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Cigar lovers get whiff of paradise at Havana festival
AFP on Yahoo ^ | 2/27/06 | AFP

Posted on 02/27/2006 9:34:02 PM PST by NormsRevenge

HAVANA (AFP) - More than a thousand cigar lovers from 60 countries ringed the center of the cigar universe in Havana, comparing notes and celebrating Cuba's finest smokes.

Distributors, specialists and simple aficionados packed opening day of the Eighth Habanos Festival, an annual event sponsored by Habanos, a global distributor of the esteemed Cuban cigar.

British actor Joseph Fiennes was among a hundred celebrities on hand for the festivities, dedicated this year to Habanos' leading brand, Cohiba.

The presence of the 36-year-old actor at the event, who played the lead of Will Shakespeare in the 1998 film comedy "Shakespeare in Love," coincided with an opening performance based on the Bard's "Romeo and Juliet" at the Havana Grand Theater.

The performance of "Shakespeare and His Masks" by the Cuba National Ballet marked the 131st anniversary of the Romeo y Julieta brand.

"We dedicate this festival to the emblematic brands of premium Cuban cigars" which total 34 brands of pure, hand-rolled tobacco, said Enrique Babot, marketing director of Habanos SA, the Spanish-Cuban-French company that virtually holds a monopoly on Cuban cigars.

The festival will present newcomers to the Habanos stable in 2006 -- among them Top Cohiba -- and includes a trade fair, an auction of humidors and visits to tobacco fields and factories. The annual event ends with a gala dinner Friday.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Hobbies
KEYWORDS: cigarlovers; cohiba; festival; havana; paradise; pufflist; whiff

Cigars sorted according to their color and size. More than a thousand cigar lovers from 60 countries ringed the center of the cigar universe in Havana, comparing notes and celebrating Cuba's finest smokes.(AFP/File/Niurka Barroso)


1 posted on 02/27/2006 9:34:03 PM PST by NormsRevenge
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To: NormsRevenge

2 posted on 02/27/2006 9:35:40 PM PST by Extremely Extreme Extremist (We're Americans, we can do anything)
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To: NormsRevenge

As soon as Castro dies, Cuba is going to see a lot of greenbacks flooding their country.

That is assuming that Cuba goes capitalist. There's always the possibility that Hugo Chavez, Venezuela, is planning on annexing Cuba when Castro kicks the bucket.


3 posted on 02/27/2006 9:40:19 PM PST by coconutt2000 (NO MORE PEACE FOR OIL!!! DOWN WITH TYRANTS, TERRORISTS, AND TIMIDCRATS!!!! (3-T's For World Peace))
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To: Amityschild; Atchafalaya; BulletBobCo; ChefKeith; CJ Wolf; Clemenza; clintonh8r; coconutt2000; ...
FReeper
Cigar
Aficionado
"Never mess with a man willing to suck on a raging trash fire." -- Tijeras_Slim
Send FReepmail if you want on/off FCAP list
The List of Ping Lists

4 posted on 02/27/2006 9:42:06 PM PST by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist

That is a very nice jacket....8>)


5 posted on 02/27/2006 9:48:02 PM PST by Horatio Gates (Yea, though I live in the valley of DUmmies, they will fear me for FR is with me)
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To: martin_fierro

Now Johnny, I know we are at the Cuban Cigar store, but we're not buying anything here because it's illegal, immoral and we hate cuba, so stop asking.
Just look and be quiet!


6 posted on 02/27/2006 10:27:25 PM PST by JoeSixPack1
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To: Horatio Gates; NormsRevenge; Extremely Extreme Extremist

7 posted on 02/28/2006 3:15:25 AM PST by Khurkris ("Hell, I was there"...Elmer Keith.)
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To: martin_fierro

I was gonna go, but I found out I'd be seated next to Jimmy Carter on the plane.


