Juana Ramos Guerra and her life for COHIBA
Juana "Juanita" Ramos Guerra is one of the women who was instrumental in the founding of Cohiba's El Laguito factory in Havana. Juanita is a torcedora of the highest - the ninth - category. She started there as an apprentice over 50 years ago. She tells how it came about that she was allowed to work at this historic location. The conversation took place at the 5TH Avenue Products Trading-GmbH in Waldshut-Tiengen took place.
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From intentional study of chemistry to legend as Cohiba rollers
"I actually wanted to study chemistry," says Juana, affectionately known as Juanita. "But my father was an ardent supporter of the revolution. He forbade me to study and ordered me to work in El Laguito. I cried a lot because of that. But I always wanted to leave El Laguito when my father died. But then I stayed. And as time went on, I fell more and more in love with this work."
It was Celia Sanchez (Fidel Castro's partner) and Fidel Castro who had the idea of employing Cuban women in El Laguito. They believed that women had finer hands and were therefore better at rolling cigars. For Juana and her colleagues, it was a great honor to be allowed to work in this place. They felt like children of Fidel and were proud to be part of this organization. "After the 1990s, men also joined because they needed work. We trained them," she smiles.
She takes a puff from her Cohiba cigar and looks into the blue haze. Her eyes light up and she says, "We had it so good there. The women got married, had children, but we kept working." Working in the manufactory was hard, but also fulfilling. Juana and her colleagues worked carefully and with great attention to detail. They knew they were making something special - the Cohiba cigar, which is still considered one of the best cigars in the world.
The women are more maternal in rolling cigars
Juanita was 16 when she started at El Laguito. At 17, she could already roll cigars professionally. Juanita emphasizes, "This work in El Laguito was very important for our country and very important for Cuban women."
She takes another drag on her Cohiba. You can tell she's enjoying it. "Fidel has always stressed that women are more careful and motherly when rolling the Cohiba," she laughs. She looks at her Cohiba and smiles. "The tobacco for the Cohiba was and is a specialty!"
The teachers at that time were Caridad Badilla and Elia Dominguez. They taught reading and writing to the women who had no schooling.
Elia Dominguez later left El Laguito to take care of her grandfather. "Then I took over her job and trained the young women who had no schooling. I worked as a cigar roller in El Laguito and educated women," Juana "Juanita "Ramos Guerra tells us.
With time, more and more people from Cuba wanted to work in El Laguito. Even the wives of Fidel Castro's bodyguards came and learned to roll cigars.
Prominent visitors and message to cigar lovers
El Laguito has had many prominent visitors, including kings and heads of state. She reflects and says, "The first visitor was Fidel Castro, of course. The King of Spain was also here, also Zino Davidoff and many others I can't remember." But for Juana, every visit from Eduardo Rivera, the actual founder of Cohiba, was very special. She adored him like a father and was proud to work for his brand.
Today Juana is still a cigar roller. In recent years, she worked as a roller at La Casa del Habano in the Meliá Cohiba Hotel and then in the cigar store in the neighboring Hotel Riviera. She is proud to be part of such a successful history and wants the Cuban cigar tradition to live on.
She worked at El Laguito until 1975 and became pregnant; she continued working until 1984 and became pregnant again. "Then I went to the Soviet Union with my husband. I came back to Cuba in 1997," she says.
Her message to all cigar lovers: "Dear cigar lovers, keep smoking Cuban cigars! They are the best in the world! There is nothing better than tobacco from Cuba. It is unique and cannot be compared to anything. When I light a Cuban cigar in another country, the people around me say: Wow, how it smells! Which cigar do you smoke? I always say: Of course, a Cuban cigar. It's delicious, fine, rich, and just incredible."
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Photos: FotoWerk 132, Christian Schmid
"Dear Cigar Lovers, Keep Smoking Cuban Cigars!"
We would love to: if we could get some and if we could still afford them 😉 .
Of course Habanos, if everything fits, are terrific and not to be surpassed, BUT no longer at any price and effort.
But very many other cigars of different povinces are not soooo far behind, and offer all that used to be associated with Habanos, more reliable and accessible.
And so the own camp is still emptied about the next times, and then dignified the farewell decided.
Cuba has experienced the hardest tobacco harvests EVER. Because of the hurricane IAN, which raged in the fall of 2022 and destroyed the entire tobacco production in Pinar del Rio. Of course, Cuba still has tobacco in stock, but the urgent supply from the harvest is largely missing this year.
Fine report about "la reina de los lanceros".
It is a privilege to know this wonderful torcedora personally and to count her among our circle of friends.