Episode 51
For Long-term Success in the Family Biz, Look to Daughters (Feat. Raquel Quesada) | Box Press Ep. 51
When you share a cigar, you open up to each other. It’s no different for Raquel Quesada who grew up in a cigar dynasty. She revealed some never-told stories to Boveda’s Rob Gagner over Quesada 1974 cigars at 2021 PCA in Las Vegas.
Raquel talked openly about childhood hijinks; the least favorite training rotation of cigar operations; secret grows on the Quesada tobacco farm; and blending swaps she pulled on her dad, Manuel "Manolo" Quesada. As president and owner of the family-owned cigar factory, Manolo raised two strong daughters to succeed in the C-suite boy’s club of premium cigars.
Highlights of the cigar conversation with Quesada include:
- Shaking her booty to Dance VXN (1:07)
- Tweaking tobacco blends in dad’s cigar recipe (13:52)
- Coloring a box of cigars for consistency (16:07)
- Making your mark to get what you paid for (18:47)
- Studying and working at a tobacco shop in Boston—a tropical girl in the snow (21:20)
- Playing well with competitors strengthens the Dominican cigar industry (27:41)
- Jamming in a band with Nirka Reyes, Abe Flores, Litto Gomez and “Henke” Kelner (30:21)
- Being kids on a tobacco farm—Quesada exclusive (31:44)
- Putting the Quesada name on a cigar for the first time with the Quesada 35th anniversary blend (38:16)
- Hatching crazy ideas to expand the cigar brand—origin story of the of Quesada Oktoberfest (41:51)
- How Raquel Quesada is similar to Manolo Quesada (46:44)
- How Raquel Quesada is different than her dad (47:47)
- Growing wrapper for an upcoming cigar release—Quesada exclusive (1:00:15)
Quesada Cigars protects its premium cigars by packaging with Boveda. You can protect your cigars just like cigars makers. Preserve your passion with Boveda, makers of 2-way humidity control for cigars, easy seasoning for wood humidors, humidor bags and one-step hygrometer calibration kits. Shop Boveda for cigars here: https://store.bovedainc.com/collections/boveda-for-tobacco
Quesada Cigars is a family-owned Dominican cigar operation. Its best known brands are Quesada, Casa Magna, Heisenberg and Fonseca cigars. Learn more about Quesada Cigars http://quesadacigars.com/
Check Out More of Boveda Cigar Exclusives:
For My Humidor | Manuel Quesada (patriarch of Quesada Cigars)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR8Gkx47YQQ&t=10s
How Ferio Tego Cigars are Like Your Favorite Song (Feat. Michael Herklots) | Box Press Ep. 49
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYX2VJeHTjI
How to set up a new wood humidor with the Boveda Humidor Starter Kit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sub3mPJo1Tg&t=1s
Transcript
- I asked you what your favorite quote was.
Speaker:So I'm gonna read it.
Speaker:"Growth doesn't come with a single action.
Speaker:"It's a consequence of persistence, courage and hard work."
Speaker:So my question to you is how are you persistent?
Speaker:- Never giving up.
Speaker:- [Rob] Never give up.
Speaker:- Never give up, always there on the battle, in the battle
Speaker:and just giving the best of me for this
Speaker:to be the perfect one.
Speaker:- There's a story inside every smoke shop,
Speaker:with every cigar, and with every person.
Speaker:Come be a part of cigar lifestyle at Boveda.
Speaker:This is Box Press.
Speaker:(upbeat jazz hiphop)
Speaker:Welcome to another episode of Box Press.
Speaker:I'm your host, Rob Gagner.
Speaker:I'm here at PCA 2021 and I'm sitting down
Speaker:with Raquel Quesada of Quesada Cigars.
Speaker:Raquel, thank you for joining me.
Speaker:- Thank you, hi-- - Yes.
Speaker:- Rob, thank you for having me here.
Speaker:I'm very, very excited.
Speaker:- [Rob] I love it.
Speaker:- And I can't wait to see what today brings.
Speaker:- Exactly, great conversation,
Speaker:great company and great cigars.
Speaker:- Thank you, enjoy. - Yes.
Speaker:I have to ask what is Dance VXN?
Speaker:- Oh, that's like a dance that I do, it's just like,
Speaker:this girl in Miami, she came up with this dance.
Speaker:So, you know Zumba? - Yeah.
Speaker:- So it's pretty much like that, but more dancing.
Speaker:It's like a more sensual dance,
Speaker:but it's, it's not bad, it's okay.
Speaker:But I do that all the time and then it's become
Speaker:really popular worldwide.
Speaker:- [Rob] Sure.
Speaker:- And then there's specific teachers
Speaker:in each country, it's like-
Speaker:- [Rob] So do you teach it?
Speaker:- No, I don't teach it. - Okay.
Speaker:- I just take it, but then we have a really nice group
Speaker:in my town and then it's become really popular and people,
Speaker:every time I walk to even the bank or something,
Speaker:people like, "Oh, I saw you dancing."
Speaker:(Rob lightly laughing)
Speaker:- I'm like, "Okay, thank you.
Speaker:Because there's like- - How do they see you dancing?
Speaker:Through the club? - Because in the videos,
Speaker:yeah, my Instagram. - Oh, through the videos.
Speaker:- Yeah, you can watch that too. (loudly laughs)
Speaker:- Perfect, I didn't even think.
Speaker:- I am like a Zumba teacher.
Speaker:I got certified and everything.
Speaker:But on this one my knees are not good anymore,
Speaker:and it's a lot of, it's hard work.
Speaker:- Right.
Speaker:Zumba is, but this one's not?
Speaker:Or this one is?
Speaker:- This one is harder.
Speaker:- [Rob] Oh wow.
Speaker:- Yeah, on your knees and on your, specific muscles,
Speaker:- [Rob] Sure.
Speaker:- Because you do a lot of dancing, I guess. (softly laughs)
Speaker:- I danced competitively when I was
Speaker:from third grade until high school.
Speaker:- Really? - Yeah.
Speaker:- [Raquel] What did you dance for?
Speaker:- It was like production,
Speaker:you would compete on a stage against everyone else.
Speaker:So it was like tap, jazz, hip hop-
Speaker:- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - Lyrical, the whole nine.
Speaker:- Really? - It's a lot of fun.
Speaker:- Oh my God, I love dancing.
Speaker:I think I was a dancer in my other life.
Speaker:- Yes, exactly. - I love it.
Speaker:- It hits like a rhythmic soulful, like-
Speaker:- Wow, yeah. - Real passionate.
Speaker:- For me, it's like, no stress.
Speaker:Just like the whole day you leave it behind
Speaker:and you just like, express yourself and just be you
Speaker:and have fun. - Exactly, exactly
Speaker:- Wow, it's amazing.
Speaker:- And it has no language barrier.
Speaker:- Exactly. - Which I love.
Speaker:- How come you just like, out of the blue,
Speaker:you just decided you wanted to dance?
Speaker:- No, my mom, my mom was like,
Speaker:"You should sign up for dance."
Speaker:And I was like, "Dancing is for girls."
Speaker:And then she brought me by the studio
Speaker:where they had pictures of boys,
Speaker:and I was like, "Uh,"
Speaker:and I made a bet with her or deal with her.
Speaker:I was like, "I'll do it,
Speaker:"but I'll only dance with the boys."
Speaker:- Okay, no girls. - And that lasted all
Speaker:of a year because then I was like-
Speaker:- Into it. - Finally got to
Speaker:that maturity level of like,
Speaker:"Oh, I do like girls and I- - Like the girls.
Speaker:- "Wanna dance with them." - With girls.
Speaker:- "Specifically with this one girl."
Speaker:- Yeah, exactly. (Raquel lightly laughing)
Speaker:So it got to be really contagious after that.
Speaker:Then it was like production after production,
Speaker:after production, and line and everything,
Speaker:it was a lot of fun. - And then when did you decide
Speaker:that you're not gonna do it anymore?
Speaker:- Well, I went all the way until I graduated high school,
Speaker:because that's basically what it is, right?
Speaker:It's just like another recreational activity
Speaker:for students to do.
Speaker:- Like a side thing.
Speaker:- Yeah, like a sport.
Speaker:- Okay, ah, instead of taking volleyball or like-
Speaker:- Exactly, instead of doing baseball, I did that.
Speaker:Well, I did baseball too, but I was heavy dance.
Speaker:It was five days a week,
Speaker:Weekends, you would do competitions.
Speaker:- [Raquel] Yeah, that's like when you're like an athlete.
Speaker:- Yeah, it was a lot of fun.
Speaker:Kept me out of trouble-
Speaker:- Exactly, exactly. - It made me do my homework-because I couldn't go to
Speaker:So procrastination was nipped in the bud right away.
Speaker:- Wow, my son's like that, he's like a professional,
Speaker:well, he's like a high-end golfer.
Speaker:He's young, but he's like focused.
Speaker:He's into training, no drinking, no going out.
Speaker:So that way it's like.
Speaker:- [Rob] So he wants to be on the PGA tour at some point.
Speaker:- Yeah, he has like next week,
Speaker:we're gonna go to Florida for a tournament.
Speaker:And then at the end of the month, he's gonna be playing
Speaker:for Dominican Republic team, golf team.
Speaker:- Wow. - Internationally.
Speaker:- So he's all in. - Yeah.
Speaker:- Is he always on the golf course?
Speaker:- Yeah, always, all day, all the time.
Speaker:And when he's done, he wants to go back again
Speaker:and then it's like big time.
Speaker:- So do you have to tell him to get his homework done
Speaker:before he goes golf?
Speaker:- [Raquel] He's a good student though.
Speaker:- Is he?
Speaker:- He's always like a straight-A student.
Speaker:- Sure.
Speaker:- That's the blessing.
Speaker:- Exactly, that's a blessing. - That's a huge blessing.
Speaker:- Especially in boys on this time of age, time.
