A Blessed Town

Set ablaze by the freedom fighters that struggled against the Spanish rule, San Juan y Martinez –like neighboring San Luis- holds dear a longstanding history as a tobacco-blessed land

San Juan y Martinez was founded between 1740 and 1745, and even though there’s no exact date that marks the foundation, it’s well known that the farmlands of San Juan y Martinez were doled out to Spanish settlers back in the 17th century.

Thanks to a perfect combination of climate, soils and traditions, these lands have been penciled in for centuries as the finest for Cuban tobacco. However, the very first tobacco plantations that were grown in earnest hark back to the 18th century in the towns of Los Palacios, Consolacion del Sur, Pinar del Rio and San Juan y Martinez.

Nonetheless, it wasn’t until the 19th century, when the tobacco embargo was lifted in 1817 and other trade barriers were knocked down a few years later, that tobacco growing became the number-one commodity in the region.

The town was burned down to the ground by the freedom fighters that were struggling against the Spanish colonial rule on February 21, 1896 –now observed as the Day of Dignity in San Juan y Martinez. The fire charred everything, except the walls of Monterrey and the church tower, still the tallest standing structure in town.

Just a few miles from San Juan y Martinez, the Tobacco Experimental Station also stands tall. Founded on January 31, 1937, this is Cuba’s second-oldest technical and scientific institution. The station has churned out such major Cuban tobacco varieties as Corojo 99 and Corojo 2006, a couple of crops that grow with far more leaves and are twice as much resistant to the blue moss and pata prieta bugs.