A Revolution in the Making - Celebrating a People

Nestled in the heart of Cuba's lush, rolling countryside, just outside of the capital Havana lies a tobacco farm. The golden light of the late afternoon sun bathes the fields, casting long shadows over rows of broad, emerald-green tobacco leaves. Each leaf sways gently in the warm breeze, carrying with it the earthy, sweet scent of the fertile soil beneath.

Beyond the fields, the farmer's rustic home which is a simple wooden structure with a terracotta roof and stands in quiet harmony with the land. Inside, the faint, smoky aroma of freshly cured tobacco leaves fills the air, blending with the smell of strong Cuban coffee brewing on the stove.

This is the life’s work of Luis and Isabella Rodrigueuz and the generations of their family that have come before. Their passion for quality tobacco has not gone unnoticed as they supply some of the finest cigar brands in the entire planet. They were nice enough to welcome this reporter on a humid day in late August just after the latest harvest prior to wet/hurricane season. The cup of coffee delivered in the promise it made to the nose, warm and fragrant, it offered a quiet embrace with each smooth, bittersweet sip, lingering like a fleeting moment of comfort. At first it seemed as though the Revolution mug it came in was on purpose but quickly noticing Luis and Isabella’s were the same it was obvious the team was as true a passion as the tobacco! 

Luis with his weathered hands looking more of leather than of skin was the first to chime in on the growth and harvest of tobacco “This stage is oft overlooked, but everything starts with quality inputs, the flavours you get later on start here, and if you get this stage wrong it is almost impossible to produce something of quality.” Isabella noted “You have to do your homework as well, weather, soil conditions, and how to care for these plants. It isn't as easy as just throwing some random seeds in the ground and hoping for the best.” Luis added “equally important is when to harvest, sometimes you wait to long and you miss the opportunity. You have to make sure you are ready to strike when the opportunities are there.”

As we sit for over an hour talking tobacco leaves, the sky fades into shades of pink and orange. There's a romance in the air, not just between Luis and Isabella  but between the land and the craft, a timeless connection between nature and tradition, where every leaf tells a story. 

Naturally this reporter wanted to follow the tobacco leaves and see where they go when they leave Luis and Isabella’s care. Luckily that wouldn’t mean a long journey as just down into the valley was a curing barn run by two friends Carlos Perez and Hector Torres. During the drive out the next morning this reporter couldn’t help but notice the horizon stretching endlessly under a sky so wide it feels like the world itself is breathing. The vintage cars meandering along the dusty roads, while the distant song of a lone rooster echoes in the morning sunlight. 

Arriving at the curing barn and whisked off to tour the facility, it is striking how the tobacco leaves, once fresh and green, now hang in delicate strands, swaying in the soft breeze.The wooden beams of the aging rooms hum with history, the scent is intoxicating. It’s a place where every corner tells a story of craftsmanship, care, and the slow, deliberate interactions of nature and human touch.

As we walk through the strands of tobacco we stumble upon a Revolution flag on the wall, Carlos and Hector were quick to point to signatures on the flag from some of the early heroes of the Revolutions founding years, and sure enough there on the green, red and gold is the markings of Chris Higgins, Francois Beauchemin and Miikka Kiprusoff. They recount being fans since the beginning and watching the team develop, but quickly they refocus on why we were all here. 

“So when we get the leaves from Luis and Isabella they are very raw and couldn’t possibly be best used at that stage. It is essential that they are cured properly in the right conditions to allow the best flavours to develop. You need the right amounts of humidity, heat to allow the leaves to dry and reduce the bitterness and impurities you can find in the raw leaves.” describes Hector. We then move to the back of the facility where there are piles of dried tobacco leaves and Carlos pipes up to satisfy the curiosity “This is where we age the tobacco, a final refinement. Where complex flavors mature into a smooth, well-balanced profile. The cheaper cigars won't always age tobacco properly and they rush it out the door but the more purposeful the aging process, the more nuanced the cigar becomes. The tobacco’s richness and complexity deepen which makes the final product a true testament to the artistry and patience involved.”

As the tobacco ages in the shadowed quiet of its chambers, there’s a sense of reverence in the air, as if the leaves themselves are being whispered to by the very walls that house them. The process is one of tender transformation. The subtle crackle of drying leaves, the warmth of the curing rooms, and the careful hands that tend to each bundle, are all part of a tender ritual. The result is a tobacco with layers of flavor, as rich as the bond it has with the hands that brought it into being.

Following the tobacco leaves in real time would be impossible as the aging process takes years at times. But luckily with seemingly endless supply there is always tobacco ready to make the next step in the journey to perfection. This unfortunately means leaving the Cuban countryside, and down towards the southern coast of Cuba. The small city of Trinidad has become a tobacco processing hub however none of the major manufactures are there. Driving into Trinidad, Cuba, feels like stepping into a living postcard, where cobblestone streets wind through colorful colonial buildings. The air is thick with the scent of rum and fresh tobacco.The rhythm of Cuban life beats through every corner, old cars humming by, and the distant strum of guitar melodies floating in the breeze.

