Nicaragua Holds First Cigar Festival

David Savona
Posted: December 23, 2009

The vibrant Nicaraguan cigar industry was on full display in early December as the country held its first-ever cigar festival. Festival del Tabaco 2009, also called Sabor y Aroma de Nicaragua, ran from Dec. 2-4 and featured presentations by government officials and cigar luminaries, as well as tours of several Nicaraguan factories and tobacco fields. Nicaragua now joins Cuba and the Dominican Republic as cigar-producing nations with festivals promoting the enjoyment and creation of fine smokes.

The festival began with dinner high atop a hill overlooking the capital city of Managua. Bayardo Arce, Nicaragua's economic adviser and a member of the Nicaraguan cabinet, welcomed the visitors to his country. The audience included Robert J. Callahan, U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua, and a who's who of the Nicaraguan cigar world, as well as cigar industry veterans from the Dominican Republic.

"This is my dream," said Alejandro Martinez-Cuenca, one of the festival organizers and the owner of the Joya de Nicaragua brand. He showed off a box of cigars made by the various producers in Nicaragua, a gift given to all the festival attendees.

Baryardo Arce (far left) economic adviser to Nicaragua, with Alejandro Martinez-Cuenca (center) and Leonel Raudez (right) of Joya de Nicaragua cigars.

Day two took place in the cigar-producing town of Estelí. The mayor of the town gave a warm welcome, and Nicaraguan Vice President Jaime Morales spoke of the importance of the cigar industry to the country. The minister of tourism gave a presentation on Nicaragua, followed by speeches by Martinez-Cuenca and Nestor Plasencia Jr., one of the country's largest producers of cigars and growers of tobacco.

Cigar Aficionado executive editor Gordon Mott spoke about Cigar Aficionado's perception of the global market for cigars, and the revival of the Nicaraguan cigar industry. "The First Nicaraguan Cigar Festival highlighted just how far that country's cigar industry has come since 1992, when it had been crippled by years of war and economic decline," said Mott after the festival. "The event brought together a dedicated and talented group of cigarmakers and tobacco growers and gave us all an opportunity to see just how passionate they are about cigars."

The following day was spent in factories and fields. Visitors toured Padrón Cigars, Scandinavian Tobacco Group, Drew Estate, Joya de Nicaragua, Oliva Cigars, Abdel Fernandez Cigars and NATSA.

For more on the festival, see blogs by Gordon Mott and David Savona.

For more photos of the event, see the January Cigar Aficionado, on sale soon.