Approximately 100,000 Contraband Cuban Cigars to Go up in Smoke

[Judi Lynn]

Approximately 100,000 Contraband Cuban Cigars to Go up in Smoke
Published at 9:35 am, December 7, 2010

Custom officials at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport are reporting a record seizure of Cuban cigars. Thus far they have confiscated 30,000 cigars shipped from Europe and are inspecting 70,000 other suspicious cigars, also thought to be of Cuban origin.

Much to the angst of cigar aficionados and ‘lift-the-embargo’ advocates the cigars will all be fired up and destroyed. Imagine the aroma. It is illegal to import or bring in any Cuban product to the U.S. due to the 40 year-old trade embargo.

On average Chicago’s biggest airport sees 10 to 12 contraband Cuban cigars smuggled in on a weekly basis, mostly from travelers returning from international travels, they are legal in most other countries.

It is believed the contraband shipments were discovered because more international packages are being inspected as a result of the Yemen-to-Chicago bomb package intercepted in late October.

More:
http://www.hispanicallyspeakingnews.com/notitas-de-noticias/details/approximately-100000-contraband-cuban-cigars-to-go-up-in-smoke/3382/

http://i.timeinc.net.nyud.net:8090/time/daily/2005/0504/376_cuban0427.jpg

Tom DeLay enjoying an illegal-in-the-U.S. Cuban cigar.

[dipsydoodle]

1. I had a recollection

of an American company aka "complete ****s corp." trademarkimg one of the Cuban names back in the 70's/80's.

Think it must've been this one which goes back years earlier:

December 14, 2009

New York District Judge Robert Sweet ruled on December 14, 2009 that the Cohiba brand belonged to Cubatabaco and that US based General Cigar can no longer use the Cohiba name for its cigars made in the Dominican Republic. Since 1992 General Cigar used the Cohiba brand, originally started in Cuba and owned by state run Cubatabaco, to market their own Cohiba cigars.

The Cohiba brand is sold in every country except the United States because of the long standing US Embargo against Cuba.

General Cigar’s representatives said they’ll appeal the judge's ruling in this case that has been in the courts for ten years. However, General Cigar is allowed to continue selling Dominican Republic Cohibas until the appeal is heard.

The lawyers for Cubatabaco say that this decision "vindicates the fundamental principle that a company cannot be permitted to reap what it has not sowed and that it cannot exploit the goodwill and reputation of another enterprise’s product".

http://cohibas.com/

The ones from the Dominican Republic are probably made from banana leaves anyway - cheeky fuckers.

As an aside I didn't go to one of the "factories" but was amused at how many who did so muttering their disappointment at discovering the women don't really roll the cigars on the inside of their thighs. Perverts. :rofl:

[Judi Lynn]

2. Whooo! Never heard that story before. I have heard about their "readers!"

This is so cool, I needed to go find an article on it to post:

Page last updated at 17:57 GMT, Thursday, 10 December 2009
Reading while rolling Cuba's famous cigars

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk.nyud.net:8090/media/images/46896000/jpg/_46896827_montecristo.jpg

News in the morning, novels in the
afternoon

~snip~
At the front of the room there's a raised platform where a lone figure sits in front of a microphone, reading out loud the official state newspaper Granma.

Instead of canned music, many cigar factories in Cuba still rely on the ancient tradition of employing a reader to help workers pass away the day.

Gricel Valdes-Lombillo, a matronly former school teacher, has been this factory's official reader for the past 20 years.

In the morning she goes through the state-run newspaper Granma cover to cover.

Later in the day she returns to the platform to read a book.

It's a job Gricel Valdes-Lombillo claims she has never tired of.

"I feel useful as a person, giving everyone a bit of knowledge and culture.

"The workers here see me as a counsellor, a cultural adviser, and someone who knows about law, psychology and love."

Once the newspaper reading is over workers have a say in what they would like to listen to.

There's a mix of material ranging from classics to modern novels, like the Da Vinci Code, as well as the occasional self-help books and magazines.

More:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8406641.stm

~~~~~
Cuba Seeks World Heritage Designation for Cigar-Factory Readers


By Javier Otazu

HAVANA – They’re called “cigar-factory readers” and for almost 150 years they have entertained the workers who hand-roll cigars in factories all over Cuba.

The Cuban government has suggested that these unique readers be designated as part of the world’s Intangible Cultural Heritage that the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization will vote on, together with another 110 candidates, at a the meeting to be held in Abu Dhabi beginning next Monday.

In medieval monasteries, a monk read from the Bible or other sacred texts to the brothers while they were having their meals. In the same way, cigar-factory readers stand on a platform and read to their co-workers, often for their education, though time is also allowed for horoscopes, sexology, novels and kitchen recipes.

Documents show that the custom began in December 1865 when a learned magnate called Nicolas de Azcarate decided to provide entertainment for the workers during their tedious job of hand-rolling cigars hour after hour, and at the same time teach them about progress and reformist ideas.

In just six months the example spread across the island and more than 1,000 reader jobs were created. The workers chose whoever among them had the best enunciation and raised the money to pay the reader themselves, Zoe Nocedo, director of the Old Havana Tobacco Museum, told Efe.

More:
http://laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=344468&CategoryId=14510

~~~~~
The reader of the cigar factory

~snip~
El first cigar factory where the reading was established was El Figaro, in Havana, by the end of 19th Century. All the three hundred cigarmakers who worked in the factory decided to choose one of them to read and entertain the others while rolling and cutting the leaves. In order to prevent the reader lose his daily wage, each worker contributed with his corresponding quota to compensate him for the time he spent at this work. The cigar factory's reader had the important mission to read aloud the newspapers and the novels to the cigarmakers.

Readings at the factories were very appreciated by workers and got to be considered as a social and cultural right. The important role of the reader is showed in its prevalence, even after the appearance of the radio.

Even nowadays, the legendary figure of the cigar factory's reader is maintained in the Cuban galleys.

http://www.cubancigarshistory.com/cigars_production/the_reader_of_the_cigar_factory/the_reader_of_the_cigar_factory.html

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com.nyud.net:8090/entertainment/books/blog/cigar%20factory%20edited.jpg http://readingforreadingssake.files.wordpress.com.nyud.net:8090/2010/02/cuban-cigar-fact.jpg

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk.nyud.net:8090/books/josegoitiaAPcompaysegundoPorLarranaga460.gif

The world-famous Compay Segundo was raised by a
grandmother who worked at a cigar factory and he
used to light her cigars when he was very small!

[dipsydoodle]

3. btw

If you try to take any cigars out of Cuba where the carton has not got an official seal / hologram whatever they automatically get confiscated. There are even spoof seals on accurate repro cartons with repro cigar tubes too but the guys at the airport know which are the kosher ones. Every man and his dog are trying to sell cigars to tourists including the security guards at the hotels- some of those are banana ones apparently. :)

Its like most things in life - if the price is too good to be true then it probably is too good to be true.

:hi:

[social_critic]

4. Cuban cigar story

The best way to smuggle Cuban cigars is to ship them to another country, take off all the id's, and put on fake ones from a cheap US brand, put them in the cheap US cigar box.

The adrenaline can get pretty high as suspicious customs inspectors check the "American" cigars at the entry point, but they'll let them through - coming in from Canada is the best method, a flight from Japan isn't too bad either (who would think you flew from Havana to Tokyo then back to Seattle to smuggle cigars?).

If they catch you, you can plead temporary insanity or claim you were captured by the Cubans, they pumped you with chemicals you until you became a commie zombie smuggler. This may not be a bad outcome because you can get on Fox News and make some money out of a gig in Washington giving speeches at the American Enterprise Institute.

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