Meet the growers

[Punch Joe]

As the Habanos Festival is getting closer it´s time to pay tribute to those who grow the best leaf in Cuba.

I´ve been so lucky to have met them along these years. This is just a small sample among the great tobacco names.

Mr. Alejandro Robaina (here with tobacco researcher Dr. Eumelio Espino)

Age: Turning 90 next 20 of March.

Farm: Cuchillas de Barbacoa. San Luis. Vuelta Abajo region. Pinar del Río Province. Cuba.

Mr. Francisco Milián most commonly known as Pancho Cuba

Farm: La Covadonga. San Juan y Martínez. Vuelta Abajo region. Pinar del Rio province. Cuba

Mr. Antonio María Paz Valladares most commonly known as Lin

Farm: Las Maravillas. San Juan y Martínez. Vuelta Abajo region. Pinar del Rio province. Cuba

Mr. Hector Luis Prieto

Mr. Gerardo Medina Relova

Farm: Hoyo de Monterrey. San Juan y Martínez. Vuelta Abajo region. Pinar del Rio province. Cuba

GOD BLESS THEM ALL!

[Fatshotbud]

keep up the good work!

What farm for Hector Luis Prieto? Looks quite junior to the others.......

[stargazer14]

I vote Gabriel Byrne to play Mr. Milián in the upcoming film "Pancho Cuba".

[anacostiakat]

God Bless Them All INDEED!

Nice stuff, Brother! Thanks!

[Punch Joe]

keep up the good work!

What farm for Hector Luis Prieto? Looks quite junior to the others.......

Hector Luis Prieto cultivates in a location near to the Obeso sorting house in San Juan y Martínez. His father is the owner but sadly he couldn´t make it to the event last year since it was a little bit under the weather. Sorry if I missed that on the info but it was nearly impossible to upload everything. Spent the whole afternoon, trying to do so. Again, I WANT FAST (at least decent) INTERNET CONNECTION!!! Thanks for the comments. I will keep you updated whenever i have the chance. I´m quite busy since early January, mates.

[Punch Joe]

Yeah. Ike and Mike, they look alike. Have Gabriel met him one day, he won´t regret it.

[Punch Joe]

The list could go on and on....

Mr. Nivaldo González Hoyo de Monterrey in San Juan y Martínez

Mr. Alberto Martínez Martínez Hoyo de Mena in San Juan y Martínez

Mr. Tito Labrador Farm: Morejón Hoyo de Mena Plantation in San Juan y Martínez

Mr. Félix Osorio Hoyo de Monterrey in San Juan y Martínez

Mr. Jorge Luis Guzmán Hidalgo Vivero in San Juan y Martínez

Mr. Basilio Sánchez Villafranca Farm: El Túnel in San Juan y Martínez

Mr. Lázaro Hernández Delgado Farm: El Túnel in San Juan y Martínez

Not to mention South of Havana growers. Mind that!

I´m committed to make this Forum the best of all, mates. Would love to have the pics uploaded now!

[habanablue]

The list could go on and on....

Mr. Nivaldo González Hoyo de Monterrey in San Juan y Martínez

Mr. Alberto Martínez Martínez Hoyo de Mena in San Juan y Martínez

Mr. Tito Labrador Farm: Morejón Hoyo de Mena Plantation in San Juan y Martínez

Mr. Félix Osorio Hoyo de Monterrey in San Juan y Martínez

Mr. Jorge Luis Guzmán Hidalgo Vivero in San Juan y Martínez

Mr. Basilio Sánchez Villafranca Farm: El Túnel in San Juan y Martínez

Mr. Lázaro Hernández Delgado Farm: El Túnel in San Juan y Martínez

Not to mention South of Havana growers. Mind that!

I´m committed to make this Forum the best of all, mates. Would love to have the pics uploaded now!

Jose, your contribution to FOH is appreciated by all members around the globe. Besides Don Alejandro, I did not know the names of any other growers. Thanks for the post. (And the considerable time it took to upload the photos!)

