«Esto no es un Habano verdadero.»

«Esto no es un verdadero puro cubano.»

…our taxi driver said matter-of-factly as he rolled the end of my cigar back and forth between his fingers and little pieces of tobacco leaves dropped out.

I snatched the cigar from him, poner de nuevo en la boca, y molesto replicó,

«¡Por lo menos dejame fumarlo en paz, hombre!

At least let me smoke it in peace, hombre!

We were on our way to Viñales, Cuba, y acababa de salir de La Habana con un millón y un tipos tratando de vendernos cigarros en el retrovisor. La última cosa que quería era otro cubano tratando de prisa. Plus, Había comprado estos cigarros de un amigo, así que estaba seguro de que eran de fiar.

Pero resulta que tenía razón.

Moments later, Encendí otro puro en la granja de tabaco paramos en e inmediatamente di cuenta de la diferencia. Este cigarro era más densa, las hojas de tabaco fueron embalados apretado, la ceniza en el extremo del cigarro no cayó en las edades, but above all….el gusto. Fui de fumar un Cohiba falsa para el trato real en 15 minutes, and even for a cigar rookie like me, it was noticeably different.

As I sat back & exhalado el humo de mi cigarro primera vez verdadera cubana con la satisfacción completa, el agricultor arrojó un fajo fuerte de las hojas de tabaco sobre la mesa frente a nosotros con un ruido sordo, adjusted his sombrero, & began to explain his trade. We were finally in Viñales.

Viñales – EL país del puro cubano

Like I mentioned before, hay fábricas de tabaco durante toda Cuba, cigar hustlers on every corner in every city, e incluso innumerables plantaciones de tabaco rociando el campo a lo largo de las carreteras, Entonces ¿por qué una necesidad de ir a Vinales?

Although only 1.5–2 horas fuera de La Habana, Viñales looks & se siente como un mundo lejos de la bulliciosa & capital cubana agitado. El consumo de gasolina maquinas (old, American cars) & noise pollution of the city are replaced with the clip-clop of horse-drawn carriages & el crujido de sillas mecedoras del porche delantero. The crumbling concrete buildings & industrialized, urban Cohiba factories give way to farmers cracking their whips, pushing their oxen further into the hot sun to till the fertile land upon which their fathers & grandfathers made their living. They continue the tradition on today. These tobacco farms picturesquely wedged between the sugar-loaf, mogota mountain walls of the Valle de Viñales (Viñales Valley) are all they know.

 

 

The conjunction of this area’s natural beauty, rich farming traditions, and preserved harvesting techniques of the best tobacco known to man have propelled the Valle de Viñales to enjoy the UNESCO World Heritage site status it holds today.

All cigars are 100% hand-rolled, and most of the farms here are completely organic as they don’t use chemicals nor farming machinery! Not only is seeing Cuban tobacco farmers’ process awesome, but being able to support them is even better. As noted in the video, the Cuban government takes 90% of their product to the Cohiba factories to produce & sell to tourists in official cigar shops. Buying cigars directly from the farmers puts money straight into their pocket, and given that most Cubans’ official salaries range from $15-30/month, that’s money well spent.

además, purchasing artisan cigars, hand-rolled & packaged with no labels (also seen in the video at the 2nd farm) can give tourists more options to take Cuban cigars back home. For officially packaged, branded cigars, such as Cohiba or Montecristo, purchase receipts are required to pass customs. These cigars cost about $10-30 apiece in government-run cigar shops. With exporting good limits enforced at airports (capped at $100 worth of cigars for Americans), that doesn’t give you much wiggle room for bringing some stogies back to share with your friends. The artisan cigars shown below cost us $2 each, and they tasted just as good as the official Cohibas.

But, I don’t even like cigars!

Just so you know, I never liked cigars before I went to Cuba either. By the time I left, I was smoking a cigar every day! I dare you to try one & see what happens.

