Cuban delights

cigar aficionados and distributors from across the world descend on Havana for seven days and nights of celebration. If there’s one thing Cuba is justifiably proud of, it’s the reputation of its hand-rolled cigars (200 years of tradition), which dominate the international market and are the ultimate status symbols for cigar lovers everywhere.

“Are there rich people in Cuba?” someone asked rather ingenuously. Yes, there are rich people in Cuba. But one doesn’t see them except on high-profile occasions like the Habanos Festival, when they emerge from their sprawling villas in the tony Miramar district, to hobnob with jet setters who have flown for over 20 hours (Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand) to party with like-minded cigar fanatics willing to puff away `5,000 per cigar without blinking. At the magnificent Hotel Nacional (built in 1950), one feels like a mysterious character out of a period film.

Opportunities galore are attracting speculators and land sharks who are anticipating a gold rush once Mr Castro hands over power or passes away, whichever is sooner. Already, real estate developers are eyeing prime properties and figuring out ways to invest in Cuba, smartly bypassing the present, crippling bureaucratic paperwork, much like India’s. We have been a bit too lethargic and sleepy to bother with Cuba, which is a pity, given the historic ties we share.

This is the very era that charms those who keep coming back to Cuba. The Japanese are recent converts. But it is the Chinese who will eventually dominate Cuba. And it won’t be just the cigars they are after. Readers can send feedback to www.shobhaade.

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