The arrival and meeting with Alejandro Robaina
This is the report for my tenth trip to Havana for the Cigar Festival, and at this Festival the 165th anniversary of the Punch brand was celebrated, as well as the 160th of Partagás, the 140th of Hoyo de Monterrey, the 130th of Romeo y Julieta and the 70th anniversary of Montecristo brands.

Ileft Madrid in the afternoon of Saturday 19th of February, on a direct flight that was almost 10 hours. The hotel i chose this year was the same as last year's, the Meliá Habana, but on this occasion a large part of the swimming pool was under repair, and the Internet service at its Business Center was interrupted for more than two consecutive days...

On Sunday 20th, as in te previous years, a group of several friends lead by Imanol Elguezábal and Juanjo Olabarri (both owners of cigar shops in Barcelona and Vitoria, Spain) went to Pinar del Río, to visit Alejandro Robaina in his home in Las Cuchillas de Barbacoa, where we also met his son Carlos, his grandson Hirochi and other members of his family. They welcomed us in the new annex to the house that it was under construction last year, and after visiting one of the curing barns we had an excellent lunch on the porch of his house. Late in the afternoon we returned to Havana, where that night I attended a dinner with several members of a Private cigar Forum (Hamlet and Gwhiz from Canada, and Nothelaw and Piramide57 from Italy) and other friends.

First activities and Welcome Dinner
On the morning of the Monday 21st it was the registration of delegates to the Seminar at the Convention Centre.

Later in the afternoon, the preliminary phase of the Habanosommelier International Contest took place, where three finalists were selected among eight participants.

The Festival participants official reception took place on the evening of the same day with a welcome dinner at the Museum of Fine Arts (at a price of 150 USD). See pictures on next page.

Visit to plantations and Tobacco Institute
On the morning of Tuesday 22nd we made a visit to the "Lázaro Peña" plantations in the province of La Habana, as well as to the Tobacco Research Institute.

The plantation that we visited is located at the Peñaranda country state, in San Antonio de los Baños municipality (Partido tobacco region) an area where only shade tobacco for wrappers is cultivated, mainly the varieties Criollo 98 and, above all, Corojo 99 according to the explanation that engineer Francisco Lam González gave to us. We also visited a Kalfrisas plant, where the tobacco curing process is controlled by the optimization of the temperature and relative humidity parameters.

The Tobacco Research Institute, appointed to the Agriculture Ministry, was created in 1985 and is located in the outskirts of San Antonio de los Baños (province of La Habana), in the state of La Sabana, at kilometer 8.5 of the Tumbadero road. We were received by its director, Vladimir Andino Ruibal who made a brief presentation, followed by another talk by the scientist Eumelio Espino Marrero. Next we visited the facilities, where I had the opportunity to meet Norma del Castillo and Juan José López. Later on we moved for a lunch party, and finally we returned to Havana.

Inauguration of the Commercial Fair and International Seminar
On the morning of Wednesday 23rd the inauguration of the Commercial Fair took place. As in previous years, the ceremony was opened by the Cuban Minister of External Trade, Raúl de la Nuez, accompanied by the Co-chairmen of the Habanos Corporation, Óscar Basulto and Fernando Domínguez Valdés-Hevia, and other authorities. The Fair gathered 36 exhibitors of 8 countries: Cuba (25), France (3), Spain (2), Italy (2), Portugal (1), United Kingdom (1), Canada (1) and Guatemala (1). Also, several Cuban artists exhibited diverse art works in different areas of the convention centre. As in previous years, one of my favorite booths was that of the collector Valerio Cornale.

Next the International Seminar was inaugurated by Manuel García Morejón, Commercial Vice-President of Habanos, who said that the market share of Habanos has reached 30% of the world market, although this figure rises to 70% if only the markets in which the Corporation is present (more than 120 countries) are considered. He also mentioned the 90 Casas del Habano, the problem of fake cigars and the new Partagás vitolas, the Series P No.2 and the Reserve Series D No.4.

A panel on Casas del Habano and the presentation of the guayabera Vegas Robaina followed, and the morning sessions ended with a blind tasting tasting test in which the participants had to identify the vitola de salida corresponding to two coded coronas gordas that were given to them, and that corresponded to a Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No.1 and a Cohíba Siglo IV. For the tasting, conducted by Juan José López and myself (with the absence of Ronald Wagner) we used the sheet that the three all had designed and presented at last year's Festival.