Speaker:- [Rob] How old is he?
Speaker:- He's gonna be 14 next month.
Speaker:- [Rob] Okay, so he's just entering that phase of like-
Speaker:- But boys now, like when I was growing up,
Speaker:when I was 14, now when they're 12,
Speaker:they're already doing what I was doing when I was 15.
Speaker:So there are really ahead of time.
Speaker:- [Rob] Right.
Speaker:- Because times are fast.
Speaker:So at the end, he's already, kids are drinking,
Speaker:and going to parties and doing all this.
Speaker:- So can they drink at that age in the D.R.?
Speaker:- They can't, but they can get it.
Speaker:- But they can get it. - They can get the drink.
Speaker:- Sure, just like everyone else in high school, it's like,
Speaker:you're not supposed to drink, but you can.
Speaker:- But do you know what?
Speaker:I was brought up in a family where you could smoke
Speaker:and that ended up in drinking, too.
Speaker:- [Rob] Sure.
Speaker:- So it was, it was fine.
Speaker:My dad, I mean the cigars were all there.
Speaker:The drinking was all there.
Speaker:So for me, there wasn't like a barrier of,
Speaker:"No, you can't drink, oh, no, you can't smoke."
Speaker:So, "Oh, you want to, go ahead," you know?
Speaker:So for me, with my son, I did the same.
Speaker:I mean, if you wanna, let's do it with me.
Speaker:- [Rob] Yes.
Speaker:- Go, come here and we'll do it together.
Speaker:- And educated. - Yeah.
Speaker:- I gotta ask, growing up in a cigar family,
Speaker:you said cigars were out, the alcohol was out, you learned-
Speaker:- Everything was out.
Speaker:- So do you have like some unwritten rule as family members?
Speaker:Like, "We're not gonna talk about cigars,"
Speaker:at certain points, or at certain areas?
Speaker:- Well, that was a little tough.
Speaker:We tried to do the rule,
Speaker:but we ended up breaking the rule.
Speaker:- [Rob] Sure, and what was the rule?
Speaker:Like while you're at home?
Speaker:- It's like, yeah, while we're home or,
Speaker:like Sundays were like family lunch, always.
Speaker:So we decided if it's Saturday, you can talk about it,
Speaker:but Sunday, it's like, really, you can't talk about it.
Speaker:But then we always ended up breaking the rule.
Speaker:And then my mom ended up being like really sad about it.
Speaker:It's like, "Oh, we talked about it,
Speaker:"we said we're not gonna do it
Speaker:"and you always end up doing this."
Speaker:But you know, it's inevitable, you can't.
Speaker:With my dad, it's like, there was always something he,
Speaker:"Oh, remember me a Monday that I have to do this and this,"
Speaker:or, "Remember me that the blend that I did last week,
Speaker:"I need to tweak it," and I'm like,
Speaker:and then I used to take notes.
Speaker:- Yeah, exactly, yeah, okay,
Speaker:I guess I'm just gonna be your secretary today.
Speaker:- Exactly. - I love it.
Speaker:- So at the end we always ended up talking about,
Speaker:and then my dad is so passionate about it that,
Speaker:he can't, it was always
Speaker:cigars, cigars- - It's what you're
Speaker:always doing. - Tobacco, yeah.
Speaker:So me and my sister, we were always on that.
Speaker:- I love that.
Speaker:So you try to set some boundaries,
Speaker:but at the end of the day, if you break 'em,
Speaker:no one's really upset.
Speaker:- [Raquel] No, just my mom.
Speaker:(softly laughing) - Yeah, just your mom,
Speaker:just your mom. - Because then we were all
Speaker:part of the team, just but her.
Speaker:- Yeah, she's like feeling out of the loop, I bet.
Speaker:- Yeah, totally, always.
Speaker:- Really?
Speaker:- She was always like out of the loop.
Speaker:So she was always a little,
Speaker:but then we went back to the topics
Speaker:of just regular things, and then back to tobacco,
Speaker:and then back to family and then back and forth,
Speaker:back and forth.
Speaker:- [Rob] Sure, does she like being out of the loop?
Speaker:Is that like refreshing to her?
Speaker:- I don't know, I think at times she wanted to be in it,
Speaker:but then at times she was just,
Speaker:"Well, just do your thing,
Speaker:"and enjoy your thing," and that's it.
Speaker:You know, Dominican families, or Cubans, or,
Speaker:we're all like so mixed,
Speaker:but the mom is always more on the side.
Speaker:But then my dad had only girls, so he had no options.
Speaker:He had to like get us in the loop.
Speaker:- [Rob] Wow, yeah.
Speaker:- And at that time they told him we were gonna be boys.
Speaker:Because there was like no technology or anything.
Speaker:So my room was all blue-
Speaker:- Oh, no. - And I was gonna be Manuel.
Speaker:So then when I came in, it was Raquel. (loudly laughing)
Speaker:- Guess they were wrong. - I'm the oldest one.
Speaker:- Of how many?
Speaker:- Of two, two girls. - Of two, got it.
Speaker:- And then my sister was supposed to be another boy,
Speaker:and then it was another girl.
Speaker:- You think that doctor was just like trying
Speaker:to say what they wanted to hear?
Speaker:- [Raquel] I think so.
Speaker:- "I'm sure you just want to hear this."
Speaker:- Yeah, because, I don't know, but in Latin families,
Speaker:like boys are very important
Speaker:because they're the ones that are gonna be
Speaker:like taking over the family business or whatever.
Speaker:So for my dad, it was a little tough,
Speaker:but then I think throughout the years,
Speaker:he really realized that it was better
Speaker:to have girls on board.
Speaker:(loudly laughing) - Exactly.
Speaker:And now there's no longer that stigma
Speaker:that girls can't take over the family business.
Speaker:- No, not anymore, and let me tell you something.
Speaker:Throughout the years, he tapped me like in the back
Speaker:and said, "You know, I'm so proud of you."
Speaker:And that's, that was really big for me at some point.
Speaker:Because you work so hard and then,
Speaker:and then your dad that always wanted
Speaker:to have something different is really telling you,
Speaker:"I'm so proud of you," you know?
Speaker:- Yeah, that affirmation is huge as a kid.
Speaker:- It's huge. - And even still today.
Speaker:- Yeah, he still tells me though.
Speaker:- That's awesome.
Speaker:That's great. - He did like a few weeks ago.
Speaker:He tells me, "I'm so proud of you."
Speaker:And it's hard for a man to, at least in my culture.
Speaker:- Right, to be vulnerable- - To realize that.
Speaker:- And express that. - Yeah, and express, yeah.
Speaker:And for my dad, coming from,
Speaker:leaving Cuba so early in his stage of life
Speaker:and then his mother passed away
Speaker:when they got to Dominican Republic,
Speaker:and then he went to Vietnam,
Speaker:and all these events in his life, so hard.
Speaker:It's even harder to really express what he really feels.
Speaker:But then he, throughout the years, I mean,
Speaker:he was really, really, really like,
Speaker:"I'm so proud of you girls." - That's awesome.
Speaker:- I get goosebumps.
Speaker:- I bet, because it means a lot.
Speaker:- It does, it does, especially,
Speaker:you work so hard and you try to make him proud
Speaker:and someday he calls you out.
Speaker:Because he used to have this,
Speaker:when we were at the other factory,
Speaker:because we moved like 11 years ago
Speaker:from one free zone to the other.
Speaker:And he had this extension
Speaker:and a speakerphone on the whole factory.
Speaker:And he was like, "Raquel Quesada, 231."
Speaker:And you're like, your heart starts beating
Speaker:and it's like, "Oh my God, what did I do wrong?"
Speaker:And then you ran to see him
Speaker:and then he's just telling, "You know what?
Speaker:"Sit here and, I'm so proud of you."
Speaker:- He just wanted to tell you how proud he is of you.
Speaker:- [Raquel] Yup, yup.
Speaker:- That's great. - I know.
Speaker:- At least he knows to do it when he feels it, right?
Speaker:Because some people feel it and then don't express it.
Speaker:So that's perfect. - But I'm telling you,
Speaker:it's hard to express it,
Speaker:but when you're ready, you're ready.
Speaker:And then you just tell 'em.
Speaker:- [Rob] That's awesome.
Speaker:- So I do that with my son all the time.
Speaker:Because it's really important, you know?
Speaker:On your growing stage of life.
Speaker:- [Rob] Yes, and you just have the one son?
Speaker:- Boy, yes, Rodrigo. - One boy, nice.
Speaker:That's awesome.
Speaker:- He's gonna be 14 next month.
Speaker:- Congrats to him, let's go.
Speaker:- I know.
Speaker:- Let's go get on the PGA tour.
Speaker:- We'll see, like in a few years, I'll tell Rob.
Speaker:- Yes, yes, let's do it. - I told you.
Speaker:We talked about it.
Speaker:- I wanna go to the inaugural PGA opening-
Speaker:- Yes, and we'll celebrate with Quesada Cigars.
Speaker:- And we'll celebrate and we'll cheer him on.
Speaker:- And Boveda. - "We're very proud of you."
Speaker:(both lightly laughing)
Speaker:Love it. - Totally.
Speaker:- Speaking of being proud,
Speaker:you had shared with Ben when you did the live
Speaker:that you did a blend without your dad knowing.
Speaker:- [Raquel] Yes.
Speaker:- How difficult is it to try to do a blend
Speaker:without your dad who knows everything that's going
Speaker:on at the factory- - Oh, yes.
Speaker:- How did you keep that under wraps?
Speaker:- My dad, when you go blind tasting with him,
Speaker:you bring cigars and he knows.
Speaker:He knows like if this seed from this place
Speaker:and this thing, he knows.
Speaker:Like he tells you, "Oh, this is Carrillo '98
Speaker:"from this place."
Speaker:Or he, "This is Allure."
Speaker:Or, "This is Cuban seed grown," and whatever.
