Of Fakes, Arrests, Fear and Survival

[Nino]

I arrived in Havana on the 26-th of October.

The next day I met a German couple for Mojitos on the pool terrace of the Saratoga and laughed at their stories from their first day in Havana.

They had arrived with me on the same flight and planned to tour Cuba the hard way, on Viazul buses carrying backpacks.

Their first day had already been hilarious and they had fell in for all the tourist traps that the inventive Cuban Jinetero/as laid out for them. From the dance show to the expensive Mojitos to fake cigars to buying milk for their "babies".

Dom wanted to take some genuine cigars on his trip and I was just looking down on the Partagas factory behind the Capitol.

I suggested we drop by the LCDH there and I'd assist him in buying some cigars for his trip and at the same time I'd say hello to the Casa staff.

Nino

For more text and pictures : http://flyingcigar.de/startseite/of-fakes-arrests-fear-and-survival/

[DougB]

Wow....thanks very much for sharing. Amazing story. Thank you.

[KyleHaldane]

Nino your story's have become one of my favourite things in this club.

[winelover]

The construction on the fakes looks good from your pic. It would be great to have seen a single disected or know how they smoke. Presumably they use Cuban tobacco, perhaps not from Pinar del Rio, and not cigar quality. It iz a shame so many tourists pick these up and then have no idea what a habano should taste like. Thanks indeed for the report, it was very interesting and informative.

[jazzbass]

A great story !! I'm sure that any one of us would want to pay the kinds of prices they're asking but not one of us would want to smoke one of those dogs.. Graham_uk is right when he says that so many tourists buy them and think they're getting a bargain only to come home and give cigars to those who know how terrible they are. Once again, GREAT story !

[AlohaStyle]

Thanks again for sharing your stories Nino... as I told you, you are a great story teller!

Pretty scary thought though how they already had the Partagas Festival bands when they weren't even released yet, and also how they had fake QdO's. Obviously these people actually do know someone "in the know" to get the Festival bands, but it also concerns me that they are faking the QdO's which I thought wouldn't exist since they aren't big sellers to the common cigar smokers.

Looking forward to more Nino!

[First Lady]

I can't tell you the amount of times we would get a phone call from someone who travelled to Cuba and wanted us to buy their boxes of cigars they got over there, mind you they weren't clients just someone who looked our number up in the telephone directories.

So many tourists get caught and think they are going tomake so much money when they get back From Cuba from their bargin boxes we just generally send them on their way and send them to a competitor who we know would bu them LOL

Great story Niño

[anacostiakat]

Thanks for the info Nino! At least you got a chuckle out of some of it.

[maverickdrinker]

Nice story Nino. Very interesting to see the boxes has the cuban warning stamp and everything.

[OZCUBAN]

Great story as always Nino ,thanks for sharing,it makes you wonder how deep the corruption really goes.

Cheers OZ

[Jnaube]

Wow, I wonder what I would have done. i personnally never buy outside the lcdh but, man, these look tempting!

[CanuckSARTech]

What???? You mean those aren't a good bargain?!?!!?

Thanks for the further details and backstory on all that. Very interesting, and definitely paints a vivid picture.

Much appreciated, Nino.

[Ghabanos]

QDO 2012 el. Hook me up...

Thanks for sharing.

[ajgagnon]

Wow, thanks for the insight, Nino. That somber feeling must be palpable. It sounds like a hard time in Cuba right now.

[canadianbeaver]

This was accepted and I was told to follow a woman at a distance to a private apartment inside a large building behind the factory near the entrance gate to Chinatown.

This was the only part of the story that freaked me out. I understand this is a way to buy cigars underground there but honestly, you could have been robbed or worse.

[Nino]

This was accepted and I was told to follow a woman at a distance to a private apartment inside a large building behind the factory near the entrance gate to Chinatown.

This was the only part of the story that freaked me out. I understand this is a way to buy cigars underground there but honestly, you could have been robbed or worse.

Lisa, Havana is as safe as many European cities wish they'd be.

I never worry about crime there, and you won't find it, unless you look for it very hard a la "I'm a victim, please rob me !!"

Of course there's petty robbery and purse snatching (mostly in Old Havana), but on a much smaller scale than anywhere else I've been. The sentences for robbing/assaulting a tourist are very discouraging ...

[canadianbeaver]

Good to hear! Glad they did not sn*tch your purse, brother.

[Ophidion]

Great read Nino.

I'm curious as to how important speaking Spanish is when visiting Cuba. I have always wanted to go but I like to try and attempt to learn some of the local language as I've found it helps a bit when traveling abroad. Not that it's incredibly easy for me to go anyway, being a US citizen, but I still like to know these things.

[Charltonc]

In Miami there has been quite a bit of Partagas humidor cigars going around for 15 dollars and I knew they were fake but my friend bought me a couple and they were pretty damn good.

[Nino]

Great read Nino.

I'm curious as to how important speaking Spanish is when visiting Cuba. I have always wanted to go but I like to try and attempt to learn some of the local language as I've found it helps a bit when traveling abroad. Not that it's incredibly easy for me to go anyway, being a US citizen, but I still like to know these things.

As Rob or Simon (Strada) - qui parle tres bien l'espagnol :-)) - will confirm, it is very important to speak the language, even if many Cubans speak English. It is just more detailed and intimate and many "shades" are better explained in the original language.

Being Spanish born and still fluent in the "mother tongue" helps and being in Cuba frequently enough to acquire the local variations helps a lot, believe me.

Of course, should you plan to spend 2 weeks in Varadero or Cayo Coco/Largo or Cayo Touri, better learn German, Canadian, Italian, Russian .... :-)) j/k

[KyleHaldane]

As Rob or Simon (Strada) - qui parle tres bien l'espagnol :-)) - will confirm, it is very important to speak the language, even if many Cubans speak English. It is just more detailed and intimate and many "shades" are better explained in the original language.

