El Laguito Cigar Factory is a Cuban factory building established by Fidel Castro in
Havana, Cuba
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. and recognized as the site where the
Cohiba cigar was first manufactured.
Early history
In the 1960s, the El Laguito factory was established by
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
with the help of Eduardo Ribera, a cigar maker. The factory was located in Havana, in the area of
Playa
Playa (plural playas) may refer to:
Landforms
* Endorheic basin, also known as a sink, alkali flat or sabkha, a desert basin with no outlet which periodically fills with water to form a temporary lake
* Dry lake, often called a ''playa'' in the so ...
.
The property was described as a palm-fringed colonial-style home originally owned by an English family known for producing
Fowler's West India Treacle.
Cohibas
The
Cohiba, a trademark now owned by
Habanos S.A.
Habanos S.A. is a Cuban manufacturing company of tobacco that controls the promotion, distribution, and export of premium cigars and other tobacco products for Cuba worldwide. It was established in 1994.
Ownership of Habanos S.A. is split equal ...
, was conceived in the factory in February 1967.
The varieties included Exquisitos, Lancero, Behike, and more.
In the mid-to-late 1960s, one of Castro's bodyguards was noticed smoking a noticeably aromatic but unbranded cigar. After locating the cigar maker, Eduardo Ribera, it was agreed to establish the El Laguito Factory which would eventually brand the cigars as
Cohiba and become Castro's signature brand.
[Stubbs, Jean. “TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF? THE HAVANA CIGAR REVISITED.” NWIG: New West Indian Guide / Nieuwe West-Indische Gids, vol. 74, no. 3/4, 2000, pp. 235–55. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41850061. Accessed 24 May 2024.] Castro exclusively smoked the Cohibas before he gave up cigars for health reasons.
The El Laguito factory-made Cohiba Lancero cigars were originally presented as diplomatic gifts for allied countries and friends of Castro.
Trinidad
The El Laguito factory produced a cigar brand called '
Trinidad' which included the Trinidad Fundadores and Trinidad Panatela.
Trinidad Fundadores were exclusively produced at the factory starting in 1980. Diplomatic Trinidads were presented as gifts by the Cuban Government which included former President Fidel Castro, his secretary of state, and other high-ranking Cuban diplomats.
See also
*
Royal Partagás Cigar Factory
References
{{coord missing, Cuba
Industrial buildings in Cuba
Cigar factories
Buildings and structures in Havana
1967 establishments in Cuba
Industrial buildings completed in the 20th century
Buildings and structures completed in 1967
Tobacco in Cuba