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Published in Cigar Affectionado May/June 1999
The Pilgrimage
Cigar Factory Tours Can Be the
Holy Grail for Aficionados Touring Havana. But Be
Prepared to Do Some Penance
By
James Suckling
The small man at the front of the expansive
room speaks over the antiquated intercom, reading a story
from Granma, the official party newspaper of Cuba.
His voice crackles through dusty speakers mounted on yellowing
walls. Dozens of men and women intently listen
to his words as they roll cigars of
various sizes and shapes on the wooden workbenches
that line the main room of the
first floor of the building. The rollers bang
their small metal knives on slabs of wood as they
shape and finish cigars. The noise from
their chavetas accentuates the tinny sound of
the reader's voice and blends with the pungent
aroma of rich tobacco leaf. * This has been the scene
of cigar making in the Partagas factory
for decades. It is here that some
of the greatest cigars of Cuba are produced, from
the majestic Partagas Lusitania Double Corona to the
powerfully rich Cohiba Robusto. As one of the
oldest cigar manufacturers on the island, Partagas
represents the splendor and the tradition of the industry better
than any other factory. Its large colonial-style facade
in cream and brick-red paint is a
landmark in downtown Havana. Large, bold block letters state at
the top of the building--"1845 Partagas Real Fabrica de Tabacos"--which
proudly testifies that the factory has been making great cigars
for 154 years.
Judging from the crowds that
regularly swarm the rolling rooms of the Partagas
and La Corona factories (the only two in Havana
that are regularly open to visitors), factory
tours are a strong lure for visitors to the city.
Of the 42 factories producing Cuban cigars for
export, it is the handful located in Havana that
are considered the very best. Partagas (also known
as Francisco Perez German) and La Corona
(Fernandez Roig) are among the cream, and with
their scheduled tours of 30 to 45 minutes, costing
between $5 and $10 a person, they deliver a
memorable visit.
That said, cigar enthusiasts
should not expect an all-absorbing experience
touring a Cuban factory. In this nascent area of
tourism, explanations of tobacco processes or
manufacturing procedures are sparse or
nonexistent.
Tours of the Partagas and La
Corona factories usually begin in the rolling
rooms, or galeras, as the Cubans call them,
bypassing all of the tobacco preparations. This is
unfortunate, because seeing the casing, stripping,
selecting and other processes affords a better
understanding of the hundreds of steps it takes to
produce a handmade cigar.
Nonetheless, the galeras are the
heart and soul of any factory, the place where
visitors will glean a sense of the history of a
craft that has been handed down for generations.
Rollers, or torcedores, sit in rows, quietly and
methodically rolling cigars as they work to the
sound of salsa or son music on the radio or the
reading of a newspaper. Most rollers can produce
from 100 to 150 cigars a day, using only a wooden
board, metal knife and small guillotine as well as
a bit of glue. The cigars are definitely hecho a
mano--or handmade.
After watching the rollers,
visitors are shown the quality-control methods
whereby large bundles of cigars, about 50 each
depending on the size and shape, are periodically
checked and weighed according to standards set by
the Ministry of Agriculture. (The cigars are also
randomly tasted in a room that is not part of the
tour.) Recently, the number of rejected cigars has
been greater than normal due to the influx of new
rollers and pressure to make more cigars.
Apparently, however, the proportion of rejects is
returning to normal (usually about 2 to 3 percent
of the total). Once through the quality-control
process, the bundles are placed in a conditioning
room at about 70 percent humidity for three to
five days to harmonize the moisture in the cigars.
The next stop on the tour takes
place in the color-grading rooms where the
escogedor, or sorter, groups the finished cigars
according to the shade of their wrappers, or
outside leaves. Factory officials say they sort
using about 65 grades, with color a primary
determinant. The sorted cigars are placed in
unfinished cedar boxes in order of darkest to
lightest, left to right in the box. The cigars are
then moved next door to another section of the
factory where they are banded and placed in
semifinished boxes. In the final step, the
green-and-white government seal as well as the
red, gold and white "Habanos" label of the
government-run cigar exporting organization is
added to the box. This helps to confirm the
authenticity of the cigars.
Those who want more than to
simply witness production will not be
disappointed. At the La Corona and Partagas
factories, shops offer some of the best selections
of cigars in the country (see related story, page
173) as well as a cup of coffee or a drink of rum.
The downside of these tours comes
in their lack of organization and their being
overcrowded with occasionally ill-mannered guests.
Last year, I signed up for a tour
through the Partagas cigar shop and found myself
packed into the galera with 150 Frenchmen who left
little room to walk down the aisles between
rolling tables. It must have been difficult for
the rollers to do their work, as many of the
visitors shoved video cameras with bright lights
in their faces. The guide, to her credit, was
trying to explain the process in French, but the
few visitors who were interested in what she had
to say were hard-pressed to hear it over the din
of the louts.
After being herded into the
color-grading room, I decided that I had had
enough and left. Too bad for the color grader, who
didn't have the same option. He may have been
blinded by all the camera flashes and video lights
being stuck in his face. In view of such
incidents, the government has considered limiting
or banning cigar factory visits. In fact, they
were banned for a time late last fall at Partagas
and La Corona.
The unions are strong, however,
and although they realize that such visits may
inhibit workers' efficiency and quality, they also
see the tours as a revenue source. A part of the
entrance fee is given to the factories and the
Ministry of Agriculture, which use the money to
improve the workers' lives, including providing
better food, medicines and child care.
An interesting alternative to the
Havana tours is visiting Francisco Donatien, the
factory in the town of Pinar del Río, about two
hours west of Havana. Visits are free but very
limited. You only see workers rolling cigars and
none of the other processes. However, it is a much
more relaxed tour than the ones in Havana. In
addition, Francisco Donatien has an excellent
cigar shop with a knowledgeable and helpful staff,
and you can visit the nearby tobacco fields. (See
related story, page 194.)
Whichever option you select, the
next time you light up a cigar you'll have a
better appreciation for it, especially the labor
and workmanship that went into its production. The
views, sounds and smells of the factories will
always be with you, not only in mind but in smoke.
ARRANGEMENTS
Most tours are booked through travel agencies
and Havana hotels, although the cigar shops in the
Partagas and La Corona factories may also organize
visits for VIP customers. To contact the factories
directly, call or write:
Fabrica La Corona
(Fernandez Roig)
Agramonte No. 106
entre Refugio y Colon
La Habana Vieja
Phone and fax: (53 7) 62 61 73
Fabrica Partagas
(Francisco Perez German)
Industria
No. 520 entre Dragones y Barcelona
Centro
Habana
Phone: (53 7) 62 46 04, 62 00 86/89
Fax: (53 7) 62 51 23
Fabrica Francisco
Donatien
Maceo No. 159
Pinar del
Río
Phone: (53 8) 2 34 24
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