Speaker:And for me it was like this is very challenging.
Speaker:But one day, he always used to tell me,
Speaker:he used to write on a little piece of paper
Speaker:like, "Do this plan and then go
Speaker:"and then bring it to me when it's ready
Speaker:"in a few days," or whatever.
Speaker:Sometimes we'll do just like something fast,
Speaker:which is like no technique or anything,
Speaker:just like some cigars.
Speaker:But sometimes it was just like in a few days.
Speaker:So that day he gives me this little paper,
Speaker:just like usual and I leave.
Speaker:And then when I bring the cigars, I tweaked the whole thing.
Speaker:It's like, I put another tobacco in-
Speaker:- So you tweaked
Speaker:what he wanted. - The whole, what he wanted.
Speaker:- Was it even resembling the cigar blend
Speaker:that he wanted at all?
Speaker:- No.
Speaker:- What made you think that you could tweak it?
Speaker:- Well, because I was like, I was on it
Speaker:and I was doing a few things without him knowing,
Speaker:and I said, you know what?
Speaker:I'm just gonna, this is my thing and I'm gonna do it.
Speaker:So I just went, I tweaked it.
Speaker:So what I did was when I came back,
Speaker:I put the cigars on his table and ran.
Speaker:I just like, I literally left-
Speaker:- Out. - And disappeared,
Speaker:like David Copperfield.
Speaker:And in a few minutes or sometime,
Speaker:he starts again, on that speaker thing,
Speaker:he said, "Raquel Quesada to the,"
Speaker:and his voice, I don't know, it's really like, strong voice.
Speaker:So I'm like, oh my God, I'm in deep trouble.
Speaker:- "He knows that I tweaked it."
Speaker:- He knows that I changed the whole thing.
Speaker:So when I go in, I was like, "Yes?"
Speaker:You know, with my little face, good girl Raquel,
Speaker:because I was always a good girl.
Speaker:My sister was more of the-
Speaker:- The rebellion, yeah. - The rebel, yes.
Speaker:And I was always, you know.
Speaker:But that day I was rebellious.
Speaker:So he's like, "What did you do to this?
Speaker:"Did you change my blend, Raquel?
Speaker:"Are you serious, are you telling me?"
Speaker:I'm like, "I did."
Speaker:He's like, "You know what, I love it."
Speaker:- Oh, you lucked out, you lucked out.
Speaker:- So at the end, that cigar was Fonseca Cubano Limitado
Speaker:at that time, like many years ago.
Speaker:So the box came out with a sticker saying,
Speaker:Made by Raquel and Manolo Quesada.
Speaker:- I love it. - I know.
Speaker:It's really exciting, that was like my first thing
Speaker:that I did big on, you know?
Speaker:- I love it. - Blending.
Speaker:Because you know, like my dad always said
Speaker:you have to go through all the different stages
Speaker:because when you're in a department and somebody comes
Speaker:with a problem or something that happened,
Speaker:you really need to know what's going on.
Speaker:So you can either help them or make it better,
Speaker:or say "No, let's do it this way."
Speaker:At the end, I went from when I,
Speaker:because I had studied abroad for a few years.
Speaker:So then when I came back,
Speaker:I spent several months just in different departments,
Speaker:like doing this, like classifying tobacco,
Speaker:classifying wrapper.
Speaker:I remember classifying colors for me was so exhausting
Speaker:because you have all these different colors
Speaker:and all these different cigars that have to be shipped
Speaker:all in the same color in a box.
Speaker:Because in the factory, they're very,
Speaker:very rigorous with that.
Speaker:The boxes have to come out like-
Speaker:- Yeah, you don't want a lot of color variation in one box.
Speaker:It'll look bad.
Speaker:- And then the cigars have to be all on the same,
Speaker:rolled in the same way,
Speaker:and you'd have to so many different quality things.
Speaker:So at the end for me was exhausting.
Speaker:I used to be like, "Do I have to be here for so long?"
Speaker:"I don't want to, can you just let me leave?"
Speaker:"No, no," and let me tell you something.
Speaker:Now I go on the shipping department
Speaker:and I see the lady on the table with the cigars
Speaker:and I could be really far away and I would go like,
Speaker:"This out, this gone, this here."
Speaker:And I really appreciate what he did
Speaker:because now I know the importance of that.
Speaker:And at the time it was like,
Speaker:"Oh my God, it's really exhausting."
Speaker:And it was frustrating because you can't, it's not easy.
Speaker:I mean, it's like, because when you have
Speaker:seven hours working that-
Speaker:- Mentally exhausting. - You get all mixed.
Speaker:Exhausted, and then, but now I go and I'm like so fast.
Speaker:- Yeah, you can't learn it unless you do it.
Speaker:- Unless you struggle there.
Speaker:- Yeah, exactly, yeah. - For a few days, or weeks.
Speaker:So I did, I even rolled cigars.
Speaker:I'm not good at it, but I can roll the cigars
Speaker:and do the bunch and everything.
Speaker:I like more bunching than rolling
Speaker:because they have to have a lot of crafting on your hands.
Speaker:If you're not born with that, it's a little tough.
Speaker:But I can do it, but it's not my specialty.
Speaker:- Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Speaker:- But so I did all the department's things.
Speaker:But at the end, I ended up doing the,
Speaker:I ended up in production for a few years
Speaker:and I bought the tobacco,
Speaker:and I was with the cigar makers for a few years,
Speaker:and that was something that I really enjoyed.
Speaker:And I also have like another story with the supplier of one
Speaker:of the fillers that we had that my dad always used to go,
Speaker:but then when I started, then I used to go.
Speaker:And he used to call my dad's like,
Speaker:"Please don't send her back.
Speaker:"I'm gonna go bankrupt."
Speaker:Because I used to go and put all the bales
Speaker:on a different line and I used to, with a Sharpie,
Speaker:mark all the ones that I wanted with my initials on.
Speaker:- [Rob] Love it.
Speaker:- And he was like, "Don't, don't send her back
Speaker:"Because she's gonna-
Speaker:- [Rob] He didn't wanna deal with it.
Speaker:- I know, because I always just take the best ones.
Speaker:And he's like, "Oh, you don't want the bad ones,
Speaker:"you only want the good ones."
Speaker:So I was like, I started marking all my bales
Speaker:and putting all my initials and I was like,
Speaker:so when I received my tobacco,
Speaker:I had all my bales marked.
Speaker:- "No switching out my bales." - No switching my bales.
Speaker:- That's right.
Speaker:- So that's something I really enjoy.
Speaker:I love that, that part of the-
Speaker:- That's awesome.
Speaker:- That was like one of my stages.
Speaker:I've been in the factory for 21 years, so.
Speaker:- [Rob] You've been in the factory for 21 years.
Speaker:- 21 years. - Holy cow.
Speaker:Yeah, I'm a baby still, but it's been 21.
Speaker:- So growing up in a tobacco family,
Speaker:at what point in your life did it click
Speaker:that your dad or your family's different
Speaker:than other families
Speaker:because of the global impact your brand has?
Speaker:- Let me tell you something, Rob,
Speaker:I think when you're born in this type of family,
Speaker:I think you realizes from the very beginning.
Speaker:- Really? - I mean,
Speaker:when I saw my grandfather smoking in the car
Speaker:with the windows up and it wasn't even bothering me,
Speaker:I said, you know what?
Speaker:I'm in, and this is no turning back.
Speaker:And let me tell you something, if you don't love it,
Speaker:you can't be in it because it's tough.
Speaker:I mean, smoking all day, being in the warehouses,
Speaker:being in the fermentation process.
Speaker:And my dad, I mean, we used to be like,
Speaker:he loves talking inside all these heated
Speaker:(softly laughing)
Speaker:rooms and I'm like, "Can we talk outside?"
Speaker:"No, we're gonna talk here."
Speaker:I'm like, "Okay, I was just suggesting."
Speaker:No, so, being a girl, your hair and your clothing
Speaker:and everything, it's like,
Speaker:but for me it's like,
Speaker:it's a legacy that I inherited it
Speaker:and I'm really proud of it.
Speaker:And I'm here until, I get so many opportunity
Speaker:to keep on telling the world that I'm happy about it
Speaker:and I'm very proud of it.
Speaker:- And you also did, so you talked about going stateside
Speaker:for some schooling at BA in Boston.
Speaker:- [Raquel] That was exciting.
Speaker:- Boston is my favorite city.
Speaker:- Oh, no, after me.
Speaker:- In, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker:That is such an easy city to get around in.
Speaker:- [Raquel] Oh my god, I love.
Speaker:- I've got a good buddy who lives up on the Brookline,
Speaker:the Green Line, it's a great area.
Speaker:- [Raquel] The Green Line, yeah, yeah, yeah and it's very
Speaker:easy to get around. - I have to ask,
Speaker:did you ever eat Emack & Bolio's ice cream?
Speaker:The ice cream,
Speaker:so it's like a very '70s themed shop-
Speaker:- [Raquel] Oh, God, I missed it, I have to go back then.
Speaker:- Oh, yeah, and they would take a waffle cone
Speaker:and run the outside around the rim in marshmallow
Speaker:and then stick cereal to it
Speaker:like Fruit Loops, or- - Oh my God.
Speaker:- [Raquel] Lucky Charms, I can imagine.
Speaker:- Yeah, anything. - I'll die.
Speaker:- And then amazing ice cream inside.
Speaker:- Really?
Speaker:- It's my best, it's-
Speaker:- There's like a specific place that you go?
Speaker:- It's called Emack & Bolio's.
Speaker:- And Bolio's.
Speaker:- It's named after two homeless guys.
Speaker:- Where's it at though?
Speaker:- It's just in Boston, all over,
Speaker:kinda like just like a pop-up little ice cream shop.
Speaker:- Because I remember Ben & Jerry's was everywhere.
Speaker:There's a few things that were everywhere.
