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TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
JULY/AUGUST 2015
NEWS & TRENDS
JULY/AUGUST 2015
The legendary cigar blender Cristano
Cardenas, better known as “Santo,”
has joined the Roberto P. Duran Pre-
mium Cigars team as their master
blender. Cardenas, a Cuban national,
will oversee operations in the Nica-
tabaco SA factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.
Santo Cardenas, who has more
than 55 years of experience, started
out in 1960 with H. Upmann at the
Montecristo Factory in Havana, Cuba.
He quickly gained a reputation for his
blending skills and became head of
production for El Rey del Mundo ci-
gar factory, then head of production
for the Partagas factory. Cardenas
became well-known globally, visiting
over 30 countries for promotion and
demonstrations as a representative
for Cuban-made cigars. He is con-
sidered by contemporaries as one of
the most important cigar rollers and
blenders in Cuba.
“After many years of working with
tobacco, my craft is still my passion,”
asserts Cardenas. “I am happy to
once again work alongside my old
friend and student, Roberto. This new
beginning with Roberto P. Duran Pre-
mium Cigars gives me the opportu-
nity to share my passion with a wider
audience.”
“Santo Cardenas was one of my
many influences when I started my
career in tobacco, when he took me
under his wing at the Partagas facto-
ry,” says Roberto Pelayo Duran. “San-
to is known the world over, and I am
only honored to be working alongside
one of my mentors. My goal with Ro-
berto P. Duran Premium Cigars was to
create the type of cigar that I enjoyed
in Cuba. Having Santo on the team
only ensures that our product will go
beyond even my standards.”
Duran began his life’s work in his
homeland of Havana, Cuba, where
he supervised the production of cigar
manufacturing before moving on to
assemble and manage distribution of
all Cuban cigar brands for Asia at The
Pacific Cigar Company. The creation
of Roberto P. Duran Premium Cigars
has given Roberto the platform to in-
troduce a brand of cigars that offers
the same quality, construction and
detail that he obtained from those he
supervised in Cuba. Roberto P. Du-
ran’s brands include Azan, Roberto P.
Duran Signature, Neya and Baracoa.
Cardenas Joins Roberto Duran Premium Cigars
Cuban cigar blender Cristano “Santo” Cardenas will be the company’s master blender.