The People Behind the Cigars
By: Rasheeda Kabba
One
of the activities that I enjoyed most was visiting the Cigar Museum in Caguas, Museo
del Tobaco Herminio Torres Grillo. There, we were able to hear about the rich history of cigar production in Puerto
Rico.
We
saw how the construction of a cigar from start to finish. The all female
(cigar rolling) staff enlightened us about the history and the importance of
tobacco not only in Caguas, but in Puerto Rico as a whole.
One
of the factory workers had been working at the factory for 25 years, Ramona
Ramon. She expressed to me how the cigar industry opened up a door for females in
the work field.
The
museum had replicas of the first cigar-making hut, a short clip about cigars in
Puerto Rico, and sculptures of the evolution of Puerto Ricans.
This
was such a great experience being able to see for our own eyes, not only the
start of tobacco production, but to see the similarities and differences
between the past and present.
The
tour guide even expressed to us how proud he was to be working at a museum that
not only enlightens tourist, but also is available for Puerto Rican youth
to learn about.
The
best part about visiting this museum was being able to hear the life
experiences of each worker and the things they think of while rolling the
cigars. One worker said that it was actually her honor to work for the city of
Caguas, which says a lot about their pride for their country, or even city in
this case.
( Replica of the first tobacco rolling hut)
Photo by: Rasheeda Kabba
( Cigar roller, Iris Rosario, wrapping tobacco in dried leaves)
Photo by: Rasheeda Kabba
( Color coded arrow map that points people in the direction of each Caguas museum)
Photo by: Rasheeda Kabba
