Now, here is a man who appreciates his craft.
I’ve spent a few hours in the Nica Libre cigar factory here in Esteli, getting to know the process of cigar making, and photographing it. While I don’t care for cigars myself, nonetheless, I find the process to be fascinating and the product to be beautiful. And the folks here in Esteli, Nicaragua, are really friendly.
Check out these beautiful cigars. They’re made by only one woman in this factory, who has sufficient skill to create them. I bought several. If you’re nice to me, I might give you one.
This is the tobacco as it comes from the plantation, to the fabrica.
This young lady puts those pretty labels on the finished cigars.
This is Eli, with whom I talked at length about his art and writing. Nicaraguans are pretty passionate about poetry, and Eli combines poetry with paintings and drawings. And he manages the little warehouse at the factory, where the cigars are placed for several weeks to ‘finish’ prior to labeling, packaging, and shipment.
I purchased a number of Nica Libre’s lovely cigars, including some made from organic tobacco by local farmers. The first two lengthy comments (from folks in the Portland area) get a free cigar when I return!