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Transcript/Script EnglishFOR USAGM SHARE
((PLAYBOOK SLUG: CONNECT Cigars Miami TV
HEADLINE: Cigar Making in Little Havana
TEASER: Cuban flair elevates cigar making to an art form
PUBLISHED AT: 01/03/2022
BYLINE: Jeff Swicord
CONTRIBUTORS:
DATELINE: Little Havana, Miami, Florida,
VIDEOGRAPHER: Jeff Swicord
PRODUCER: Jeff Swicord, Zdenko Novacki
COURTESIES:
SCRIPT EDITORS: EA
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:50
VID APPROVED BY: EA
TYPE: VPKGF
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((Eds: This is a self-narrated feature.))
((INTRO)) [[Cuban cigars are the draw for smoking aficionados worldwide. And the Cuban diaspora in Miami, Florida is doing its best to keep up with the ideal. VOA’s Jeff Swicord goes behind the scenes to see how tobacco craftsmanship from Cuba has found a second home in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood.]] ((NATS/MUSIC))
((Fernando Morales, Owner, Mr. Cigars)) Little Havana is the center of Cuban culture in Miami. You always hear music. Drinking coffee. Playing dominos. Versailles is the icon, the most famous Cuban restaurant in the entire world. Cigars are at the center of the Cuban culture which means that tourists come here. Yes, they come to eat, they come to enjoy, but the main thing they come to buy, the main product they come to purchase, cigars, cigars.
((NATS))
((Fernando Morales, Owner, Mr. Cigars)) Welcome to Little Havana. Come into my shop. I was born and raised in Havana, Cuba. My grandfather used to be a cigar roller in Cuba. You cannot get Cuban cigars because
of the embargo and that’s just into politics.
We consume more cigars than the entire world combined. The lighter the color, the milder the cigar. The darker the color, the stronger the cigar it is. So, for example, this is what we call Connecticut Shade. Connecticut Shade because the first leaf was cultivated in Connecticut, USA and it came out like almost yellow. And this is a mild cigar.
Then from here, we jump into the medium body cigars. And this is what we call medium body Habano Shade. So, this leaf here is from Ecuador, Habano Ecuador, Ecuadorian Habano, and is aged for five years. That’s why it turns like medium brown. Then, you come over to the full body. As you can see it’s darker, the leaf, because it is aged for about seven years. And this one come from, from Mexico, San Andrea, Mexico. It’s on the sweet side.
((NATS/MUSIC))
What makes a good cigar is: a) - the quality of the leaf…b) the quality of the Torcedor, the cigar roller. The Cuban Torcedores are the best in the world, period, hands down.
((NATS/MUSIC))
((Fernando Morales, Owner, Mr. Cigars))
Smooth, the way I like it!
((NATS/MUSIC))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateJanuary 3, 2022 15:50 EST
Brand / Language ServiceUS Agency for Global Media
