Say Goodbye to the Cigars at Villazon of Cofradia
It’s always sad when an era comes to an end. Whether it’s sports, business, or music, when greatness sings its swan song, it’s hard to even imagine life being the same. And so goes the story for the famed Villazon factory in Cofradia, Honduras. On December 11, 2009, the operation closed its doors as a cigar manufacturing facility, moving its revered brands six hours away to Danli.
Villazon, owned by General Cigars, was home to such legendary brand names as Punch, Hoyo de Monterrey, El Rey Del Mundo, and a host of JR premium lines. But like the rest of the world, the economy and imposed taxes have claimed their latest victims, and hundreds of dedicated people in that region of the Central American country are out of work, and God only knows how they’ll be able to survive.
As many of you know, in April of 2008, I spent several days at this facility, with Lew Rothman, as we were guests of then General CEO, Daniel Nunez. In less than half a week I developed an appreciation for cigars and the people who make them, like I had never known. The time, sweat, and dedication involved is fascinating, and we here in America could take an invaluable lesson from the people of this culture and their unrelenting work ethic.
The factory floor operations was run by a man named Manuel Zavala, who has thankfully been moved to Danli. I interviewed Manuel through an interpreter (a very cool and different experience) and was truly blown away by his love for tobacco, his company and his employees – of whom I’m sure he is heart broken over. The guy cared like not many bosses I have ever seen in my lifetime. The cigar making biz is a team operation, relying on many different parts to act as a whole. Manuel spent sixteen-hour days on the premises, overseeing all phases of the operation, while personally dealing one-on-one with those he felt needed the attention. The man had tears in his eyes, several times during our interview – tears of an unrelenting pride that was infectious to anyone in his presence. And let me correct myself, Manuel actually spent 24/7 on the premises, as he, his wife and children lived in a home on the compound, provided by General. Don’t see that in the U.S. of A.
After touring the plant and meeting just about everyone who worked there, my heart goes out to these wonderful people. They are all cigar people and I’m not sure how they’ll be able to recover. That area of Honduras is a headquarters for Chiquita Banana, as well as fish farming. More than half of the world’s tilapia consumption originates there, and at least that helps their fragile economy. One good thing is that the grounds in Cofradia will remain a tobacco processing and warehousing facility, which will be able to retain some of the employees, and, can be used again as a manufacturing plant if needed. One can only hope, but with the state of the industry, with its egregious taxes and Smoke Nazi shakedowns, it’s hard to imagine that a comeback will ever take place.
It is the end of an era. Villazon of Cofradia made some of the world’s legendary cigars for many decades, and within an instant, it becomes a memory of what once was – a time when a man’s right to chose a premium smoke was accepted and not looked upon as an act of immoral disgust.
So I ask you to light your next cigar in the memory of the people of Cofradia. Day in and out they gave their hearts and souls so you and I could enjoy one of the greatest passion that man has ever known. The attached photos of the plant and Manuel were all taken by yours truly. This last one is of me, Lew, and Daniel at Pat’s Steakhouse, in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. (The bulletproof wearing, AK 47 carrying bodyguards were cropped from the photo.)
Long live Villazon.
Tommy Z.
JR Cigars Blog with the Zman
January 4th, 2010 at 2:02 am
This world economy really sucks. Those at the lower end of the manufacturing process seem to suffer the most. I hope the good people of Villazon fing their way through this set-back. my next Hoyo will be in honor of them. Happy New Year everyone!
p.s.
I hope this early posting of your blog is a good indication of future postings. However, tits would be nice!
January 4th, 2010 at 2:06 am
I did not feel my tits would be appropriate for this particular thread. But thanks for inquiring.
January 4th, 2010 at 3:27 am
Your tits are NEVER appropriate, Zman.
January 4th, 2010 at 3:35 am
I have a couple of friends in a nearby Central American country, who always have armed bodyguards around them. Either Cuban or Israeli, depending on the seriousness of the situation (the Israelis being the baddest asses of the bunch).
It’s amazing how different life is in that part of the world. You have the few very rich, and many, many of the poor and sometimes desperate. Almost no middle class.
