Smokers’ Big Bash
Cigar enthusiasts from around the world are on cloud nine because Havana’s International Habano Festival, an event that’s panned out to be the biggest tourist drive for the island nation of Cuba, is just round the corner. Now that we’re ready for the seventh edition of the ultimate smoke party, let’s look back at the previous festivals.
The initiative was cooked up in 1994 when H.Upmann trademark turned 150 years. Havana’s premier restaurant, Las Ruinas, hosted the festival on September 20 and 21. Attendants to the closing ceremony labeled the gala dinner arranged by world-class chef Gilberto Smith Duquesne as simply memorable. Three H.Upmann bands (Preciosa, Mareva and Sir Winston) were dished out for the occasion, while a jury was taking a closer look at Upmann No.4 and Petit Corona, the trademark’s two latest addition that year.
From September 19 to 21, 1995, Partagas celebrated its 150th anniversary as one of the world’s most sought-after brands. The Salon Centro of the Meliá Cohiba Hotel was home to the gala dinner attended by 300 people from 30 countries. That second edition of the festival featured the first Habano Man of the Year Award, that went to the hands of Pedro Perez, former president of Tabacalera Española S.A. in the Business category, and to Marvin Shanken, editor of U.S. magazine Cigar Aficionado, in the Communications notch.
A year later, the festival ceased, yet preparations to mark Cohiba’s birthday were at full throttle. In 1997, organizers agreed to move the festival to the month of February, in tribute to Cohiba’s 30th anniversary and its 15 years in the world market. At the Bajo Las Estrellas Salon of the Tropicana Cabaret, the auction reached $342,000 and Cuban President Fidel Castro attended the ceremony for the first time. The Habano Man of the Year honors went to Mohamed Zeidan (retailing); Jose Ilario, editor of Spanish magazine Epicur (communications), and Seita President and CEO Jean Dominique (business). The stars of the show were Cohiba 1492, Cohibas Siglo I & II, and the Robusto Special, rolled by Jorge Alberto Artiles Vera.
The Ambassadors Room of the famous Havana Libre Tryp Hotel played host to the grand gala dinner that closed the 1998 festival, that time around dedicated to the Trinidad brand (Fundadores). The Habano Man of the Year was Swiss Samuel Menzi (retailing), British Simon Chase of the Hunter & Frankau Co. (communications), and Germany’s Henrich Villiger (business). Don Alejandro Robaina, with a well-known brand named after him, was picked the best harvester of the year. Collectors took back home several cases and boxes autographed by Cuban President Fidel Castro, who also attended the party.
First Habano Festival The festivities spanned from February 22 to 26, 1999, with over $755,000 worth of cigars and goods sold under the gavel. The Habano Man of the Year Award went to Spain’s Raphael Levy (business category) and France’s Jean Paul Kauffmann, editor of Le Amateur de Cigare magazine (communications). Tranquilino Orlando Sanchez Mendoza, from the San Luis region in the Cuban province of Pinar del Rio, was introduced to the audience as the best harvester of the year.
The 2000 Festival In the middle of an increasingly larger antismoking crusade, over 800 cigar buffs from nearly 50 nations gathered in Havana from February 28 to March 3 for the Second Habano Festival. The auction peaked a new record high, $800,000, and Cuban President Fidel Castro was once again there. The event was held at the Habanos Hall of the PABEXPO Fairgrounds in Havana, and was attended by Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez. With a decade of experience under his belt, Ricardo Boneli Chavez, also from Pinar del Rio’s San Luis, grabbed top honors as the year’s best harvester. Another guy from the turf, Abel Exposito, general manager of the Partagas Habano House, nabbed the Habano Man of the Year in the Retailing category, while Austria’s Helmut Romé, owner of the European Cigar Cult Journal magazine, won in the Communications contest. The other winner was Andorra’s Jose Maria Cases (business). A lifetime achievement award went to Gregorio Socorro from the Canary Islands and Mohamed Zeidan from Lebanon, for their staunch defense of Cuban cigars.
A New Habano Man of the Year Category With the attendance of Cuban President Fidel Castro, Havana’s Tropicana Cabaret was once again home to the opening and closing gala dinners during the Third Habano Festival. The auction –all the money was funneled into Cuba’s healthcare system- tallied up $607,500 and the Habano Man of the Year Awards went to Cyprus’s George Fereos (retailing), Spain’s Gregorio Socorro (business), late Cuban crooner Compay Segundo (communications) and Emilia Tamayo, general manager of El Laguito Cigar Factory as best producer of the year, a new category that came into being that same year. Patrons paid homage to Nicholas Freeman, an enthusiastic planner of previous festivals and former president of Hunter & Frankau, the British tobacco sales company, who had passed away the year before.
Vegas Robaina’s Fifth Anniversary The Fourth Habano Festival came to a close in the wee hours of the morning, on March 2, 2002, following a weeklong party full of working sessions. The gala dinner was staged at the National Museum of Fine Arts. That year’s event was dedicated to the fifth anniversary of Vegas Robaina, while $660,000 worth of cigars and humidors were put on the block. In addition, one of Compay Segundo’s hats and a tablecloth decorated by Nelson Dominguez were also auctioned. Habano Man of the Year Awards: Switzerland’s Noëlle Levy (business), Cuba’s Alejandro Robaina (communications), Greece’s Mary Belli (retailing), and Cuba’s Aurelio Reyes Santiesteban (producer). The First International Habano Sommelier Contest took place for the first time and the winner was Cuba’s Orlando Blanco of El Floridita Restaurant.
Record High Attendance More than 900 people from 90 countries huddled in the Cuban capital for the Fifth Habano Festival, with a record-setting turnout. The auction totaled half a million dollars during the opening and closing gala dinners combined, held at the PABEXPO Fairgrounds. A new addition was the fashion show in which runway girls and top models flaunted garments made by Cuban designers and France’s Christian Dior. Habano Man of the Year Awards: Cuba’s Concepcion Arreche (retailing), Hong Kong’s David Tang (business), South African Theo Rudman (communications) and Cuba’s Rolando Gonzalez (producer). The Habano Sommelier Contest was won by Austria’s Christian Amann, followed by Matthew Wilkin from the U.K. and Cuba’s Leonel Marcelo.
The Sixth Festival The poolside area of El Laguito, in Havana, staged a $450,000 auction of cigars and humidors during last year’s festival. The edition, featuring actors, producers and people linked to the moviemaking industry, brought together 800 people from around the world. The Habano Man of the Year Awards went to Hilda Baro, director of the Partagas Cigar Factory in Cuba (producer), Spain’s Jose Llano (retailing), Cuba’s Orlando Quiroga (communications) and Lebanon’s Mohamed Zeidan (business). The Third Habano Sommelier Contest prized Czech’s Ivo Dvorak (first place), Cuba’s Leonel Marcelo (runner-up) and Germany’s Matthias Martens (third place). The combination of Partagas Pyramid and Mascallan Whiskey snatched the top notch of the Second Whiskey & Cigar Challenge.