Welcome to Cuba • May/June 2015
Features
Buying Cuban Cigars in Havana
You pull open the glass door of the cigar shop, your eyes drawn to the dark wood of the walls, the array of picturesque cigar boxes and the small, circular bar, where a server in …
Cuba: Dawn Of A New Day
Cuba's Capitol building, a replica of the U.S. Congress, stands as a stark reminder of this moment in the country's history. Half of the building is restored, its glistening …
Dining in Havana
Roast chicken as good as L'Ami Louis in France. A lasagna de papaya as creative as any dish you could find in Barcelona. A barbecue pork rib as succulent and tender as you could …
A Comedian in Cuba
It's a comedic format familiar to Conan O'Brien and his production crew: Leave the confines of the studio and travel to a remote location to film the gangly late-night star as he …
Island Overnights
You can find an oldish-looking couch in the soaring lobby of the Hotel Raquel or the Hotel Ambos Mundos in Habana Vieja, order a rum on the rocks, and sit back to watch the parade …
The Hot Art of Havana
The late afternoon light was fading, turning the tiny stairwell into a dim climbing adventure toward the apartment of Mabel Poblet Pujol, a young female Cuban artist. Even though …
Cocktail & Cigar Central
It's true. We tend to focus on rum, and nothing but rum, when we are in Havana. The lineup of great Cuban rums has expanded in the last 10 years, and it's easy to work your way …
A Rhythm Runs Through It
It is 6:30 pm. The room at the small music venue is already packed. With Cubans. No tourists. The music starts, and for the next two and a half hours, with no breaks, musician Rey …
The Fight That Made Havana Famous
One hundred years ago, the baddest man on the planet was Jack Johnson. And for a fleeting moment in April of 1915, he would make Havana, Cuba, the center of the sports world. …
The Temples of Cigars
The young man with the skinny arms wearing a sleeveless shirt sits at a weathered workstation on a wooden chair. Before him are piles of wrinkled leaves, some of them as dark as a …
Cigars
ProCigar Throws Eighth Festival in the Dominican Republic
Held in the middle of the Dominican Republic's pre-Lent carnival celebration, the ProCigar festival is a yearly cigar-centric, cultural exposition of the Dominican cigar where …
Tobacco Typology
It's late morning and Siegfried Maruschke walks with his father down a smooth and immaculately clean concrete floor in a warehouse in the Dominican Republic. There's no need for …
Ratings from this Issue
Up Front
Cuba On The Mind
Look around—Cuba is everywhere. On the television news. In the papers. On radio. The December announcement that the United States was moving closer to normalizing relations with …
The Good Life
Large-Ring-Gauge Cutters
Stroll into any cigar bar or shop where patrons are enjoying smokes that fall on the plus side of 60 ring gauge, and you're likely walking into a debate. First of all, the …
Grand Del Mar, San Diego
The Grand Del Mar wants to wrap its arms around you. Southern California's most luxurious resort, just up the highway from San Diego, is itself wrapped in the midst of the Los …
The Margarita
It's been said that the Margarita is the traditional drink of Cinco de Mayo, the Mexican version of Independence Day. But forget that noise. First of all, the fifth of May marks a …
Retro Swimwear
The news that "retro swimwear" is making a fashion stand this season might conjure up visions of men covered from knee to elbow in heavy-knit Edwardian tank suits or something …
TaylorMade R15 Driver
Possessing the ability to hit a calculated fade or draw and control the shape of a golf ball's east-west trajectory is a dream that many weekend warriors share. Suddenly that …
Volvo XC90
Say the name, Volvo, and you conjure up an image of a big, boxy wagon that's safe—but Spartan. If that's what you have in mind, it's clear you need to spend a little time behind …
Military Inspiration
The fact that most men now prefer their watch on their wrist—and not tucked away—has military origin. In 1880, German Kaiser Wilhelm I ordered 2,000 wristwatches from Swiss …
3-D Printing—Makerbot
If you've been hearing a lot about 3-D (three-dimensional) printing lately, much of that is due to Makerbot. Aesthetically and philosophically the wunderkind of Apple, the young …
The Royal Scotsman
The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express may be the world's most famous train, but its Scottish sibling, The Royal Scotsman, is the most luxurious. It holds the title even though—and …
Made For You, June 2015
In a world of fast food and one-size-fits-all sensibilities, how often does something feel made especially for you? The "Made for You" section celebrates those items that are …
Ropa Vieja
Outside of Miami and the New York metro area—and maybe Cuba—it's not easy to get great Cuban food. No matter. Every year, I have a whole hog ( lechon asado ) party in my southern …