The 23rd Habano Festival concluded (+Photos)
The 23rd edition of the Habano Festival concluded its intense days with the traditional humidor auction, which raised 11.22 million euros for the national health system.
We have lived unique experiences around the Habano, after two years of hard waiting, following the Covid-19 pandemic, said Luis Sánchez Harguindey y Pardo de Vera, Co-President of Habanos, S.A., at the closing of the International Seminar and Trade Fair this Friday at the Havana Convention Center.
Experts spoke about the traditions, trades, rites and customs surrounding this precious product, «our Habano,» said the executive, who thanked the specialists, manufacturers and producers for enriching the culture and sharing their knowledge of Habanos.
More than 260 exhibitors from 10 countries participated in the fair with excellent activities in the areas of gastronomy, handicrafts, fashion, culture and a wide universe of Habano-related items.
Comercial Iberoamericana S.A. won several awards in the categories of Free Design Stand, Most Visited Stand and Comprehensive Communication, while La Estancia S.A. won the award for Modular Design.
In the Free Design category, two honorable mentions went to Guayabera Cohiba Admosphere and Brascuba S.A. Meanwhile, Havana Club S.A. received an award for Comprehensive Communication and Ron Legendario Reserva Especial was recognized for product novelty.
Habanos World Challenge Competition
The Habanos World Challenge Competition was interesting and innovative in that it included non-alcoholic products in the competition, such as coffee, juices and chocolates, so as not to discriminate against those who, for traditional reasons, do not like to combine their precious Habanos with alcoholic products.
The president of the jury, Maestro Víctor Manuel Aguilera Noriega, explained to Radio Enciclopedia that for the first time a Muslim couple is participating in the finals with a proposal of non-alcoholic pairings.
Thus, he pointed out the need to have not only alcoholic products, as it is almost always done in the world, among the pairing of cigars. It is an experience that could be used in future editions.
The couple known as Los Gatos de Grecia, consisting of Antonis Pasparakis and Efthimios Karachristianidis, won the prize. Second place went to the Kuwaiti duo of Sanel Haddad and Hassan Tameemi, known as Los Falcons.
According to Aguilera Noriega, who has been involved with Habanos for more than a quarter of a century, it was a fiercely fought competition with a high level of preparation on the part of the competitors, which helped to spread the Habano culture even further among aficionados around the world.
Couples from Chile, Colombia, Germany, Cyprus, Kuwait and Greece participated in this fourth edition, which was held in several phases: the first, local, in their countries of origin, another preliminary phase in Cuba, and the final, which took place on the morning of Friday, March 3.