Speaker:- It's kind of real local to the Boston area.
Speaker:I mean they have franchises- - Oh, but I was there,
Speaker:I was there for four years, so.
Speaker:But I have to go back then and try it.
Speaker:- Yeah, try Emack & Bolio's, you'll love it.
Speaker:- You know, I didn't want to come back from Boston,
Speaker:but then my dad said one day,
Speaker:'Either you come back or you're on your own."
Speaker:And I was like, "Okay." - "Okay, I'll come back."
Speaker:- I think I'm packing my bags and leaving now.
Speaker:- [Rob] You wanted to stay though.
Speaker:- Yeah, well, I went for just one year
Speaker:and I stayed for four years.
Speaker:- How did you eke out another four years on that?
Speaker:- Well, you know- - Did you tell Dad,
Speaker:"I gotta do this- - We're girls
Speaker:and we get around. - "I gotta do this,
Speaker:"I gotta keep doing this." - "Well, there's a really
Speaker:"good opportunity on this program,
Speaker:"at this university."
Speaker:- Yeah, you were working it hard.
Speaker:It's a great town to be. - Yeah, oh my God, I have-
Speaker:- I love it.
Speaker:- Amazing friends from that time that I still,
Speaker:we get together and I really connected,
Speaker:from a lot of different countries,
Speaker:like Venezuela and Colombia and all these places,
Speaker:Costa Rica, and we're still friends.
Speaker:And now with all the social media, it's even better.
Speaker:We're so connected.
Speaker:- When you first arrived to Boston,
Speaker:what was the most shocking thing that you experienced?
Speaker:- The weather, oh my God.
Speaker:- [Rob] Oh, really, was it cold?
Speaker:- Oh my God.
Speaker:- What year was it, or what time of year
Speaker:did you end up going to Boston for school?
Speaker:- It was '97 - August?
Speaker:- It was that winter of '97.
Speaker:- Winter of '97.
Speaker:- Yeah, so, and I got like really bad winters.
Speaker:It's like, I even had a snow storm
Speaker:in the middle of me going to school in my car.
Speaker:Imagine this tropical girl just arrived in Boston
Speaker:with a snow storm in the middle of nowhere,
Speaker:and I was like crying. - You've never experienced
Speaker:snow in your entire life?
Speaker:- No, not even driving in snow,
Speaker:which is like a totally different experience.
Speaker:- [Rob] Did you have a car in Boston?
Speaker:- Yeah, I had a car.
Speaker:- [Rob] That's insane.
Speaker:- Well, you get around. (both lightly laughing)
Speaker:I learned my lesson like very fast
Speaker:because I used to go, I lived in Mass Ave
Speaker:and I used to go to Harvard extension school in Cambridge.
Speaker:So I started like taking the bus, but at one point I said,
Speaker:"You know what, dad, I need a car."
Speaker:He's like, "Okay, get whatever you want."
Speaker:And I'm like, "Okay." - Great.
Speaker:- Why not?
Speaker:- I wouldn't drive around, my buddy,
Speaker:he didn't even drive his car for a year
Speaker:because of all the public transportation, it's so easy to-
Speaker:- It's so easy. - Jump on the train
Speaker:and get somewhere. - The Metro is so, so easy.
Speaker:- So easy, and that's kinda what I loved about it.
Speaker:- I had a bus like really like a stop right there.
Speaker:But then my classes were like really late
Speaker:until 10 o'clock at night.
Speaker:So I said, you know-
Speaker:- That makes more sense. - You know, it's a little,
Speaker:it's not dangerous, but it's, let's get a car
Speaker:because it's more convenient for me
Speaker:to get at 10 o'clock after I get out,
Speaker:I get home like at 11.
Speaker:The bus has all these stops, let's get a car.
Speaker:He's like, "Okay, fine."
Speaker:- There you go. - I convinced him.
Speaker:- So then would you and your friends get out of the city
Speaker:and go to more, like I went to Worcester.
Speaker:- Yeah, no we didn't go to- - That was a great town.
Speaker:- But then we went to like Newport
Speaker:and different, yeah, and then-
Speaker:- Would you ever go into New York City from there?
Speaker:- No, no, no, I didn't drive to New York.
Speaker:- No? - No.
Speaker:- No, too much. - I think we drove
Speaker:like one time, and that was it for me.
Speaker:Because we got lost and-
Speaker:- [Rob] Oh, yeah.
Speaker:- It wasn't like a really good experience.
Speaker:So we decided we're not gonna do that anymore.
Speaker:But we do, we drove to like Newport and,
Speaker:maybe like Martha's Vineyard or whatever was close.
Speaker:- [Rob] Sure.
Speaker:- So at the end, yes, we drove to different places.
Speaker:Oh, we went skiing one time.
Speaker:- [Rob] Skiing?
Speaker:- I don't remember where, something close, it was famous-
Speaker:- How was skiing for the first time,
Speaker:never being on snow? - Oh my God, I love it,
Speaker:I love it. - You love it?
Speaker:- I was really good at it too.
Speaker:- Really? - Yes.
Speaker:- What made you good at it?
Speaker:You have no experience, do you?
Speaker:- I don't know, well, my dad was always
Speaker:like really into skiing,
Speaker:so we used to go like skiing to Colorado.
Speaker:And probably when I went to Boston,
Speaker:I had skied for like two years maybe before,
Speaker:so I wasn't that good.
Speaker:But then we kept on skiing for other years.
Speaker:So we did like black ones and blue ones and-
Speaker:- [Rob] So you already had some experience with the snow.
Speaker:- Some experience, yeah, but let me tell you, it's not easy.
Speaker:It's tough. - No, yeah, I know
Speaker:and if you're a dancer- - Especially with all that
Speaker:equipment you have and you have to carry.
Speaker:- [Rob] But if you're a dancer,
Speaker:you have good body awareness.
Speaker:- Yeah, I was always like really sport.
Speaker:I was really into sport.
Speaker:I was a tennis player too, at one point.
Speaker:- That's right, you like tennis.
Speaker:- I was a little good at it too.
Speaker:- Nice. - I got to be like sixth
Speaker:of Dominican Republic at one point.
Speaker:- Really? - Yeah.
Speaker:- Tennis is not an easy sport.
Speaker:- [Raquel] I know and I love it.
Speaker:- Me and my wife tried to play, it's not easy.
Speaker:- No, but let me tell you something.
Speaker:If you start like when you're young, it's easier.
Speaker:It's like riding a bike, once you start and you know-
Speaker:- [Rob] It's a lot of muscle memory
Speaker:knowing how to hit that ball. - Exactly, the memory,
Speaker:you will not forget and you can ride a bike and even now,
Speaker:and you know, so tennis is pretty much the same.
Speaker:If you learn it when you're young, then,
Speaker:I mean, I've been, I haven't played like in two years.
Speaker:If I start right now, I'll get my swing right away.
Speaker:- So you still don't play just for fun?
Speaker:- I do sometimes, but I-
Speaker:- Not regularly. - Now I'm more into
Speaker:dancing and stuff, but I do play sometimes.
Speaker:And my husband plays, and my son plays too.
Speaker:- [Rob] Sure, it's a whole family affair.
Speaker:And my dad and my mom play too, and my dad-
Speaker:- [Rob] You guys can play doubles.
Speaker:- Yeah, and my dad played like few weeks ago.
Speaker:- [Rob] Really?
Speaker:- And he did good, yeah,
Speaker:he plays with Albert Montserrat from Cigar Rings.
Speaker:- Okay, yep. - You probably know.
Speaker:So they do, and Litto, they do the-
Speaker:- Litto, Litto Gomez at LFD. - Litto, yeah!
Speaker:They play all together.
Speaker:- What is it growing up around all these like cigar icons-
Speaker:- I know. - And just like,
Speaker:they're included in your family, basically.
Speaker:- I know, and let me tell you something,
Speaker:in Dominican Republic, we're all very like close.
Speaker:Like Mr. Kelner is like, he's like my dad too.
Speaker:He was just in the booth a few hours ago
Speaker:and we were just like chatting and talking.
Speaker:And it's really, it's really important
Speaker:to have like that relationship with all these,
Speaker:I mean we're competitors,
Speaker:but at the end we're also like a big family.
Speaker:It's like we have our boundaries,
Speaker:you know you're my competition,
Speaker:but it's very important also to get along
Speaker:so we can show the world that our cigars are important.
Speaker:- But do you think the idea behind competitors is different
Speaker:from an American perspective versus
Speaker:like a Dominican Republic perspective?
Speaker:- We try to be like a big family and try
Speaker:to work together for the country.
Speaker:So as we work that hard,
Speaker:then we just get along really good
Speaker:as others may not get so good on.
Speaker:- So there are other people in Dominican
Speaker:that you don't get along with,
Speaker:as well. - Yeah, another or maybe
Speaker:other countries maybe. - Sure.
Speaker:- But, in Dominican, the pro-cigar community,
Speaker:gets, I mean, we go like even for meetings
Speaker:that are not even meetings, just like cocktails
Speaker:and just talk about the world and what's going on,
Speaker:and the cigar business and everything.
Speaker:So at the end, we get along really good.
Speaker:It's like it's not only business.
Speaker:We also do like more of our relationship.
Speaker:We just like build a relationship-
Speaker:- Like you said, Henke Kelner is like another father to you.
Speaker:- Like my other father.
Speaker:- And Litto I mean, he plays tennis with my dad
Speaker:and everybody else, who else is there?
Speaker:Abe Flores. - Abe Flores.
Speaker:- Abe Flores and then,
Speaker:there's Ciro from Fuente and even Carlito too,
Speaker:and the daughter, she was here a little bit,
Speaker:a little while ago. - Love her.
Speaker:- We were just chatting and
Speaker:we're gonna have another interview on Monday together.
Speaker:And then we write on Instagram, you know,
Speaker:"We're gonna kill it, we're gonna be,
Speaker:"we're the women of this."