The afternoon sessions started with a master lecture on how to make a Petit Robusto cigar, delivered by the master roller and great friend of mine Crisanto Cárdenas Miranda. The participants received the necessary tools to roll the cigar (apron, rolling table, chaveta, glue-pot and the corresponding raw material). Next a tasting of Habanos and Armagnac took place.

The Seminar continued on Thursday 24th, with a visit to diverse Factories and the preliminary and final phases of the "Whisky & Cigar Challenge" contest. Finally, on Friday 25th the final of the Habanosommelier Contest took place, and it was won by the English Bjorn Eriksson, followed by the Cuban Orlens Guerra and the French Xavier Laigle (see pictures in the following page). Then after a conference on "Tobacco and Communication. New strategies for a new era" the corresponding presentation of prizes of the Fair and different awards were given. The Seminar was closed by Javier Terrés Ercilla, Development Vice-president of Habanos.

Other activities: Canadian Night, Jewelry auction and candela wrapper tasting test
On Wednesday 23rd the "A Cool Night in Hot Havana" party took place at the Club Habana (200 USD), where the Festival participants had the opportunity to chat and enjoy a pleasant dinner with musical entertainment (see pictures on next page).

On Thursday 24th a Jewelry auction was celebrated at the Hotel Nacional, but I was not able to attend it because at the same time there was a very special taste test at the Hotel Conde de Villanueva, that I had the honor of being invited to participate along with other smokers, specialists and scientists: The objective was to evaluate the properties of the green or candela wrapper, that it is the object of an investigation, which has not yet finished.

The candela wrapper is not fermented, but is put under a process of artificial curing during 72 hours at a temperature of between 86 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit (30º - 32º C), and suddenly stopping the process in such a way that its color is maintained. Next the leaves are put under rest or conservation, but they are not fermented or aged.

The cigars were rolled at the Romeo y Julieta Factory with filler and binder corresponding to current blends, and they only distinguished by its candela wrapper. We had the opportunity to taste two vitolas: a perla and a julieta, and after smoking the first one I observed that it had left in my throat a certain astringency that a scientist of the Institute of Technologies and Applied Sciences, named Luis, told me that it was due to the presence of the vegetal tannins, that had not been de-naturalized because of the lack of the fermentation process, and the wrappers been obtained very recently. These tannins dissolve in the saliva, giving a certain sensation of bitterness and/or astringency. This one was, for me, the most interesting experience of the Festival.

The Dinner and Auction
The gala dinner (500 USD) took place at the ExpoCuba exhibition site on Friday 25th, and around nine hundred people attended the event. During the dinner we had the opportunity of smoking the new Partagás vitola, a pyramid named Serie P No.2, whose band is reproduced at the beginning of this page. The attendees also received a nice wooden case specially made for the event, that contained three cigars of this vitola. An announcement regarding the launch of 5,000 boxes of Partagás Serie D No.4, a Robusto Special Reserve, but we did not have the opportunity of tasting it.

The dinner was brightened up with several performances, among them those of the Cuban artist Chucho Valdés and the Spanish flamenco dancer Joaquín Cortés.

After the dinner, and as in previous edition, the Habano Men of the Year Prizes in four categories were announced and the winners were: Eumelio Espino Marrero (Cuba), in the Production Category; Vahé Gerard (Switzerland) in the Retailers Category; Zainal Mohebi (United Arab Emirates) in the Business sphere, and Jeremy Irons (United Kingdom) in the Communication Area. See pictures on next page.

The most highly anticipated moment of the night was, as usual, the specially designed humidors Auction, signed by Fidel Castro, who did not attend to the event this year either. The auction was conducted by Simon Chase, from Hunters & Frankau, exclusive distributor of Habanos in the United Kingdom. As a novelty this year, the bids were made in Euros. Here you can find the results of the auctioned lots:

* Lot 1: Humidor 10th Anniversary of the Habano Man of the Year Award.- This work reaching two meters in height was made totally by hand by Raúl Valladares (creator of the Habano Man of the Year trophy). The top sculpture is made of silver, copper, steel and granite, and it is mounted over a cedar and mahogany humidor, silver decorated. It contains 150 cigars: 25 Cohíba Siglo VI, 25 H. Upmann No.2, 25 Partagás de Partagás No.1, 25 Romeo y Julieta Churchills, 25 Montecristo Especial and 25 Trinidad Robusto Especial, the latter vitola being specially made for this cabinet. The opening bid began in 10,000 euros, being awarded to the Rumanian Karim Bandack for 55,000.

