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Chucho Valdes.
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Joseph Fiennes.
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Leo Brower.
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Jack Nicholson.
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Jeremy Irons accepts the 2008 Habano Man of the Year Award in Communication.

Captivating, exclusive, romantic or adventurous, the much-loved Habanos are usually considered the unyielding allies of big-time moments. Anyway, through them Cuba has forged a major jointure with the world. The Festivals are constantly proving this point far beyond their boundaries: the nonstop presence in Havana of celebrities, public figures and boldface names of the arts and culture that show up at cigar factories around the city and even roam the famous tobacco plantations of Vegas Finas de Vuelta Abajo, just like Jack Nicholson, Steven Spielberg and Gerard Depardieu have done. Hollywood stars Matt Dillon, Seymour Cassell and Joe Pantoliano were among the first celebs that signed up for this event, as well as Jeremy Irons –he even grabbed a Habano Man of the Year Award in the Communication category- or Peter Weller who starred in the well-known Robocop movie, or Billy Zane, who acted in the blockbuster film Titanic, or Sean Penn and Joseph Fiennes –the latter starred in Shakespeare in Love. Highlights in this flashbacked wrap-up are the memories of last year’s closing night that put hoofer Joaquin Cortes onstage, let alone the glamorous and resounding appearances of larger-than-life Compay Segundo or the great Chucho Valdes, a multi-Grammy-award winner, a Havana-born keyboardist and a universal musician. In this sense, each festival comes up with new surprises, coupled with the presence of celebrities and famous people who put this internationally-acclaimed product higher on its pedestal, just as if both the boldface names and the most prestigious items were supposed on meet one another down the road of life.