Speaker:- That's awesome. - So we're always like,
Speaker:(softly laughs) - That's so awesome.
Speaker:- So I think it's very important that also our parents,
Speaker:showed us that that relationship is also important to build
Speaker:because we're the ones growing,
Speaker:coming along. - The next generation.
Speaker:- Next generation, so that, even Tony,
Speaker:we did a Procigar, and Nirka from Reyes.
Speaker:We did like a few years ago,
Speaker:we played it like in a band and me and Nirka,
Speaker:we sang at a Procigar,
Speaker:and Litto and Henke were playing the guitar
Speaker:and Abe Flores too.
Speaker:And Tony was also singing, it was crazy.
Speaker:- I love it. (Raquel loudly laughs)
Speaker:You guys could start a little band here after the show.
Speaker:- Yeah. - Here we go.
Speaker:- And play at our booth.
Speaker:- Exactly, I love it.
Speaker:No better way to entertain people
Speaker:than just have a good time playing, I love it.
Speaker:That's amazing.
Speaker:- So that relationship really,
Speaker:we got it from our parents,
Speaker:we'll be building it and it's gonna keep on growing.
Speaker:- [Rob] That's awesome.
Speaker:It's really important.
Speaker:- So growing up in a family
Speaker:that basically could be considered farmers.
Speaker:- [Raquel] Exactly, because that's another story.
Speaker:We were bakers. - Did you run through
Speaker:the fields as children?
Speaker:- Yeah, yeah, yeah, we used to like run around
Speaker:on the fields and on the bales,
Speaker:that's like another, like inside joke that we have
Speaker:in our family.
Speaker:It's like, oh, we used to like run in the bales,
Speaker:and just like hop on them and be like kids.
Speaker:- Just hop on 'em, run all over 'em, do whatever you want.
Speaker:- Yeah, there's people in the factory
Speaker:that have been working for 45 years or more
Speaker:because our factory has like 40, it was like 1974.
Speaker:So it's gonna be, it's 47 years.
Speaker:So they'll tell me like, "Oh my God,
Speaker:"I remember when you were a little girl,
Speaker:"this little blonde girl, like running around everywhere."
Speaker:And I remember, and it's really like so satisfying,
Speaker:like these people are still rolling cigars in my factory
Speaker:in our factory, and they saw me
Speaker:come grow up in this fabulous industry.
Speaker:- Yeah, they seen you come up.
Speaker:- Come up and all these stages and now...
Speaker:- Did you ever get yelled at by somebody then
Speaker:while you're playing around and you go, "Oh shoot,
Speaker:"I overstepped my bounds." - Oh yeah, we did.
Speaker:It's like, I remember one time, one of my cousins,
Speaker:oh my God, he wrote his signature in one of the, on the
Speaker:aging room, you know?
Speaker:That's all covered in cedar and everything.
Speaker:So he wrote, he started writing his signature all over the
Speaker:(softly laughs) - All over the cedar.
Speaker:- All over the cedar and he, we got really like grounded.
Speaker:I remember (softly laughs)
Speaker:I think that story, I never told that before.
Speaker:- [Rob] That's a good one.
Speaker:- And he's now like a grownup
Speaker:and he has his own company and everything, so.
Speaker:- Don't write on the cedar in the aging room.
Speaker:You are going to get in trouble.
Speaker:- No, and I remember like also growing up, the cigars,
Speaker:we used to leave 'em maybe like on,
Speaker:and just like keep on running around,
Speaker:and it was like, it's dangerous, you know?
Speaker:It's like, just be careful.
Speaker:So we were always like being watched out.
Speaker:- There's a lot of workers probably watching you guys
Speaker:as you ran around.
Speaker:- [Raquel] Yes, it was fun though.
Speaker:- "Those are the Quesada kids, watch out for them."
Speaker:- Yeah, we were a few, so it was hard.
Speaker:- I know some of the Kelners always talk about,
Speaker:you gotta be careful when you run through the field
Speaker:so you don't break the tobacco leaves
Speaker:because otherwise you're really gonna get in trouble.
Speaker:- Yeah, oh my God, I remember my dad always
Speaker:like picking up leaves from the floor, maybe somebody like,
Speaker:that's something that I learned,
Speaker:like always be aware of what's on the floor
Speaker:because one leaf, you're saving the whole world,
Speaker:the whole factory.
Speaker:So that was something that I learned from-
Speaker:- So you learned to be mindful of your surroundings
Speaker:in case something got misplaced.
Speaker:- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, or like a cigar
Speaker:that might have misplaced or something.
Speaker:You're always aware and my dad is very strict on that.
Speaker:- Is he? - Yes, he's very strict.
Speaker:- Don't screw up the operation.
Speaker:- Yes, always be careful about it
Speaker:and save, like you save a tree,
Speaker:save the factory. - Save everything.
Speaker:Because it takes a long time to grow all this.
Speaker:- I know, I mean, once you see the whole operation thing,
Speaker:you really realize, oh my God,
Speaker:this is so, such a hard work
Speaker:and these people, they have their own families
Speaker:and their own things at home.
Speaker:And then they come here at seven in the morning
Speaker:and it's like they're there 6:45 AM
Speaker:and then it's 4:30 in the afternoon
Speaker:and they're still rolling cigars.
Speaker:I mean, it's a lot of effort
Speaker:and a lot of sacrifices you do day to day
Speaker:that you really have to be aware to really enjoy, you know?
Speaker:This, that that you're smoking
Speaker:that you maybe take for granted, you know?
Speaker:And it's a lot of hard work and a lot of people.
Speaker:- Yeah, it doesn't take just a couple months
Speaker:to produce this, this takes years.
Speaker:- No, years, and a lot of hands, you know?
Speaker:- Was there any part of the cigar process,
Speaker:you've already talked about the parts that you didn't like,
Speaker:which was coloring, and of course,
Speaker:you like the buying part,
Speaker:but was there anything that actually shocked you?
Speaker:You're like, "Wow, I didn't know we actually had
Speaker:"to do this in order to make cigars."
Speaker:- Well, overall, per se, I mean, just the whole process.
Speaker:Once you realize it's such hard work,
Speaker:then you realize, oh my God, this is really hard.
Speaker:But specifically,
Speaker:I think everything, I mean from
Speaker:getting the tobacco from the fields,
Speaker:all the processes you have to do,
Speaker:like wet the tobacco and then just fermenting it,
Speaker:and then, the day-to-day.
Speaker:If it's heated, if it's already from a,
Speaker:I mean all the, all those different things is,
Speaker:it's a lot of, for me was shocking.
Speaker:It's like you never realize,
Speaker:once you learn of it or you are aware of it,
Speaker:then you say, oh my God,
Speaker:this is gold.
Speaker:- Right, was there ever a time
Speaker:where you saw your dad struggle
Speaker:or get stumped by something and you thought, oh, wow.
Speaker:- Yeah, I mean that,
Speaker:when you experience with different seasons
Speaker:and tobaccos that you don't know how they're gonna react,
Speaker:I mean, I experienced with them working together,
Speaker:like growing up and just like learning.
Speaker:Sometimes tobacco got messed up
Speaker:and sometimes a whole crop,
Speaker:maybe because it was a lot of rain or a lot of dry
Speaker:and you lose a lot of time and money.
Speaker:And you're like, oh my God, this is,
Speaker:it's like the passion keeps you going.
Speaker:But it's tough. - Sure.
Speaker:- I saw my dad struggle at times
Speaker:with different tobaccos and maybe they put it
Speaker:in a different fermentation process
Speaker:or in a different packaging.
Speaker:I remember that maybe the Tercios that you do with the palm
Speaker:bark, and you do a different process.
Speaker:He struggled with that because that's like a Cuban thing
Speaker:they did like back in the times,
Speaker:and he wanted to do it in Dominican.
Speaker:So they started doing it and it was hard.
Speaker:I mean, now it's a piece of cake.
Speaker:- Is it the one where you wrap the tobacco really tight
Speaker:in palm leaves? - Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker:- Like a pole? - Like a pole, uh-huh,
Speaker:and then you put it- - What is it called, andullo?
Speaker:- Uh-huh, andullos.
Speaker:- Okay.
Speaker:- And then you just put it in and those,
Speaker:it's like a palm tree, like dry.
Speaker:And then I remember that was about more than 20 years ago
Speaker:because now it's very easy.
Speaker:You learn your lesson well, but at the time it was tough.
Speaker:So I saw my dad struggle at times with some tobaccos.
Speaker:But at the end you just learn and you keep on going.
Speaker:- What about a project that you thought,
Speaker:"This is gonna be great," and it turned sour-
Speaker:- Oh my God. - And you were like,
Speaker:"This isn't happening."
Speaker:- No, you know what I'm gonna tell you better?
Speaker:The one that we decided we were gonna do,
Speaker:and it was a success.
Speaker:- [Rob] Oh good, thank God.
Speaker:- Well, my dad never wanted to put the Quesada
Speaker:last name in our products.
Speaker:He was very hesitant all the time.
Speaker:He was always, we had our brands and different names,
Speaker:but then the younger generation wanted to do.
Speaker:Because it's our, it's our last name,
Speaker:it comes from Cuba, from Spain,
Speaker:that has a whole history behind it.
Speaker:So we said, "We have to do this."
Speaker:So, but he was really like, "No, no, no,
Speaker:"we're not gonna do that."
Speaker:So we started blending behind his back.
Speaker:We came with the Quesada 35th anniversary, it was like-
Speaker:- More blending behind your dad's back.
Speaker:What are you doing, Raquel?
Speaker:What are you doing? - But this time,
Speaker:I have a back-up because-- - Oh, you had other
Speaker:constituents with you. - There are other,
Speaker:yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, like my cousins and my sister.
Speaker:At that time, we all work together.
Speaker:So, we did that, and even Michael Herklots too,
Speaker:helped a little that.