[El Presidente]

Great work Jose.

I moved this post to the Classic section so it is not forgotten

[Colt45]

I must admit that sometimes in my forgetfulness, I put a corporate face to the Havana cigar.

Thanks for the reminder.

[kjellfrick]

Thank you, Jose. You give the growers some very well deserved attention.

[Jay Hemingway]

excellent post!

thanks punch joe.

[El Presidente]

excellent post!

thanks punch joe.

Jose, If you have a map of the Tobacco districts of Vuelta Abajo (or Cuba) I will get a copy off you in Havana and post upon my return. Lets see if we can build an accurate picture.

[laficion]

Hi Jose,

Wondeeful writeup, great pics, It's about time credit is given

to these great tobacco growers, not many Habano smokers know

that they exist and the fantastic job they are doing. Great info

for all, Thanks.

[jeromeroselli]

Hi Jose,

Wondeeful writeup, great pics, It's about time credit is given

to these great tobacco growers, not many Habano smokers know

that they exist and the fantastic job they are doing. Great info

for all, Thanks.

Wow.. doesn't look like there are very many 'entry level' tobacco grower positions. That is some generational pride right there.....

[DocRKS]

It's posts such as these that make this Forum such a great place....... It's nice to see the faces of the people who are responsible for working the land to produce the finest tobacco in the world..... It reinforces the humanity of this thing of ours - such a very different image than when you think of HSA!

[crasmith]

Thanks for the great post Jose!

[BobbyRitz]

Wonderful information, thank you!

[Ken Gargett]

Sorry if I missed that on the info but it was nearly impossible to upload everything. Spent the whole afternoon, trying to do so. Again, I WANT FAST (at least decent) INTERNET CONNECTION!!! Thanks for the comments. I will keep you updated whenever i have the chance. I´m quite busy since early January, mates.

in that case, jose, do NOT sign up with telstra!

[Tampa1257]

Jose,

I am just now getting back into reading and catching up from my move. This is a wonderful tribute to those responsible for growing the leaf we so cherish and enjoy smoking. Their photos are a testament to the pride, honor and sacrifice as well as the passion each of these men have. Thank you for providing a glimpse to those of us here at FOH.

[Mr. Japan]

Who will be picked by Habanos as substitute of the great Don Alejandro for marketing ? if they will.

[aavkk]

Wow, great post Jose thanks! By my estimates there looks to be more than 375 years of experience in these photos.

[samb]

Its makes it sorta surreal to see Don Alejandro and know that he's no longer growing

[CanuckSARTech]

Its makes it sorta surreal to see Don Alejandro and know that he's no longer growing

Yes, exactly.

I just checked out this thread, and saw that he was at the top of the list, whether intentional or not.

Alejandro Robaina was a flagship for Habanos S.A. himself, and a modest one at that. I really wish that I had met him, but I didn't want to be a complete "tourist" whenever I went to Cuba. I know that there was a burgeoning tourist industry set up to make money on people just going to visit him, at his farm, at his home. That wasn't me. I only went on invited tours or visits, or to those places/businesses that were expecting or inviting it.

I wish I had the chance to go to one of the Festival Habanos before, and meet him there - that would be the proper context.

And yes, like Colt said earlier in this thread, it's nice to see the faces behind the corporate brand - not just Don Alejandro, but other growers as well.

That's what I myself find so great about Cuban cigars.

I grew up in southwestern Ontario farmland. I worked many summer/part-time jobs on farms and grain elevators, etc. And then, my first trip to the Domincan Republic in the mid-90's on a missionary trip let me go on an invited tour of a tobacco plantation and a cigar factory there. From that, I gained an appreciation of the devotion and love that they put into their finished product, into their farmer's/roller's "art". It's an awesome thing to see - the care and attention to detail that is going into a consumable product for someone else to enjoy. It's a rare thing, in today's mass-produced robotic society.

[jackohalloran]

cant wait to go!