The initiative is attracting female smokers from many countries, contributing to enrich the 25th Cigar Festival (February 24-28), which on Tuesday is giving a tour to its 3,300 delegates from 110 countries through tobacco plantations in the western Cuban province of Pinar del Río.

According to reports from organizers, the Cuban Premium Cigar Socio-cultural Project dedicated to women hosted a party on its 15th anniversary at the Turquino Room of the Habana Libre Hotel, in downtown Havana.

Under the Amigas del Habano (AH, Women Friends of Cigars) title, the group includes Cuban smokers and peers from Argentina, Spain, the United Kingdom, Russia and Japan.

The event features entertainers, journalists, announcers, sommeliers, businesswomen, businessmen and cigar rollers.

The president of the Project, Zoe Nocedo, stressed that she was proud to be part of a sociocultural proposal that defends Cubanness, Cuban identity and heritage.

Cuban Cigars summarize the history of a people from its aborigines until today, and will continue to represent such symbols for many more years on, because the Cuban rolled black cigar entails the highest quality in the world, said Nocedo, former director of the Havana Cigar Museum.

She stressed the AH stands as the only female project of Premium Cigars that also preserves the family and human relations, as proven by the anniversary’s event, which upholds the unity and empowerment of women.

The meeting acknowledged contributions by the Cuban International Tobacco Company (ICT), the Cuba Ron Corporation S.A., Havana Club International S.A., the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana (OHCH), Iberostar Hotels, the National and Habana Libre hotels and the Floridita restaurant-bar, among others.

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