|
|
"HEY SENOR... YOU WANT A GOOD CIGAR, CHEAP?"Apr 27 '01 (Updated Sep 05 '01) Write an essay on this topic.
Popular Products in Cigars and Tobacco Accessories
The Bottom Line IN THE STREETS OF HAVANA, BUYER BEWARE.
NOTE: I orginally wrote this piece about a year ago and placed it under under a particular brand of cigar. Now that these general member advice sections are available, I deleted it there and reposted it here where it is more appropriate. "Friend, friend, you looking?" Ah, the plaintive cry of the Habana Jintero, known to all those who travel to Cuba on a regular basis. "Special deal just for for you the best cigars, you like?" For the record,I love Cuban cigars and am happy that I get there 2-3 times a year to keep my humidor well stocked. My personal favourites are Cohibas, both Lanceros and Esplendidos. I realized some time back that I could ill afford their price in Canada. Even sometimes in Cuba they can get a little costly. This brings me back to the Jintreros and the black market (both literally and figuratively). Anybody who has ever been there, is aware that Havana, in fact all of Cuba is full of people just trying to make a buck to literally survive. Naturally tourists are a big source of their income. Just as naturally cigars are one of the main things they offer. Of course every Jintero's sales pitch is the same. He'll truthfully tell you that there are a lot of fakes and poor quality cigars floating around, but of course not from him. He'll then explain that either he, or a friend or realtive works in the "factory" and therefore has access to the real thing. By my count every second Cuban on the island "works in the factory." Cuba's population is eleven million so that makes 5 1/2 million people rolling cigars. That is if you follow their logic. At 100 cigars a day on average that's a lot of cigars. Compare that total to what is actually exported, and there must be a giant stockpile somewhere, Fidel's personal stash. Either that or maybe they're not telling the whole truth. Incidentally the latest version of this act I noticed on my last trip down there was the ID cards. The Jintero will now produce an official looking photo identification card. This is supposed to prove he works at the factory, and therefore his stuff is the real thing. In ten minutes I was shown six different styles of cards. All of them supposedly issued by the same factory. Even Cuba isn't that bureaucratic, but you have to admire their ingenuity. This is not to say that some of what is sold on the street isn't the "real thing." First of course what the real thing is requires a definition. Contrary to some stories, including some spread by the Cuban government, most black market cigars are just that cigars. Rumours of saw dust, floor sweepings, and banana leaves are just that, rumours. For the most part they are lower quality products made up in homes. They're then placed in stolen or home made reproduced Cohiba or to a lesser extent Montecristo boxes. These names are chosen as they're the only brand names known to the average tourist. Every now and then though the "real thing" is found for sale. Cuba's present economic situation and the need for hard currency make it worth the risk. The penalty for stealing empty boxes and wrappers is the same as if caught stealing a full box. A Jintero offering you a box of some obscure brand that retails in the Government store for only a few dollars more than he wants has probably stolen a "real" as opposed to "home made" box. There have also been tales of tourists buying boxes at Government stores only to discover they've been sold poor quality fakes. Its very easy for someone to swap a box when the boss isn't looking. In a country where the average wage is now $20.00 US per month, the incentive is there. So be warned fellow smoker, as in so many other things in life, that great deal you were just offered, ain't  |
| Read all comments (3)|Write your own comment |
by toiletoctopus
