Cuba: an Enriching Encounter with Readers at a Cuban Cigar Factory
Members of the Cuban Journalists Union (UPEC) and Granma newspaper visit the Jose Marti Cigar Factory

Lourdes Pérez Navarro
Foto Juvenal Balán

The José Martí Cigar Factory, located in the Havana neighborhood of Vedado, hosted a delegation of the Cuban Journalists Union (UPEC) and workers of Granma newspaper. This gathering with cigar makers occurred at the factory´s working areas and among blades, and tobacco leaves. …     

Cigar makers gave their opinions about the work of Cuban media while hand-rolling, shaping and packing their product according to varieties and brands, such as H.Upmann ( name given to the center years ago), Montecristi, Hoyos de Monterrey and Partagás, which are very prestigious all over the world. They also referred to the way journalists reflect — or don´t— everyday problems in the newspapers and called them to be more critical when approaching these issues. They also talked about the need to improve the quality of  the Cuban newspapers, when it comes to printing and distribution.  

The meeting enriched our background knowledge. Thanks to readers at the cigar factories, cigar makers are regular “listeners” of the news we read them from the newspapers. “We read newspapers, magazines, books, foreign and national publications every day. All the departments listen to us through a local audio system. Cigar makers pay close attention to every piece of news and are severe critics of these materials,” said Gricel Valdés-Lombillo Pérez, who has played this role for nearly two decades.  

No wonder, the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Preservation of the Immaterial Heritage will evaluate late in September  the Cuban experience of  people employed as cigar factory readers— among the 111 candidates presented by 35 member states to join the list. This Cuban experience is considered an achievement of the national working class and a popular and cultural tradition, the only one of its kind all over the world.    

(English Version for Cubaperiodistas: an initiative of the UPEC delegation at ESTI)