* Lot 2: Humidor 130th Anniversary of Romeo and Julieta brand.- Humidified case in solid cedar which has been hand-painted by the Cuban artist Zaida del Río, and it is inspired by the history play and of the Habanos brand. It contains 130 cigars from the brand (30 Churchills, 25 Exhibición No.4, 25 Hermosos No.2, 25 Exhibición No.2 and 25 Fabulosos No.6), the last three being special vitolas which are not found within the range of vitolas of the brand. The bidding started at 10,000 EUR, and it was awarded for 45,000 to Mabel Larese from Paraguay.

* Lot 3: Humidor-Cabinet 160th Anniversary of Partagás brand.- Created by the sculptor and silversmith Pepe Rafart, this work is made of precious woods (elm-tree root) and integrates the silver and semi-precious stones (green opal). It contains 75 cigars of the brand, the new vitola Serie P No.2. The bid opened at 10,000 euros and it was awarded in 50,000 to José María Cases, from Andorra.

* Lot 4: Picture of Compay Segundo and Humidor 70th Anniversary of Montecristo brand.- Painting made by the Cuban artist Milton Bernal Castro, inspired in the original photograph of Miguel J. Puldón Villareal. It is oil-painted with inlays of natural tobacco leaves over hand made cardboard made of vegetal fibers. The humidor was created by the writer and artisan J.L. Milán Domínguez, and is totally hand made of precious woods (mahogany and cedar, among others), high quality ironworks and natural mat finishing, standing out the volumetric shape of the triangle of the brand in the whole piece. It contains 170 Montecristo cigars: 75 Edmundos, 10 "A", 10 "D" and 75 "C", the last two vitolas being specialties which are not found in the range of sizes of the brand. The opening bid began in 15,000 EUR, being awarded to David Tang, from Hong Kong, for 50,000.

* Lot 5: Humidor 165th Anniversary of Punch brand.- A piece of furniture made of cedar, mahogany, bronze and silver, with doors made out of wood and glass with a band or stripe on the edge that traces the contour of the doors, and legs at Bombe style. The reproduction of the hallmark of the brand appears in silver in the lower side of the doors, and the lithographic seal identifying the brand appears inside an oval in the sides of the humidor. This work by the Cuban artisan, designer and silversmith José Ernesto Aguilera Reina, contains 265 cigars of the brand: 80 Double Coronas, 55 Churchills, 40 Punch Punch, 60 Super Selection No.1 and 30 Diademas Extra No.2, this last vitola has been exclusively made for this cabinet. The bid opened at 20,000 euros and it was awarded in 80,000 to Saad Audeh from Cyprus.

* Lot 6: Cohíba Humidor.- This work, made of metals and precious woods such as gold, silver, bronze, mahogany, cedar and Carrara marble, is made up by two humidors that is an sculpture in its whole and represents the majesty of the tobacco plant, using the Cohíba seal to form the nerves of the tobacco leaf. The furniture, measuring 1.40 meters height with a base of 0.5 x 0.5 meters, has been created by Raúl Valladares Valdés. The upper humidor contains 100 cigars of the brand: 20 Siglo VI, 20 Pirámides, 20 Double Coronas, 20 Sublimes and 20 Robustos Especiales. The humidor serving as a base contains 100 Cohíba Lanceros. From an opening bid of 25,000 EUR, it was awarded in 250,000 to ALTADIS Corporation.

Final activities and Departure
During the afternoon of Saturday 26th the traditional farewell cocktail party took place at the Casa del Habano of the Partagás Factory, where diverse activities and raffles were carried out. Afterwards I devoted some time to do the last minute purchases and say goodbye to my friends, and later in the evening I began the return trip to Spain, with several hours of delay. No celebration dates were announced for the 8th International Festival of the Habano, but it will probably take place in the last week of February 2006.

More pictures from this trip.