The XXII Habanos Festival culminated this edition with the Gala Evening, marking a glittering end to a week packed with activities for lovers of the world’s best tobacco, arriving from 60 different countries around the globe.
In this year’s edition of the traditional Humidors Auction five humidors from some of the most prestigious Habanos brands were auctioned, together with a special humidor donated by Simon Chase family to Habanos. The auction has raised the historic amount of 4.270.000 € with all proceeds going entirely to the Cuban Public Health System. For the first time in this traditional auction a humidor from the Cohiba brand reached 2.400.000 €.
The Gala Evening, which marked the end of the Festival, paid tribute to the 145th Anniversary of the Romeo y Julieta brand, presenting its three new vitolas in a new line, Línea de Oro. Attendees had the chance to taste, exclusively, the three new vitolas that make up the brand’s most Premium line: Hidalgos (57 ring gauge x 125 mm length), Nobles (56 ring gauge x 135 mm length) and Dianas (52 ring gauge x 145 mm length).
Throughout the evening, held in Pabexpo in the city of Havana, over 1,200 guests enjoyed an outstanding musical line-up headed by the famous international artist and pop icon, Gloria Gaynor, as well as other performances including Camerata Guido López and the Maestro Patterson Orchestra, Director of the Cuban Radio and Television Orchestra. In addition, there were artistic performances in different genres by major talent, including the Company led by Santiago Alfonso, winner of the 2006 Cuban National Dance Award, and the great Vengsay Valdés, Director and first dancer of the Cuban National Ballet.
The closing ceremony also hosted the Habanos Awards with Alexander Avellar receiving the prize in the Communication category, Jean Claude Reichling winning the award in the Business category and Servilio Jesús Córdova Torres in the Production category, respectively.
Also, the winning couple of aficionados of the III Habanos World Challenge International Contest were Tarek Gamaye and Fabi Hammad, from the United Arab Emirates.
This year’s special partnership linked Habanos (P.A.O.) with Torres wines, from different Appellations of Origin in Catalonia, Spain, bringing together their distinctive characteristics and craftsmanship for the enjoyment of enthusiasts and sommeliers from around the world, who will be able to sample the products with the explanations provided by leading experts. This edition also coincides with the 30th anniversary of La Casa del Habano franchise network, which is celebrating three decades of offering the finest Habanos and collector’s items around the world. (http://www.habanos.com)