Being Spanish born and still fluent in the "mother tongue" helps and being in Cuba frequently enough to acquire the local variations helps a lot, believe me.

Of course, should you plan to spend 2 weeks in Varadero or Cayo Coco/Largo or Cayo Touri, better learn German, Canadian, Italian, Russian .... :-)) j/k

Time to get Rosetta Stone out again

Although in all seriousness it would be useful for anyone to know a second or third language.

[Strada]

As Rob or Simon (Strada) - qui parle tres bien l'espagnol :-)) - will confirm, it is very important to speak the language, even if many Cubans speak English. It is just more detailed and intimate and many "shades" are better explained in the original language.

Hahahah merci Nino, mais je te renvois le compliment.Tout est dans la pratique mon ami !

Yes it helps to speak spanish. The 'everyday' portion of your trip will be much easier and enjoyable. You can learn a lot from chatting with people in their language. Even with a basic spanish, like mine, it shows them you are trying and most of the people I met were more than happy to help me with words

Not everyone is as fluent in english as Hamlet or Jose so pick up some Spanish for dummies books before you leave or learn with a women like I did

[AlohaStyle]

I'm curious as to how important speaking Spanish is when visiting Cuba. I have always wanted to go but I like to try and attempt to learn some of the local language as I've found it helps a bit when traveling abroad. Not that it's incredibly easy for me to go anyway, being a US citizen, but I still like to know these things.

As Nino and Simon said above and referenced, your trip will be much better and fulfilling if you speak Spanish. I am very upset with myself that I didn't learn Spanish before I went during the Festival this year. My goal was to learn, but having a newborn baby and a 3 year old daughter took all my time and before I knew it, it was time to fly out.

You can definitely get by without knowing Spanish. If you are just a tourist and want to see the sights and smoke some cigars, you will be just fine. If you truly want to take in Cuba, meet people and learn from them, you should learn some Spanish. I stayed in 3 different Casa's in Havana where I had a hard time communicating with 2 of the owners. I tried and they could tell I was a genuine person wanting to learn, but unfortunately I couldn't have extended conversations. Luckily for me I could communicate with one of the owners through translation, but it isn't the same.

Also, going to shops, some people you will want to talk to don't know English... like Yolanda, other custom rollers and Carlos Robaina for example. Yolanda at least appreciated the fact that I came to talk to her and that I apologized for not speaking the language and said a few phrases in Spanish. She then had someone come over to translate and let me take a puff of her cigar, but it would've been MUCH better if I knew the language. She gave me warm smiles after our "conversation", but I felt terrible for not being able to really talk to her.

Same as meeting everyday locals, a lot of people can communicate basic English while you might communicate basic Spanish, but there is no true interaction, like I would've liked anyway.

One big example for me is... walking around Havana my last full day, I just happened to see Nino and one of his friends relaxing at an outside table. I joined them to say hello and was invited to sit down with them. His friend was a local who didn't know English and I sat there embarrassed/ashamed because I could not communicate with his friend. Nino left to get his car while I sat with his friend... we communicated enough but there was some silence because I couldn't speak the language. You don't understand how much I wanted to know Spanish for that exact reason, to truly talk with local people. I just felt like a "dumb American"...

So if you want to just visit Cuba for the nice weather, beaches and some cigars you will get along fine without knowing Spanish. If you are like me and really want to interact with locals and have better conversations with people you will meet along the way, start learning now. I promised Nino I will know Spanish when I return!

[Nino]

Hahahah merci Nino, mais je te renvois le compliment.Tout est dans la pratique mon ami !

Yes it helps to speak spanish. The 'everyday' portion of your trip will be much easier and enjoyable. You can learn a lot from chatting with people in their language. Even with a basic spanish, like mine, it shows them you are trying and most of the people I met were more than happy to help me with words

Not everyone is as fluent in english as Hamlet or Jose so pick up some Spanish for dummies books before you leave or learn with a women like I did

Merci mon frere, la pratique que je .... oh freak it, the practice I had in French with you at the dinner tables was ... priceless.

Never in the last decades had I spoke so much francais et je voudrais vous remercient la patience avec moi et le amite pour parlez une "BS french" comme vous fait avez moi a La Habana,it was great fun and yet again very understanding, because I was with french speaking friends like you and frere Marc and I wasn't embarrassed, I was encouraged - merci, mes copains !!

Simon, get down to Havana again this February and we'll practice BS-Fran-Panol again :-)) !!

[Nino]

One big example for me is... walking around Havana my last full day, I just happened to see Nino and one of his friends relaxing at an outside table. I joined them to say hello and was invited to sit down with them. His friend was a local who didn't know English and I sat there embarrassed/ashamed because I could not communicate with his friend. Nino left to get his car while I sat with his friend... we communicated enough but there was some silence because I couldn't speak the language. You don't understand how much I wanted to know Spanish for that exact reason, to truly talk with local people. I just felt like a "dumb American"...

Ryan,

you don't know how much I appreciate your being there at that precise moment and your helpful and relaxed way to assist me and have a look & listen at how the "other 95 % " live.

I truly enjoyed being with you that very moment and having you helping me out, watching out for my Cuban friend and hopping in the car like like you did.

You being there was a Godsend and you communicated well enough through your good-will, your family story, your kids, your heart and the way you helped me out. Your Spanish was irrelevant in the situation at hand :-)) but it was good enough !

I wish all people meeting Cuban friends would be like you. They aren't.

My heartfelt gratitude for that moment, Ryan - You are a very special person !

Nino