I do feel for those workers; their jobs let them approach something like a decent standard of living for themselves and their families. They can thank Pelosi, Reid, & Obama for passing the SCHIP, and local smoke Nazi’s for passing restrictive laws, for the loss of their jobs.
The only thing we can do is vote, and smoke as many cigars as possible.
January 4th, 2010 at 5:13 am
I would venture a guess that 90% of the tobacco haters hate it because of cigarettes. Being lumped in with evil cigarettes is what causes cigars (and I would venture pipe tobacco as well) to be seen in the same light at cigarettes.
My heart goes out to the families of the plant at Cofradia.
January 4th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
that blows…
January 4th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
It’s really a shame that this had to happen. Many great, but reasonably priced, cigars came out of there. I feel bad for the people who have lost their jobs.
January 4th, 2010 at 10:29 pm
It’s sad for the many hundreds of workers who lost their jobs and it’s sad for us cigar smokers who are losing our rights to enjoy a relaxing smoke.
January 5th, 2010 at 12:23 am
You know guys, it’s not like they can just whip up a resume and go job hunting. The people have a skill that they’ve honed for years and now what do they do?
I think more than half of the cigars that came out of there were for JR. Lew knew those people for a very long time and I know it hit him hard.
January 5th, 2010 at 12:25 am
BTW… without question… Daniel Nunez is one of the finest gentlemen I have EVER had the pleasure to meet. He was loved and revered by his employees and all who worked with him. The industry lost a one of a kind legend when he retired last year.
January 5th, 2010 at 5:16 am
Wow, just got back from visiting the daughter and son-in-law in Vancouver. Nice town, but I can due without a return trip. Vancouver is very scenic and clean. My daughter’s apartment looks out over Grouse ski resort and the Lion’s Gate peaks. That’s the good part.
The bad part: ANTI F-ING SMOKING. I went to the biggest cigar store in Vancouver, Cigar City. They have a great selection of cigars, Cuban and non-Cuban. A beautiful store and a really nice lounge. Plush leather chairs and sofas, HD TV, the works. Notice I said the have a nice lounge, not a smoking lounge. It seems that smoking is banned even in cigar store lounges as of May 2008. We went to Whistler Ski resort about 2 hours north of Vancouver. It’s where the 2010 Olympics are going to be. Found a really nice cigar store there. The lounge had a great view of the slopes, but they were going to convert it into an art gallery because you couldn’t smoke there anymore.
Fortunately for me, the weather was good enough that I could sit out on the back porch and enjoy the scenery while having a cigar and a drink.
Oh yeah, prices there are astronomical. It seems that they have a 14% sales tax on everything to help cover health care costs. Look out for that when it comes to the US.
January 6th, 2010 at 3:16 am
Holy crap! I stay out of it for a little while, and a cigar empire shuts down! Terrible news for the company, the employees, and for JR. Z, do you know what will happen to those brands? Is someone else picking them up?
January 6th, 2010 at 7:04 am
The brands will move 6 hours north to their other facility in Danli, Honduras. But production will be cut way down.
Sucks real bad.
January 6th, 2010 at 9:50 am
Between the smoke-nazis and the taxes in the US and Canada it is becoming harder for both the consumer and the manufacturer. PA hasn’t gone totally smoke free and cigar lounges still exist, but there are some US cities that want to ban it all (I think Boston is one). It’s almost as if they can’t make the sale of tobacco products illegal, but they can legislate where it is used and how much it is taxed. This comes close to doing the same thing because it limits how much I can purchase and where I can use it thereby affecting the supply chain all the way to the growing fields.
January 6th, 2010 at 4:55 pm
well, the way the shitheads in san francisco look at it, that is good. now maybe the farmers will quit raising evil tobacco and grow something good….. oh i don’t know, say….. pot.
January 7th, 2010 at 2:57 am
Now THAT would be a great revenue generator for government. Make it legal, regulate the hell out of it, and tax the crap out of it. I say that somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but you know, it would probably solve a lot of budget problems.
January 11th, 2010 at 3:42 am
Wake up Zman. It’s after noon central time. Time for this week’s blog.
January 11th, 2010 at 5:55 am
3:28 . . . and no blog.