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CIGARS
Vegas Robaina
Born to celebrate the most famous among the Cuban vegueros,
it is a brand that is progressively losing prestige.
by Giuseppe Mitolo
Vegas Robaina is the only brand of the Cuban cigar
scene created specifically to pay homage to
the figure of Alejandro Robaina. However Habanos
S.A., through the tribute to one of the most
iconic (and best known) vegueros of the Isla, also wanted
to pay homage to all the anonymous growers who, with
their daily commitment, have made Cuban tobacco the
best in the world for cigars.
There is little to tell about the man, shy by nature and
refractory to any prestige given by worldliness. Alejandro
Robaina was born on March 20, 1919 in a family of Canarian
origin who had been growing tobacco since 1845.
His finca, still exists today and is carried on by his nephew
Hirochi Robaina. It is located in Cuchillas de Barbacoa
and continues to produce the best wrapper leaves in the
province of Pinar del Rio. In 1950, after the death of his
father Maruto, he took over the finca to become its owner
and direct farmer, until 1969. In the year of the Cuban Revolution,
with the nationalization of the cigar industry and
the establishment of producer cooperatives (always under
government control), Don Alejandro lost his productive
independence, bowing to the will of the Revolution. In
a famous interview in 2006, Abuelo told the story of having
met Fidel and explained to him how important it was
the tabacalera production to remain under the control
of the families who owned the land. In response to this
note, probably in a captatio benevolentiae attempt, Fidel
proposed him to lead a cooperative of producers but the
proposal was declined. The quality of the production,
however, in particular of the capas did not go unnoticed,
to the point that, in 1990, the Cuban government recogni-
28 #5-2022 CigarsLover Magazine