Cuban cigars star in major event in Italy

Every year, the Italian municipality of Matelica—Macerata province, Marche region—hosts a new edition of the Encuentro de Amigos de Partagás (Friends of Partagás Gathering), the most important Cuban cigar festival in Europe.

The 18th edition of the event will run from July 3 through 7 and will be focused on Premium Cuban cigars, as the Director of La Casa del Habano Partagás, René Valdez, told Prensa Latina.

As in previous editions, the program includes seminars, presentations of Cuban books, workshops for cigar rollers, pictorial and photographic exhibitions, exclusive cigar tastings, humidor raffles, concerts and dances.

Valdez revealed that three of Cuba’s most famous cigar rollers, José Castelar Cairo (Cueto), Leopoldina Gutiérrez Espinosa (La China) and Juana Ramos Guerra will attend this edition and will be making cigars for guests.

Cuban singer Haila María Mompié and her band will also take part in this important event to celebrate Cuban Premium cigars, with a concert on July 3 in Matelica’s Gerani Square.

On July 4, the program includes the seminar “La Casa del Habano,” with a lecture on the history of the Cohíba and Trinidad brands, followed by the Fiesta Campesina in the evening.

In addition, the event will host a conference on “Tobacco Brands since the 19th Century,” and a tasting of Bolívar Nueva Medalla de Oro cigars by experts Valerio Cornale, Cosimo Attanasi, Alain Proietto and Alexandre Avellar alongside the Línea Icónicos line of Havana Club rums, with brand ambassador Alfredo Guerra.

The same day will see the La Gozadera Cuban Fiesta at the Hotel Borgo Lanciano, which will also feature singer Haila Mompié.

The conference “The Best Tobacco in the World,” a tasting session under the name of La excepción Don José Edición Regional Italia 2015 and a Grand Gala dinner also feature as part of the program.

The festival is sponsored by the Cuban Embassy to Italy and the local administrations of the commune of Castelraimondo, the city of Matelica, the municipality of Macerata and the Marche region, with the support of important companies including Diadema S.A., the exclusive importer of Havana cigars in Italy.

Source: Prensa Latina