Havana Travel Diaries .....The Armando masterclass

[El Presidente]

Jose arranged a driver to be with me for the week in Havana.  I normally don't worry about it but this week was pretty chock full with morning and early afternoon meetings from one side of town to the other. The driver turned out to be Armando Risoto Perez, master roller formerly of Partagas, display roller who has toured much of the world, Divan manager in the middle east, top bloke and owner of one much loved Lada 2105 

Armando was with me each day from 9:30 am to 4am if needed. His sense of humor is infectious.  He has four passions; his family, fishing, rolling cigars and his lada. 

Now I thought I was passionate about fishing....but Armando takes it to another level entirely. 

 

His lada  2105 is a work of art. 

The stereo was stolen a month ago. The airconditioning stopped 12 years ago.  It cost $18000.  The best thing going for it are the pipes......mind you if I find one in Oz I will buy it. Forget the shiny American 50's cars....lada defines Cuba 

 

 

Armando has recently returned from a stint as Divan manager in the Middle East. He hadn't rolled since 2012 and so during one of long lunches i asked if he would like to take part in an impromptu rolling class at our house the following morning. He jumped at the chance. 

Jose and I oversaw the setting up and along with Armando answered all and sundry questions from fellow FOH'ers. 

 

the one thing we noticed was how focused Armando was. Talk about passion, the teared up on several occasions. He realised again how much he misses rolling. 

 

Armando warmed up with a mareva. Went straight into a few lancero's, then a 109 and then a Salomon. flawless. 

I then put him to the test. To roll a Flying Pig .....a cigar he had never rolled nor seen in real life. we showed him a photo. 

This is what he produced first go. Flawless again. 

 

He started taking requests from the floor. Stan was thrilled!

 

Armando invited Nate to the table and instructed him beautifully. Not a bad effort at all!

it was an absolute pleasure to be with Armando for the week and to meet a new lifelong mate. 

....albeit I am pretty sure he was glad to see the back of me.............he may have just pushed it too hard 

 

 

If you have any other photos of the day....please post them up here 

[Ethernut]

@jacketfan post yer photos!

 

Wish I could have spent more time with Armondo. His rolling skills were amazing!

[Bulldog4]

Armando was amazing top class man. I had asked him to roll me a 109 as he said he wanted a challenge. He said the 109 is difficult to roll without a mold to shape the flat top torpedo head so he tried and succeeded it was beautiful as from the pick. Also I had mentioned to him if he wanted to I needed a ride to the airport for my flight out and would rather give the money to him, then a cabby he said no problem at all! He was excellent and just like jose pure class all the way. I can honestly say I made another good friend in cuba. Here are a couple pictures of him.

Ps maybe a mod could fix the upside down photo?

[LordAnubis]

Did you have a crack at rolling rob?

[Jeremy Festa]

Magic post! Thanks for sharing!

And farken Stan! LOL


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[Habana Mike]

Missed the class, loved the man! Great guy....spent some time chatting with him at Santy's and the beach. 

Maybe I can hitch a ride next time down....love me a Lada 

[Blazer]

Great pics so far! Keep posting.

[Corylax18]

I was lucky enough to sit next to Armando at Santy. What an amazing guy, his perspective of Cuba and the world (as a Cuban who has traveled the world and chosen to return) was great to hear. I cant wait to see both Jose and Armando on my next trip, they define the generosity and spirit of the Cuban people. He paid me quite a compliment when he told me I pronounce "Hola" accent free. Hahaha

P.S. Cuba runs on the back of those Ladas! Does Armando's still have the wooden armrests?

 

[Cohiba007]

Really sad I missed the demo but had to fly home. But what a great guy Armando is. Really enjoyed speaking with him. 

[Ethernut]

9 hours ago, Bulldog4 said:

Ps maybe a mod could fix the upside down photo?

 

BullDog all you have to do is make some minor edit to the size of the photo, a small crop. Save it then re-upload. Should sort it for you -

[Ethernut]

Mas fotos de Armondo! Courtesy of @jacketfan