Artifact #5: Cuban Cigars

Cuban Cigars

I remember as a kid watching action movies and the coolest characters in the movies all had one thing in common. They all at some point had a moment where they’d kick back, relax and begin puffing on a good ole cuban cigar. The goat of the NBA Michael Jordan himself is a cuban cigar enthusiast. Many men and even some women in my family are good acquaintances with cigars. Cigars to me are an indicator of being suave and poise due to my childhood and the people I've seen smoke them. I myself have begun learning about cigars and I have a small collection of them so far. Cigars bring people together and peace like no other. 

Growing and Rolling Tobacco 

Upon returning from their initial exploration of Cuba in 1492, Spanish sailors reported thick trees, chattering birds, and people moving around "with a firebrand of weeds in their hands to take in the fragrant smoke."

Spanish colonists soon began cultivating and using tobacco as well. The "weeds" turned into a successful crop as the demand for tobacco increased. The earliest cigar factory in Cuba was established in the early 1800s. Millions of cigars are still exported from Cuba every year to various countries.

Tobacco Harvest 

Cuban tobacco is grown, cared for, and prepared by farmers using precise techniques that have been handed down through the decades. One by one, they carefully gather leaves, string them along wooden poles, and hang them in sheds equipped with movable vents to regulate humidity and temperature. The leaves shrivel and turn from bright green to a mellow brown over several weeks as they cure.

Hand rolled in Havana 

Approximately 100 million fine cigars are handcrafted in Cuba yearly. Each one is made by skilled rollers known as torcedores by blending leaves from several tobacco kinds. After color sorting and quality checking, cigars are packaged for retail.

Many people view Cuban cigars as a status and power symbol. From powerful politicians to modern artists, smoking cigars has long been associated with social status and authority. Having said that, we examine how cigars might be interpreted as symbols of influence in today's post by examining influential politicians who are well-known for their passion and admiration for Cuban cigars.

Notable individuals who were always seen with a cuban cigar:

Winston Churchill

John F Kennedy 

Fidel Castro 

Cuban cigars are unique. Cuba is truly the birthplace of the luxury cigar that the world has come to know and love. Cuba's first cigar factory opened its doors in 1542. For over 400 years, Cuban cigars were the only option. A puro, or cigar manufactured only of tobacco from one nation, was something that no other nation truly produced. US-based cigar manufacturers brought Cuban tobacco into their facilities in cities like Tampa, Florida. In actuality, until the Castro revolution caused a flight of cigar talent to other countries where they found suitable soil and started to make cigars that, in the end, challenged Cuban tobacco and cigars, that was all you could buy in the premium category. Still to this day cuban cigars are the mother of great cigars. 

Below is a video showing the process of rolling cuban cigars in Havana, Cuba:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQSPKDnvbrM

Citations 

“Tobacco in Cuba: AMNH.” American Museum of Natural History, www.amnh.org/exhibitions/cuba/tobacco-in-cuba#:~:text=Before%20long%2C%20Spanish%20colonists%20were,the%20millions%20around%20the%20world. Accessed 12 Nov. 2023.

Zarodimos, Vasileios. “Cuban Cigars: A Sign of Political Influence and Power.” EGM Cigars, EGM Cigars, 18 Feb. 2019, us.egmcigars.com/blogs/the-cuban-cigars-blog-by-egm-cigars/cuban-cigars-a-symbol-of-political-influence-and-power?shpxid=d5c09d6a-1673-4a6a-8985-58866d0ea40d#:~:text=Cuban%20Cigars%20are%20widely%20considered,of%20social%20esteem%20and%20power.