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 Does anyone, besides me, find the
Discovery Channel (a U.S. cable channel) interesting and intriguing? They
always have programs that capture my attention with unknown facts and vivid
imagery. But the funny thing is…as I reflect back to my childhood…I
hated programs like that when I was in school. I only cared for such programs
so that I could pretend to watch them as I took advantage of the time to pass a
“secret” note to friend. But, as you grow-up, I guess you start to
miss the world of education and seek it out. "The Havana—Cigar of
Connoisseurs” video, distributed by Janson Associates (http://www.janson.com), is a Discovery Channel-like
documentary that I needed to watch because it encompasses my desire for
education and my desire to learn more about what I love…the cigar.
The video is filled with facts, interviews, traditions
and history surrounding the Havana that keep you wanting to learn more about
it. It is shot on location in Cuba, Madrid, London and Berlin. I found that the
traditions surrounding the actual process of growing, rolling and packing the
cigars the best part of the video. It steps you through the stages of the
Havana’s life--from the plantation fields to the drying barns, from the
hands of the packers to the hands of the rollers. Each stage of the
cigar’s creation is treated by the hard-working Cubans with love and care
that is unparallel throughout the rest of the world’s cigar industry. It
takes at least five years and three stages of training just to learn the highly
skilled process of cigar rolling, with no guarantee that the trainee will ever
roll a Havana. Only a select few skilled workers, who are considered to possess
the “magic hands,” will ever make the top grade “cigar of
connoisseurs.” The hard work and the skill that is needed to create great
cigars make me appreciate the cigars even more, and I found myself wishing I
could savor one in the United States.
The general facts about the cigar comes a close
second, especially when I learned something about the cigars that I was not
already familiar with. On the other side, I found the interviews and the
history sporadic and dull. I noticed that I wanted to fast forward the tape at
times. Also, there were a couple occasions where the director of the video
shows a cigar burning in an ashtray, then blows the cigar up. I could not
figure out the significance of this imagery and found myself thinking,
“What was that for?” and “What a waste!”
All in all, the video did enlighten me about the
Havana. I watched it a second time and appreciated it even more. I’m going
to give this video a rating of two and three-quarter cigars out of four.
For more information, visit the
website at
http://www.janson.com/videos/history/havana.html
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