8 posted on 02/28/2006 5:24:02 AM PST by Fintan (Did you really think I could post such insightful replies if I actually read the article???)
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To: coconutt2000
"... as Castro dies, Cuba is going to see a lot of greenbacks flooding their country..."

You are exactly correct. Cuba will be the richest country in the Caribbean by a wide margin. Gambling, girls, weather, beaches, food, cigars, history -- just like the early part of the 20 century, Cuba will be "THE" place to be for the rich and famous. Bring democracy on! I need Cohiba's...

9 posted on 02/28/2006 5:28:29 AM PST by devane617 (The truth, not politics, is right for our beautiful America.)
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To: NormsRevenge; Cagey; Larry Lucido; johnny7
Kramer : You got cigars , huh .

Jerry : I got some Cubans for George's wedding . They were more than I wanted to pay for but what the hell !

Kramer : Oh yeah baby . (spit , spit) What are these ? " Perducto de Peru " Jerry , if you think these are Cubans you have another thing coming .

Jerry : Peru ! I paid $300 bucks for these . I could have bought a house in Peru for $300 bucks !

Kramer : You got ripped buddy .

Jerry : I got to pay this Todd Gack guy $300 bucks just so he has some excuse to see Elaine again without asking her out .

Kramer : That's a nice name . Todd Gack . What is that Dutch ?

10 posted on 02/28/2006 7:32:09 AM PST by MotleyGirl70 ("Friday is Hawaiian shirt day. ")
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To: MotleyGirl70

I got some Cubans... but I use them to roll crepes.


11 posted on 02/28/2006 7:38:40 AM PST by johnny7 (“Iuventus stultorum magister”)
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To: Fintan
Sometimes I like when I smell a sweet cigar or pipe.

On camping trips the first night the girls in the group would smoke Swisher Sweets. They get nasty about half way through.

12 posted on 02/28/2006 7:45:11 AM PST by MotleyGirl70 ("Friday is Hawaiian shirt day. ")
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To: MotleyGirl70
They get nasty about half way through.
 

They get nasty just thinking about buying them.


13 posted on 02/28/2006 8:20:47 AM PST by Fintan (Did you really think I could post such insightful replies if I actually read the article???)
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To: MotleyGirl70; Fintan

"Uh, Monica, I think you STILL don't quite get how a cigar works."


14 posted on 02/28/2006 9:13:20 AM PST by Larry Lucido
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To: NormsRevenge
Havana Cigar Fest Draws True Aficionados

A worker carries freshly picked tobacco leaves to pile them in a field in the western province of Pinar del Rio, Cuba, Tuesday, Feb 28, 2006. The 8th edition of the International Cigar Festival, attended by hundreds of cigar aficionados from 60 countries, includes visits to plantations and cigar factories.(AP Photo/ Javier Galeano)


Cuban women select Cohiba cigars at the El Laguito cigar factory in Havana,Cuba,Thursday, March 2,2006. The 8th edition of the International Cigar Festival, attended by hundreds of cigar aficionados from 60 countries, includes visits to plantations and cigar factories. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano)


Cigar Update to: 2-27-06 Cigar lovers get whiff of paradise at Havana festival ^ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1586825/posts
15 posted on 03/04/2006 6:47:12 PM PST by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Monthly Donor spoken Here. Go to ... https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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Cigar Update to:
2-27-06

Cigar lovers get whiff of paradise at Havana festival ^

16 posted on 03/04/2006 6:49:28 PM PST by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Monthly Donor spoken Here. Go to ... https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: johnny7

It's been maybe 15yrs since the good stuff came out of Cuba and the storms are not helping it's future. Today the Dominican Republic is producing some great sticks. I've been trying products yet to be released from Mejico and would bet on them getting their foot in the door and being noticed. JR continues to carry "protections" on some desired lines, I wonder what happens when those controls end?


17 posted on 03/05/2006 1:43:01 PM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
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To: MotleyGirl70
How about... guinea stinkers
18 posted on 03/05/2006 1:54:19 PM PST by johnny7 (“Iuventus stultorum magister”)
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