But even if you’re sure you’re not going to like the cigars, there are still plenty of reasons to visit Vinales. There are hiking & horseback-riding trails all over those beautiful, montañas verdes, rock-climbing is starting to take off, and other family-friendly activities like boat-riding through Cueva del Indio and visiting Mural de la Prehistoria are worthy sideshows.

Habiendo dicho eso, Aún así, recomiendo encarecidamente caballos, al menos, a caballo por el valle para visitar las granjas & aprender sobre el proceso de cultivo de tabaco (you can just drink the mojitos if you prefer ;). Esto es lo que somos contratados a un costo de $ 4 / hora por caballo:

Nombre (name): Yaniel. Teléfono: (+53) 52238887 or 53715648. Dirección (address): Salvador Cisnero Este, Carretera Al Cementerio. Viñales, Pinar del Rio, Cuba. (also has a Casa particular for $25/night)

Yaniel doesn’t speak English however, pero al igual que cualquier experiencia en Cuba, hablar un poco de español, sin duda, mejorar su experiencia! Poner al día su vocabulario con la lista de abajo, and we’ll see you at the Vinales, Cuba tobacco farms!

P.s. – make sure Yaniel doesn’t give you the horse «Pepe» – he can be a little loco some days

El vocabulario ESPAÑOLA DE VIDEO:

plantación – plantación

secadero – secadora (en el contexto del vídeo, casa seca)

Estoy rodeado – Estoy rodeado

una explicación – una explicación

las hojas – las hojas

la ceniza – la ceniza

picadura(o) – picado

abajo – abajo, fondo

arriba – arriba, above

fuerte – fuerte

una capa – una capa

capote – literally cloak, or cape (but in this context it means the interior wrapping layer of the cigar)

moldearse – al moho

bar – bar

ciento ochenta – 180

doscientos – 200

gobierno – gobierno

noventa por ciento – noventa porciento (90%)

por supuesto – of course

lo mejor – el mejor

entonces – so, bien, entonces

lo has probado – usted lo ha intentado

tomar fotos – tomar fotos

la planta – la planta

recolectar – para recordar, para recoger

la primera – el primero

la mañanita – la pequeña mañana (primera recolección de hojas de tabaco en este contexto)

la segunda – el segundo

libre pie – pie libre (segunda cosecha de hojas de tabaco en este contexto)

siempre – siempre

la tercera – the third

cuarenta y cinco – 45

cincuenta – 50

uno y medio – one and a half (third picking of tobacco leaves in this context)

la cuarta – the fourth

centro fino – fine center (fourth picking of tobacco leaves in this context

la quinta – the fifth

centro gordo – fat

la última – the final, the last

la corona – the crown (the final picking of tobacco leaves in this context)

hay – there are, Ahi esta

rey(es) – king(s)

casi – almost

entre– between

setenta y cinco – 75

la cosecha – the harvest

a mano – by hand

máquinas – machines (also refer to the old, American cars in Cuba!)

en absoluto – at all, absolutely

químicos – chemicals

biológico – biological

cantidad – quantity

cinco mil – 5 thousand (5,000)

un millón – one million (1,000,000)

dos millones – two million (2,000,000)

yank tank – old, American-made cars in Cuba (también conocido como maquinas)

sabroso – tasty

campesino – agricultor, campesino

silencio – silence

suave – smooth

fabricar – to fabricate, produce

tripa – intestine (in this context, the interior of the cigar)

precio – price

etiqueta – etiqueta

cualquiera – anyone, any, whichever

experto – expert

aeropuerto – airport

caja – box

CUC – peso convertible (vinculado al U.S. Dólar)

 

 

Did you find today’s Spanish lesson interesting or helpful? ¿Le gusta siguiendo a lo largo con doble subtítulos en los vídeos, or would you prefer some other sort of Spanish-learning practices? Siempre estoy buscando nuevas formas de enseñar español a través de la documentación de mis viajes, so I’m open to all suggestions & critique! Por favor, hágamelo saber en los comentarios a continuación & ¡hasta la próxima!