Speaker:And then we came out with the Quesada 35th.
Speaker:So what we did was, this was like, really mind-boggling.
Speaker:So we went to New York at the townhouse,
Speaker:in Nat Sherman's townhouse at that time,
Speaker:and we did this really big event.
Speaker:So we're gonna release the 35th
Speaker:and he didn't even know we were gonna release the cigar.
Speaker:He thought-- - He didn't know a cigar was
Speaker:gonna come out of his factory? - No!
Speaker:- How did you guys keep that under wraps?
Speaker:- We told them we were just gonna,
Speaker:like his legacy, we were just gonna honor him
Speaker:on all that he had done
Speaker:in the cigar industry. - Oh, at the townhouse.
Speaker:That's what the party's for.
Speaker:- Yeah, so we're gonna honor him.
Speaker:- [Rob] So he'll go along.
Speaker:- Yeah, he was like, "Oh, perfect, we'll do that."
Speaker:And then everybody came along, even my mom was there.
Speaker:And so when we started, because everybody spoke
Speaker:and we spoke about him and we talked about,
Speaker:we talk about the project and the cigar.
Speaker:It was very, very emotional.
Speaker:- Oh, I bet. - He approved of it,
Speaker:and then when we came to the PCA, at that time, IPCPR,
Speaker:we sold, we only did like a certain amount of boxes,
Speaker:because it was the first product we were making.
Speaker:So it was probably like about 2,000 boxes or 3,000.
Speaker:I can't remember the exact quantity.
Speaker:But we sold like the first day of the show,
Speaker:all the boxes of the 35th.
Speaker:And let me tell you something, people like write to me,
Speaker:"Do you have any of those 35th boxes over there
Speaker:"that I could buy?"
Speaker:- It was a coveted cigar.
Speaker:It's a unicorn now.
Speaker:- Yeah, exactly, so it was very successful.
Speaker:We had a great time.
Speaker:Even the sneaking part of it was really fun.
Speaker:So at the end- - Was he shocked?
Speaker:- He was very shocked, but he was very,
Speaker:very, very emotional.
Speaker:We even like cried and everything.
Speaker:He was very proud of us at the end.
Speaker:He just put his foot down and said, "You know what?
Speaker:"Let's go," and then after that,
Speaker:we came with a Quesada Tributo,
Speaker:and then Quesada Espana, the Quesada 1974.
Speaker:So we have all these different lines on the Quesada line,
Speaker:and the Quesada Reserva Privada, the barber pole,
Speaker:we have so many different ones that at the end,
Speaker:it was a success and we had a point.
Speaker:- [Rob] Exactly.
Speaker:- But if it wouldn't been a success,
Speaker:I don't think I would be sitting here,
Speaker:talking to you, Rob. - Yeah, no, no, no,
Speaker:you're not gonna talk about that one, we know.
Speaker:- But let me tell you, I don't think I remember one
Speaker:that it wasn't, maybe not a success-
Speaker:- [Rob] Something that never hit the shelf?
Speaker:- No, no.
Speaker:Maybe some blends that he didn't agree on, but per se,
Speaker:the Oktoberfest was something else that he didn't agree on.
Speaker:And then my cousin, TJ- - I am so surprised by that.
Speaker:The Oktoberfest, no one else does an Oktoberfest cigar.
Speaker:- No, but then that was like, at that time,
Speaker:TJ, Terence Reilly used to work with us,
Speaker:was my cousin, is my cousin.
Speaker:He was the one with the idea.
Speaker:He says, "We have to come out for the season again
Speaker:"and then just do the Oktoberfest."
Speaker:And then my dad's like- - Is that what your dad
Speaker:didn't like about it, it's seasonal, or what?
Speaker:- Not the seasonal, just the idea of something new.
Speaker:So random, like Oktoberfest.
Speaker:Who knows about Oktoberfest?
Speaker:You know, the U.S. is gonna- - "Who knows about it?"
Speaker:Pretty much the whole world celebrates it.
Speaker:- Yeah, but the thing is, 10 years ago,
Speaker:or whatever years ago,
Speaker:he wasn't that open-minded.
Speaker:He was more on the conservative side,
Speaker:just a regular sizes of the regular cigars.
Speaker:And now, we're coming up with this box
Speaker:with like the beer mugs and all
Speaker:these different names. - The Keg.
Speaker:The box looked like a little barrel of beer.
Speaker:- Yeah, yeah, yeah, they were put on the boxes
Speaker:and he was like, "You're not gonna do that, are you insane?"
Speaker:"That looks terrible.
Speaker:"No, you're not gonna sell one box of that."
Speaker:And then, all these names, like Uber and DasBoot,
Speaker:and it's like, I mean, Bavarian.
Speaker:And then TJ came up with all these different names
Speaker:that you go to Germany- - Oh, beer names.
Speaker:- No, no, no, you go to Germany and they probably would
Speaker:never make sense to them. - Yeah, Germans, right, oh.
Speaker:- So it was for the U.S. market.
Speaker:And then, and he's like, "You're," I mean,
Speaker:I think we ended up convincing him,
Speaker:but he wasn't convinced at all.
Speaker:So we came to one of the PCAs, at that time, IPCPR,
Speaker:and it was a sort of success.
Speaker:And then this year we're celebrating
Speaker:the 10th year of Oktoberfest.
Speaker:So at the end,
Speaker:so I'm telling you, maybe he was not convinced
Speaker:at the moment when we had the projects.
Speaker:But then he kind of like put his foot down
Speaker:and then we ended up being in a good place, on a good path.
Speaker:- I coveted some of those boxes
Speaker:because they're kind of like wine.
Speaker:When they come out with a specific-
Speaker:- [Raquel] Exactly.
Speaker:- Because it wasn't always the same blend every time.
Speaker:- No, no, it wasn't, always a different blend,
Speaker:but the one for this year, the 10th anniversary one,
Speaker:is very, very related to the first one
Speaker:we made in the first year.
Speaker:So we kind of got, we went back to-
Speaker:- And what year was that, 2015?
Speaker:- So 10 years ago, so '11.
Speaker:- Okay, 2011.
Speaker:- 2011, so we went back to the roots.
Speaker:Yeah, you have it there, I brought you.
Speaker:Yeah, so it says like 10th anniversary and everything.
Speaker:- I love it.
Speaker:Yeah, I think that was the one that I was chasing that,
Speaker:did the band change every year?
Speaker:- Yeah, the band changed every year.
Speaker:But I think like for the last four years or three years,
Speaker:we use like the one on top and then this year,
Speaker:we just put the 10th anniversary one, yeah.
Speaker:- Great cigar, went great with Oktoberfest beer too.
Speaker:- My dad, and I quote,
Speaker:because if not, I'll get in trouble.
Speaker:"It's the best one so far."
Speaker:- [Rob] This one.
Speaker:- The 2021. - Go out, and get your-
Speaker:Oktoberfest 10th Anniversary. - 10th Anniversary.
Speaker:10th Anniversary. (Raquel softy laughs)
Speaker:- That's a mouthful. - Exactly.
Speaker:- Don't say that five times fast.
Speaker:- 10th Anniversary, yeah. - I love it.
Speaker:- I know, he says it's the best one out so far, so.
Speaker:- So something he didn't think would succeed succeeded.
Speaker:- Succeeded, and then at the end he had to,
Speaker:when we came up out all these different crazy ideas,
Speaker:he was like, "Okay, fine, don't even tell me about 'em."
Speaker:- It softened the blow of like other unique projects,
Speaker:Like the Heisenberg.
Speaker:- That was something else, exactly.
Speaker:- I love that cigar, the shape was
Speaker:like an Al Capone style- - Yeah, all different shapes.
Speaker:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker:- Very trumpeted-looking cigar, I loved it.
Speaker:- Yeah, that was another of TJs, yeah.
Speaker:. It's like a box-pressed, trumpeted torpedo.
Speaker:- We don't make 'em anymore, but.
Speaker:- I'm asking you personally now
Speaker:to come back with that cigar.
Speaker:- Okay, I will take that-
Speaker:- That shape, everything.
Speaker:You guys still have the molds for that?
Speaker:- Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course.
Speaker:- Make a blend, I love that shape.
Speaker:- I will, we will do. - It's so unique.
Speaker:- Will do, will do. - Aw, it's awesome.
Speaker:And you had to-
Speaker:- I'll send you the first ones.
Speaker:- Please do, and you had to put the cigars
Speaker:every other upside-down because of how-
Speaker:- [Raquel] Oh, yeah, one to the one side and the other one
Speaker:to the other side. - Angled that cigar was,
Speaker:it wouldn't fit in a box nicely,
Speaker:you had to, every other. - In a box, totally.
Speaker:- It was awesome, and the story behind it was even better.
Speaker:- Yeah, yeah, yep, yep.
Speaker:- Nobody knows what the blend
Speaker:is all made of. - Embrace uncertainty.
Speaker:- Embrace the idea that you have no idea, good luck.
Speaker:- Exactly, and don't even ask me about the blend
Speaker:because you're not gonna get it.
Speaker:- So what is the blend?
Speaker:No, I'm just kidding. (both loudly laughing)
Speaker:- I totally forgot about that.
Speaker:My mind is not working well.
Speaker:- Whoops.
Speaker:I gotta ask, how are you similar to your dad?
Speaker:Anything, one particular thing stick out that you're like,
Speaker:"Yeah, this, I got this from my dad."
Speaker:- Very perfectionist.
Speaker:- Perfectionist. - Yes.
Speaker:And very, like I'm always on time.
Speaker:- Really? - Yeah.
Speaker:That's not Dominican. - I am always not on time.
Speaker:I was even late for this interview, so I apologize.
Speaker:- Yes, you were!
Speaker:I was here like 20 minutes behind, before.
Speaker:- Yeah, you were here early.
Speaker:- Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm always on time
Speaker:and he's always on time too.
