Just as the artist who meticulously selects his oils and brushes before paints, the cigar maker will select quality filler, binder and wrapper before he rolls. Years of experience provide the cigar maker with the knowledge and skills needed to create a good-smoking cigar. But first, he has to receive the proper training from a master cigar maker.

 

Wallace Reyes is one of the few remaining master cigar makers in the city of Tampa. He, along with his wife Margarita (also a master cigar maker), own and operate a cigar business called Gonzalez Habano Cigar Company, located on Columbus Drive. There are only four registered hand-made cigar manufacturers in Tampa, and Wallace's business is one of them.

__Wallace , or Wally as his friends call him, is one of the most knowledgeable people you can find with regards to cigars and their history. I guess you could say he is a walking, talking cigar encyclopedia.

__His passion and love for cigars is evident and he is always happy to share his knowledge with anyone who asks. Want to know about how tobacco is grown - he will take you step by step beginning with the planting of the seed and ending with the harvest. Want to know how to roll a cigar - he will explain the importance of tobacco selection as it relatesto color and texture, how you select your filler, binder and wrapper leaf.

__Just this year, Wally began teaching the art of cigar making to interested students who signed up to take his class. He has partnered with International Bazaar in Ybor to hold weekly classes. The interest has been strong in learning this skill and the students are fortunate to have Wallyas their instructor.

__Cigar making classes were very much in demand in the early days of Tampa's cigar industry. In 1909 La Flora de Pedro Casellas Cigar Factory, locatedon the corner of Ninth Avenue and Twentieth Street in Ybor City, (see photo above) trained many aspiring cigar makers. Individuals interested in an apprenticeship would pay about $15-$20 to receive their training. Aftertheir first six month of apprenticeship, they would earn $8 - $10 per month. Most apprenticeship lasted from twelve to twenty four months. The apprentice would first spend time in the stripping department learning how to separate the stems from the leaves of the tobacco.

They would also serve as helpers to the experienced cigar makers providing them with wrappers and other materials. Frecuently, they would stay after work and help clean up the factory - all of this had to be endured before the honor of rolling cigars was bestowed upon them.

__Once the training was completed, the cigar maker would secure a job at another factory and La Flora would charge that factory a one-time fee to help recover some of their cost for training the cigar makers.

Wallace & Margarita Reyes