50 Years Of Padrón Cigars

 

(David Savona) The air was thick and humid, as it always seems to be this time of year in southern Florida. The visitors came in droves, dressed in suits, guayaberas and elegant dresses for this special occasion. There were more than 800 in total: Cigar retailers, cigarmakers, brokers of tobacco leaf, friends and family, competitors and colleagues, all united on Saturday night to celebrate a milestone and pay tribute to the work of a great man.
Fifty years ago today, on September 8, 1964, a Cuban émigré named Jose Orlando Padrón opened a six-foot-wide storefront in Little Havana, only three miles from where the grand party was held. Continued