Speaker:And if we're going the airport, it's like four hours before,
Speaker:because if not, we'll get nervous.
Speaker:We're very similar on those.
Speaker:- I do like that, airports, I'd rather get there early.
Speaker:- [Raquel] Early, because you never know.
Speaker:- I don't like rushing, and I don't like connectors.
Speaker:- Like to come here, I had my alarm, and a snooze.
Speaker:It's like 12:30 alarm,
Speaker:and then a snooze 10 minutes, and I'm here
Speaker:20 minutes before. - The backup.
Speaker:The backup alarm to the backup alarm to the backup alarm.
Speaker:- I don't think I recall being late for any big event.
Speaker:- Really? - No.
Speaker:- How are you totally different than your dad?
Speaker:- I'm more, I'm very sensitive person.
Speaker:Like, and he's very strong.
Speaker:So sometimes I would be like crying.
Speaker:He's like, "Stop crying, that's for like,"
Speaker:but I'm like that, you know?
Speaker:- [Rob] That's how I express my emotions.
Speaker:- Exactly, and for me, it's not even good or bad.
Speaker:It's just it is what it is,
Speaker:and if you're like that- - It's the way-
Speaker:- You're like that. - You release energy.
Speaker:Exactly, so I'm very, very sensitive.
Speaker:And then he's very, very, very like strong
Speaker:and he's very hard-hearted.
Speaker:- Hard-hearted. - And I'm very like,
Speaker:sensitive heart hearted, I guess.
Speaker:I don't know how you call it in English.
Speaker:- Delicate. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker:- But I guess it's a girl thing.
Speaker:- I love it, well, no, anybody, right?
Speaker:Anybody could be sensitive.
Speaker:- But now, but then throughout the years,
Speaker:if I cry now, he's like, he's fine with it.
Speaker:He's like used to it. - He knows, he's like,
Speaker:"All right, she's just doing her thing.
Speaker:"She'll be back- - It's like tears-
Speaker:"In 20 minutes." - Coming out and all.
Speaker:"She'll be back in two minutes."
Speaker:- Yeah, it's fine.
Speaker:I have to say, being, I mean,
Speaker:your title is key account director, brand ambassador,
Speaker:shareholder, whatever you wanna say there.
Speaker:But I think one of the things that I picked up on is
Speaker:this idea of being a brand ambassador.
Speaker:Because your brand is your name,
Speaker:like you said earlier. - I know, I know.
Speaker:- Are you really feeling like you're,
Speaker:I think Americans have a different perspective
Speaker:of brand ambassadors.
Speaker:Do you really feel like a brand ambassador
Speaker:or do you just feel like you're carrying on
Speaker:what your family's always done?
Speaker:- Yeah, that's what I feel like.
Speaker:It's like the passion and the history
Speaker:behind my name is something that I'm responsible for
Speaker:and the life gave me that opportunity
Speaker:because I was born in this family,
Speaker:and at the end, I'm so proud of it
Speaker:and of what my ancestors have made
Speaker:throughout all these years,
Speaker:that I wouldn't have,
Speaker:I can't see myself without being here.
Speaker:And now with all these social media,
Speaker:I'm like more active on it
Speaker:and I'm more committed to it and I'm loving it.
Speaker:- [Rob] That's awesome.
Speaker:- It's like, let me tell you, I'm not,
Speaker:I don't love these interviews,
Speaker:but I think I'm starting to love it.
Speaker:- Good! (Raquel softly laughing)
Speaker:Well, this one, she likes, folks.
Speaker:That's a home run.
Speaker:- I know, it's like I get really nervous before,
Speaker:but then once, like once when I start, I'm like,
Speaker:well, it's not that bad at all.
Speaker:- [Rob] No, we're just talking.
Speaker:- Exactly - Learning about
Speaker:the Quesada brand. - Exactly.
Speaker:In the kitchen, like you said.
Speaker:- Yeah, we're in the kitchen, havin' a good conversation,
Speaker:cigar-- - Exactly, cigars.
Speaker:- I don't have coffee, I do, I mean, if you want one.
Speaker:- Water. (softly laughs) (crosstalk drowns out Rob)
Speaker:There's water.
Speaker:- What do you think makes your perspective unique
Speaker:in bringing something new to the Quesada name?
Speaker:- I think something that my father always said
Speaker:that I grew up with listening to others is like quality
Speaker:and consistency all the time.
Speaker:I mean, you really have to work hard
Speaker:on that with our products.
Speaker:Something that you had maybe smoked 10 years ago,
Speaker:that you smoke it now,
Speaker:and if it's the same brand, you resemble to it.
Speaker:And it's the same thing, you know?
Speaker:- Right, you're connected to that.
Speaker:- Exactly, it's not like- - Like the Oktoberfest for me.
Speaker:- Exactly, like, oh, I, maybe last year I smoked one
Speaker:and then I'm smoking now and it doesn't make any sense.
Speaker:It's like something that you really have to work hard.
Speaker:And I remember,
Speaker:working in a cigar factory,
Speaker:you have to see there's three turns to one cigar.
Speaker:And then that the head is like perfectly made,
Speaker:and then when they draw, they draw perfectly.
Speaker:And then one day, and then when you smoke,
Speaker:the ash, so many details that he always really,
Speaker:really pushed so hard on us.
Speaker:That for me, that quality and that consistency is very,
Speaker:very branded on the Quesada name.
Speaker:And also the way that we make our clients feel at home.
Speaker:I mean, my goal is like a perfect example of it.
Speaker:Michael comes through our factory and it's like his home.
Speaker:He knows everybody, he knows the cigar makers
Speaker:by their names, and it's just like,
Speaker:he goes around everywhere.
Speaker:He knows where this is and that is,
Speaker:and where the wrappers being classified.
Speaker:The lady has been there for 20 years, all that.
Speaker:It's like, we make people feel at home
Speaker:and that's very important
Speaker:because you really want to come back,
Speaker:and Michael always wants to come back.
Speaker:He wants to live there, I think.
Speaker:That's my Dominican, my American brother
Speaker:and I'm Dominican sister.
Speaker:So that's something that it's really important
Speaker:- When you came to Boston to go to school
Speaker:did you ever lie to anyone on what you did
Speaker:or what your family, did or if they ever asked?
Speaker:- I don't think they, they were aware of it.
Speaker:- No. - I mean, now, my friends,
Speaker:they even, like one of my friends that texted me yesterday
Speaker:and was like, "Bring me those cigars."
Speaker:Because I'm gonna see her now in Miami after here.
Speaker:She's like, "Bring me cigars.
Speaker:"You never ever show those."
Speaker:- [Rob] You never carried around cigars?
Speaker:- Exactly, and now it's like, they're so,
Speaker:they're well known and like, "Bring me some,
Speaker:"because I wanna try, I wanna smoke with you."
Speaker:So it was kind of underground. - So when you went to college
Speaker:you weren't the cigar-smoking friend.
Speaker:- No, and let me tell you something,
Speaker:no, but I worked at a cigar store
Speaker:in my hours that I didn't go to school,
Speaker:and people will come in and buy cigars
Speaker:and they didn't even know I was Raquel Quesada.
Speaker:- "My dad made that."
Speaker:- I know, it's like, "Oh, I really love this!"
Speaker:And I'm like, "Oh, really?
Speaker:"Oh, I hope you enjoy them." - Interesting.
Speaker:- So I worked there for a few years and it was,
Speaker:and then, but then eventually they realized it
Speaker:because like maybe my dad was in the Cigar Aficionado
Speaker:or whatever, or in a magazine, or I was in it too
Speaker:And then they resembled it and then they came back
Speaker:and was like, "Oh, you, you!"
Speaker:"You never told me."
Speaker:- You're sneaky. - "You were mean."
Speaker:- Sneaky, sneaky. - So at the end, yeah.
Speaker:It was tough but it was fun. - So you weren't getting
Speaker:your friends into cigars.
Speaker:- No, no, not at that time.
Speaker:I mean, they knew that, like my close, close friends,
Speaker:maybe yes, but not the other ones
Speaker:that were not as close. - Well, you're lucky
Speaker:because then I'm sure a lot of people would've been like,
Speaker:"Hey, bring cigars to the party next time."
Speaker:- Yeah, to the party, I get that a lot.
Speaker:- Now you do. - And let me tell you,
Speaker:sometimes I don't even have the ones,
Speaker:because I forget, or maybe at the minute of it,
Speaker:I don't have them to hand out, and they're like,
Speaker:"Raquel, where are the cigars?"
Speaker:And I'm like, oh my gosh. - Your cigars!
Speaker:You're supposed to be the one that has-
Speaker:(crosstalk drowns out Rob) - You're not carrying
Speaker:all of them.
Speaker:- You're gonna have to bring a suitcase.
Speaker:- But now I'm like always on top of it.
Speaker:It's like, "The cigars, the cigars, where are the cigars?"
Speaker:Because I never carry them and now I should.
Speaker:- [Rob] It's that brand ambassador coming out of you.
Speaker:- I know, it's like- - Just hand 'em
Speaker:out like candy. - "Where are the cigars?"
Speaker:Exactly, so now I do.
Speaker:- But how do you escape?
Speaker:What is your favorite thing to do to escape and just do you?
Speaker:- Well, to get away from that hectic day-to-day thing,
Speaker:I dance a lot, I was telling you about it-
Speaker:- Yeah, it's Dance VXN
Speaker:- It's like a dance, yeah, it's a VXN dance.
Speaker:It's similar to Zumba, but you work harder and dance more.
Speaker:It's like more specific moves. - It's supposed to be
Speaker:for exercise, right? - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
Speaker:yeah, totally. - Get your heart rate up-
Speaker:- Yeah, yeah, yeah. - And have fun.
Speaker:- Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly, so I just get away
Speaker:from the day-to-day stress and all that, and-
Speaker:- [Rob] And this can be seen on Instagram, folks.
