The man who mowed two cycling tourists off the road in Ghent on Sunday had almost 3 per mille in his blood. However, he had already been convicted several times for driving under the influence. But according to those around him, he couldn’t stay away from alcohol. Alcoholics Anonymous knows all too well how alcohol can turn lives upside down. We were given exceptional access to an AA meeting. How are things going? And is an alcohol addiction for life?
A humidor – the luxurious cedar box where cigars are kept – signed by Miguel Díaz-Canel was auctioned this Friday for 4,200,000 euros during the closing ceremony of the Habano Festival. The official presswho did not reveal the name of the buyer, boasted this morning that the bid, in which another five unsigned humidors were sold, raised a “record figure” of 11,220,000 euros.
It is the first time that Díaz-Canel stamps his name on one of these objects, taking up a lucrative idea that Fidel Castro popularized during the first editions of the Festival, under the pretext of allocating the money to Public Health. Castro last signed on in 2006, when he released five humidors for a total price of $725,000. Starting that year, illness prevented him from attending the event.
The auction, to which millionaires, collectors, members of the Cuban government and cigar aficionados were invited, was held at the Pabexpo fairgrounds in Havana. The six humidors auctioned represent the brands Cohiba, H. Upmann, Hoyo de Monterrey, Montecristo, Partagás and Romeo y Julieta.
According to magazine Forbes, the one signed by Díaz-Canel is made with “wood, metals and semi-precious stones.” With a capacity for 500 cigars, the humidor was auctioned accompanied by “a fine watchmaking piece unique in the world, from the Swiss brand Audemars Piguet donated by an anonymous individual for the auction.”
During the closing dinner, dedicated to Partagás, three new vitolas or formats of this brand were presented –Origen, Rito and Maestro–, which will make up its “master line”, that is, the highest quality. In a few weeks, the authorities promised, they will be on sale around the world.
The ceremony also included the delivery of the prizes that Habanos SA traditionally grants. These are the categories of Production, given to the Cuban Yoandri Rodríguez, Business, which the Argentine Blanca Alsogaray deserved, and Communications, for the Abudabi Jasim Ahmed. The gala ended with a concert by Zule Guerra, Bárbara Llanes, Cristian Alejandro, Manolito Simonet and the historic group Boney M, with new members.
With the promise of selling the “most expensive cigar in the world” – a Cohiba Behike for $400 each – they managed to attract some 2,000 participants.
Habanos SA, co-directed by Cuba and Spain, markets 27 tobacco brands with multiple sizes. For the return of the Habano Festival, interrupted by the pandemic, the Cuban government launched a campaign in the official and international press.
With the promise of selling the “world’s most expensive cigar” – a Cohiba Behike for $400 each – they managed to attract some 2,000 participants last week in the Cuban capital.
With unaffordable prices for “high solvency fans”, according to CubadebateHabanos SA announced that the previous year the Cuban State had entered 545 million dollars with the export of cigars and that it expected to exceed the figure in 2023.
The pending issue for the authorities, despite the luxury of the Habano Festival, is the serious situation of the producers, whose crops in Pinar del Río –the tobacco area par excellence in Cuba– were destroyed by Cyclone Ian in 2022.
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