such as the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua fail in their attempts to achieve the same result.
Now, about virgin thighs and cigar making… The torcedors /as they call in Cuba the people responsible for cigar making/ are most commonly middle-aged or older men. Frankly speaking, women also take part in the process but they are far from young. With their naturally developed sense of smell and handiness, they usually sort tobacco leaves according to the brands, only the more experienced do the rolling. Producing a high-quality cigar, however, is a genuine triumph of willpower keeping in mind all the difficulties faced along the way – low salaries, common hurricanes, frequent thefts, and the expensive petrol.
Benito’s Farm in Vinales, Cuba
Nevertheless, my friend Benito – a sturdy old Cuban with a long mustache has created a wonderful farm as big as 30 hectares where his family and he grow and cultivate yucca, corn, mango, coffee, cocoa, cassava, and most importantly – tobacco. Benito is obliged to sell 19 % of his production at fixed prices to the state company Taba Cuba. The rest Benito uses to produce home-made cigars, which you may try with aguardiente /white rum/ and coffee. On Benito’s farm, you will get to witness the cigar-making process and the genuine life of the local farmers, you will encounter their genuine production – coffee, cocoa, mamey, rabbits, even roosters, bred for fights, and many others. Benito himself is a living cowboy commercial – with his broad shoulders and mustache he is always armed with a sombrero to guard him from the fierce tropical sun and with a big smile to greet my tourists.
FIND OUT HERE MORE ABOUT CUBAN CIGARS.
