Quesadas Release Tributo

David Savona
Posted: February 19, 2010

Today, the Quesadas honored four family members with the unveiling of the Quesada Tributo cigar. In a very emotional presentation held this morning in Santiago, the cigar was presented to about 50 attendees of the ProCigar Festival.

The Tributo is the second cigar to bear the Quesada name, following the release of the Quesada 35th Anniversary last year. The cigar has an entirely new blend, made with a hybrid leaf grown in Ecuador that bears a resemblance to hearty, dark Ecuadoran Sumatra. "Finding the right wrapper proved to be the biggest challenge," said Raquel Quesada, who blends cigars at Matasa along with her father, Manuel. Inside the Tributo is a blend of Honduran, Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos. The audience smoked three components of the blend in small cigars called surullos, then lit up the completed cigar.

The brand, which will be on sale in May, comes in four sizes: Manolin, 6 1/2 inches by 60 ring; Alvaro, 6 by 52; Alvarito, 4 1/2 by 40; and Julio, 5 by 50. Each size honors a departed member of the Matasa family.

Manolin Quesada, the father of Manuel Quesada and grandfather to the fifth generation, lived a long life, and "was the first person to introduce the fifth generation into this love for tobacco that has characterized the Quesada family for over 100 years," said Patricia Quesada.

Alvaro Quesada, Manuel's brother, his son Alvarito and Julio Fajardo, "the second brother" Manuel Quesada "never had," said Patricia, were killed in a plane crash. The tragic accident "changed our lives forever," said Patricia.

Every member of the Matasa family was visibly moved by the ceremony honoring the fallen men.

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