Speaker:- Yeah, shh. - That's why, oh,
Speaker:the cat's out of the bag, secrets.
Speaker:- It's like me dancing.
Speaker:My dad said the other day, he's like,
Speaker:"I saw you dancing, Raquel, what were you doing?"
Speaker:I was like, oh my God.
Speaker:- [Rob] Your dad said this?
Speaker:- Yeah, because he's an Instagram too.
Speaker:So he follows me and then I'm dancing, and then he's like,
Speaker:and then he clicks on a like, it's really fun.
Speaker:It's like, "Manolo Quesada just liked you."
Speaker:- Yeah, just like that. (laughter drowns out Raquel)
Speaker:- Really, Dad, you like that?
Speaker:- Yeah, and I also, I love the beach
Speaker:and in Dominican Republic, you have the best beaches.
Speaker:And then I'm always on the golf course all the time.
Speaker:- [Rob] Do you golf as well?
Speaker:- No, I'm really bad at it.
Speaker:- You just like to be there to support your son.
Speaker:- Yeah, I'm really good on the scores
Speaker:and the techniques and everything, I know which
Speaker:pole to use or which one on the yard.
Speaker:- [Rob] You could be his caddy.
Speaker:- Yeah, I could be his caddy, he wants me to be his caddy.
Speaker:But I don't know if I can do the bag.
Speaker:- We'll get you can electronic cart.
Speaker:- Oh, they're not allowed.
Speaker:- Oh yeah, that's, right.
Speaker:- I've caddied for him- - You have to earn your pay.
Speaker:- And a few times, but it's tough.
Speaker:Because you walk like 10 kilometers in one-
Speaker:- [Rob] It's a long day.
Speaker:- And then sometimes it's like four days and three days.
Speaker:So I've done it for one day, but I'm not-
Speaker:- Another cigar rep was telling me
Speaker:he tried to caddy for one of his buddies.
Speaker:- It's tough. - And the guy was like,
Speaker:"So how far are we to the pin?"
Speaker:And he was kinda like, "Well, I don't know, like 150 yards."
Speaker:And the caddy next to him was like, he goes, "168 yards."
Speaker:Like he had paced it out, I was like,
Speaker:"Whoa." - Was like, "Whoa."
Speaker:It's tough. - These guys know every
Speaker:inch of that playing field. - Oh, no, no, no, my son,
Speaker:he has a little notebook here
Speaker:with all the holes
Speaker:and you know, the breeze- - Where he likes to hit it-
Speaker:- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker:- And where are the best approach is
Speaker:and how far out and what club he's gonna use on that.
Speaker:- And the- - I love it.
Speaker:- If it's against it or-
Speaker:- With the wind, against the wind.
Speaker:- With the wind, against it, or if it's like going down-
Speaker:- Does all that stuff factor into the swing, do you think?
Speaker:- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - All that matters.
Speaker:- Everything matters, and let me tell you, for me,
Speaker:at the beginning, because I don't play, and I've tried,
Speaker:but I'm really good in sports,
Speaker:but I can't play golf for the world.
Speaker:And I've tried and I try, and he knows that I've tried.
Speaker:And I can't, it's so frustrating for me at the beginning
Speaker:because one, I mean, you could be 17 holes,
Speaker:you're doing great, and then the last one,
Speaker:you do one shot and it damages the whole day.
Speaker:- For me- - Super psychological.
Speaker:- Oh my God, no, it's all psychological.
Speaker:If your brain is not where it has to be,
Speaker:you're not gonna do the first hole.
Speaker:- [Rob] It's like sitting at the coloring table.
Speaker:- Exactly. - For eight hours,
Speaker:like, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Speaker:- Exactly, you're like, "What is going wrong?"
Speaker:- [Rob] Wow.
Speaker:- So that's what I enjoy the most, pretty much.
Speaker:- You like the dancing, you like the beach,
Speaker:get away from it all, get a little reprieve.
Speaker:- And just be after my son all the time.
Speaker:I think I know all the golf courses
Speaker:around Dominican Republic
Speaker:and the people think I'm just having fun at the beach.
Speaker:And I'm like, no, I didn't even go to the beach,
Speaker:- [Rob] Right, "I'm on the golf course."
Speaker:- Because the thing is like, it's five,
Speaker:six hours in the call, and then when he's done,
Speaker:with the tournament that day,
Speaker:then he goes to the driving range and he,
Speaker:and I always, I like to be there with him.
Speaker:So I go to the driving range and he just like
Speaker:shoots, shoots, shoots until seven o'clock at night
Speaker:and we just go to bed because we were exhausted.
Speaker:- Yeah, there's no time for fun.
Speaker:- No, no, no, so they're very, very exhausted.
Speaker:- I asked you what your favorite quote was,
Speaker:so I'm gonna read it, it's very good.
Speaker:"Growth doesn't come with a single action.
Speaker:"It's a consequence of persistence, courage and hard work."
Speaker:So my question to you is how are you persistent?
Speaker:- Never giving up.
Speaker:- Never give up. - Never give up,
Speaker:always there on the battle, in the battle
Speaker:and just giving the best of me
Speaker:for this to be the perfect one.
Speaker:- I love it, appreciate it.
Speaker:What are we smoking today?
Speaker:- Oh, we're smoking a 1974, Quesada 1974.
Speaker:This is a new size for the show,
Speaker:it's a six by 52 Toro.
Speaker:This blend, I don't know, I'm enjoying it a lot.
Speaker:I love this blend, it's very smooth, very,
Speaker:have a lot of complexity. - Very smooth, very.
Speaker:- It's not mild, but it's not strong.
Speaker:It's more between the two. - No I'd give this to anybody.
Speaker:- Yup, yup, yup, I mean, if you-
Speaker:- And I would have a box of this.
Speaker:- I mean, if you, exactly,
Speaker:if you're starting, it's great.
Speaker:If you're been smoking for a long time,
Speaker:it's also good because you'll enjoy it either way.
Speaker:So it's got Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers and binders
Speaker:and it's an Ecuador Cameroon and wrapper.
Speaker:- [Rob] Ecuador Cameroon?
Speaker:- Yeah, it's like a Cameroon seed in Ecuador.
Speaker:Yeah, we just buy it from-
Speaker:- Do you grow- - No, we don't grow.
Speaker:We don't grow wrapper. - Right.
Speaker:- Well, we grew wrapper to one year, like 2018
Speaker:and Habano 2000,
Speaker:but that's been for an specific project
Speaker:that we have coming along. - Coming up?
Speaker:Oh, in 2017 you said you did? - We're working on that, '18.
Speaker:- '18, you grew wrapper- - Yeah,
Speaker:so we're letting it there and-
Speaker:- For a project that's coming up.
Speaker:You heard it here first on Box Press.
Speaker:- [Raquel] Yes, yes.
Speaker:- I get the story, I get, it get it.
Speaker:- You get the first news. - I get it out, it's coming.
Speaker:- Thank you.
Speaker:Thank you. - So we're working on that.
Speaker:- I love it. - But it's still our baby.
Speaker:- So is there a big difference between African Cameroon
Speaker:and Ecuadorian Cameroon wrapper?
Speaker:Or do you not know?
Speaker:- Yeah, just the taste, depending on the blend
Speaker:that you're working on, then you use-
Speaker:- Could your dad blind sample it and be like,
Speaker:"Yeah, that's Ecuadorian- - Yeah, that's it.
Speaker:- "That's African." - Exactly.
Speaker:I was the other day telling somebody
Speaker:I haven't blind-tasted him in a few years,
Speaker:in a few months or years and I'm gonna do that again.
Speaker:- Good, with the Cameroon, be like,
Speaker:"Let's see, Dad, what do you know?"
Speaker:- Yeah, or something-
Speaker:- "Where's this Cameroon coming from?"
Speaker:- Or just like a new seed that we're working on
Speaker:and see if he's like so good at it now than before.
Speaker:And I'll trick him.
Speaker:- Can he taste the priming level of it too?
Speaker:Like the quality level or more just the-
Speaker:- [Raquel] No, it's more general, I would say.
Speaker:- More just the region- - Just like the seeds and-
Speaker:- And the seeds. - Yeah, the regions,
Speaker:yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah and the different countries.
Speaker:- [Rob] I love it.
Speaker:- I know. - Amazing.
Speaker:- I'm not that good at it, but he's really good at it.
Speaker:- Right, yeah, it's not easy. - It takes a lot of years.
Speaker:and knowledge. - Exactly.
Speaker:Amazing.
Speaker:Raquel, I appreciate it so much.
Speaker:- Oh my God, I've had so much fun.
Speaker:- I'm so glad you had fun and you weren't nervous.
Speaker:This is super easy.
Speaker:- Well, I hope it's given you all the expectations you had.
Speaker:- Absolutely, great stories, learning more about you.
Speaker:- Thank you. - Quesada Cigars.
Speaker:- [Raquel] I'm really, really thankful.
Speaker:- We appreciate you guys very much for always-
Speaker:- [Raquel] A lot of gratitude towards you and-
Speaker:- Yes, appreciation all around.
Speaker:- I'm a fan.
Speaker:- Thank you, I appreciate that.
Speaker:As always, here's another episode of Box Press.
Speaker:If you need more Quesada Cigars, ask your retailer,
Speaker:go to quesadacigars.com.
Speaker:- Yes, quesadacigars.com. - Find out where to get 'em.
Speaker:- And my @raquelquesadaofficial on Instagram.
Speaker:- @raquelquesadaofficial- - @raquelquesadaofficial.
Speaker:- On Instagram, follow @quesadacigars.
Speaker:They have new stuff coming up, you heard it here first.
Speaker:They've never made wrapper and they'd gone ahead and made it
Speaker:in 2018 coming up for a new blend in the future.
Speaker:We don't know when, stay tuned.
Speaker:- Thank you. - Appreciate it.