Pulling up to a nice family run cigar shop, it is a cozy, intimate space where tradition and craftsmanship blend seamlessly, nestled in the heart of a quiet street. Behind the counter, a father and son work side by side. Ernesto Garcia the father, with years of experience etched into his face, guides his son Rafael’s hands with steady wisdom, passing down secrets that only time can teach. The shop itself is filled with the scent of tobacco, with old wooden shelves lined with bundles of leaves in various stages of preparation.

Ernesto walks us through the shop and rolling room which has large windows casting a glow over the rustic wooden tables where the magic happens. Each table is lined with tools, sharp knives for trimming, wooden boards for rolling, and bundles of tobacco leaves arranged in neat piles, their veins and textures visible to the touch. The walls are adorned with framed pictures of cigar-making traditions, where Rafael is quick to point out a couple photos of them rolling fresh cigars at Revolution home games. A tradition started by the father son tandem in 2016 for the Revolution’s return to the playoffs and has been one ever since. 

Rafael and Ernesto share some special news, they had been tasked with creation of the 2023/24 Havana Revolution Championship cigars, an order they had delivered in late fall. They still had a couple boxes of “factory smokes” that weren’t quite good enough for the team but ones we could smoke whilst chatting. Ernesto sparks up a couple cigars and hands them around as he shares some of the keys to rolling a great cigar, “The most important work comes before you even begin rolling. You have to select the right combination of leaves, look at the veins, smell the flavour profiles, and you need a variation not just from one plant to get the best results.”  Rafael adds “My dad has always imparted on me the need to strip out the unneeded parts of the leaves and if you find a leaf that doesn’t fit, to make sure to trade it out for a better one! Right dad!” Ernesto laughs and agrees, “It makes it better because then when you begin rolling, it’s as smooth as it can be. You need those binder leaves to hold everything together and the wrapper to make it uniform and smooth but if you have the right makeup to start with then it’s just small adjustments to make it perfect when you begin rolling.”    

It was hard not to look down at the “Factory Smoke” lit in my hand and not think through all of the incredible dedication, thought, and planning that went into this simple pleasure. But alas it was time to get back to Havana! Leaving Trinidad and the Garcia hand rolled cigar shop was not easy, here it became clear that many generations of families created not just cigars, but a legacy, each hand-rolled masterpiece a reflection of their shared labor, devotion, and love for the craft. It’s a place where the spirit of community thrives, wrapped in the rich, smoky embrace of tradition.

The drive back to Havana is full of gentle curves, revealing the patchwork of green fields and farmhouses which are now fading into the rearview mirror. It provided a lot of time to think the steps to making a cigar sure seemed to have many similarities to those needed to build a solid Championship team. Cultivating, harvesting, curing, aging, sorting, stripping and rolling all of these draw immediate comparisons to success the Revolution have had in building their team. Whether it be "harvesting" Connor Hellebuyck and Jesper Bratt out of the late rounds of the draft, the "curing" of Jake Muzzin, Samuel Montembeault, or Jakob Chychrun, or "sorting and stripping" of pieces to bring in players such as Mikhail Sergachev, Phillip Danault, Brent Burns, or Nazem Kadri. So much of the Revolution's success comes from adhering to these steps and showing them the same care and love that the Rodrigueuz, Perez, Torres, and Garcia families showed the tobacco process. 

The landscape shifts, the closer you get to Havana, the louder the world becomes with more cars, more people, the heartbeat of the city racing ahead. By the time you reach the city, the quiet of the countryside feels distant, replaced by the hum of Havana’s vibrant streets, the salty breeze from the sea mingling with the petrol from the late 1950’s car engines. Walking back into the the office and seeing my own Havana Revolution coffee mug on the desk, it became clear how much the team meant to not only Isabella, Carlos, and Hector but has become an integral part of Cuban life. It is something that brings the entire island together. Although there are very different lives led by those in Havana compared to the countryside, or those down in Santiago de Cuba everyone is interconnected by their love for the Revolution. What the team has done not only by winning the last two years but by creating a commonality and a bond between the people of the island and inspired hope and joy in their lives. It has brought communities closer together and given them reasons to talk, eat and celebrate as family. This story is not one of the back to back SICHL Champion Havana Revolution but of the people who cheer for this glorious team. 

Fast forward to tomorrow evening when the Revolution kick off their 15th SICHL season against the St Louis Spartans with a packed house at Castro Memorial Gardens. It will be Luis and Isabella Rodrigueuz, Carlos Perez, Hector Torres, Ernesto and Rafael Garcia that will be front of this reporter's mind. It won’t be hard to picture their faces as all six will be in attendance as guests of honour for the raising of the 2023-24 World Conference and Continental Cup Championship banners. A tribute and thank you from the team for contributing to the the fabric of the Revolution community and, of course, celebratory cigars.  

Cheers again to the 2023-24 repeat SICHL Champions, the Havana Revolution: 

Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Jonathan Huberdeau, Elias Lindholm, Jesper Bratt, Tyler Seguin, Charlie Coyle, Nazem Kadri, Phillip Danault, Jason Dickinson, Josh Anderson, Mathieu Joseph, Brent Burns, Mikhail Sergachev, Rasmus Ristolainen, Justin Faulk, Jakob Chychrun, Brayden McNabb, Samuel Montembeault, and Connor Hellebuyck 

“We have not made the Revolution, the Revolution has made us!” ~ Georg Buchner

¡Viva La Revolucion!