Cuba's tobacco country

Travel

Cuba’s tobacco country becomes tourist attraction. Tobacco operations receive tourists on group visits organized by state tourism agencies and foreigners by the hundreds receive lectures on Cuban tobacco.

Jorge Luis Leon Becerra, 43, waits on his oxcart for workers to bring their freshly picked tobacco leaves before takinge them to a warehouse for drying at the Martinez tobacco farm in the province of Pinar del Rio, Cuba. Unseasonably heavy rains have damaged Cuba’s tobacco crop and raised questions about iconic cigar brands that some aficionados hope will not suffer from declining quality amid higher demand. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A picture of revolutionary hero Ernesto “Che” Guevara decorates a the wall inside a state-run warehouse where workers select tobacco leaves in the province of Pinar del Rio, Cuba. Tobacco operations receive tourists on group visits organized by state tourism agencies and foreigners by the hundreds receive lectures on Cuban tobacco. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Raul Valdes Villasusa, 76, smokes a cigar as he collects tobacco leaves on his farm in Vinales in the province of Pinar del Rio, Cuba. Farmers earn money from the government for their tobacco crop, and keep a small portion for their own use. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A worker takes a break under drying tobacco leaves at the Montesino tobacco farm in the province of Pinar del Rio, Cuba. The Montesino farm has been in the same family for three generations and is one of the most renowned Cuban tobacco producers. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A classic American car passes the Francisco Blanco tobacco farm in the province of Pinar del Rio, Cuba. While foreign sales rose healthily last year, Cuban cigar industry officials say they have seen little impact on domestic sales from a boom in tourism that has brought hundreds of thousands of new visitors to Havana. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

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Jorge Luis Leon Becerra, 43, waits on his oxcart for workers to bring their freshly picked tobacco leaves before takinge them to a warehouse for drying at the Martinez tobacco farm in the province of Pinar del Rio, Cuba. Unseasonably heavy rains have damaged Cuba’s tobacco crop and raised questions about iconic cigar brands that some aficionados hope will not suffer from declining quality amid higher demand. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

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