Nestor Plasencia
Encyclopedia
Nestor Plasencia, Sr. is a tobacco
grower and cigar
maker of Cuban
descent whose factories in Honduras
and Nicaragua
produce over 30 million cigars a year. Contracting out the use of his factories to Rocky Patel and other leading brands, Plasencia remains one of the leading figures in the Central American cigar industry.
to a tobacco growing family which emigrated after the Cuban Revolution
of 1959.
During the early 1980s, Plasencia lost his tobacco farms and factories in Nicaragua
as a result of the Sandinista revolution. During this interval he moved his focus across the border to neighboring Honduras
.
Nestor Plasencia today again operates two factories in Nicaragua — a 24000 square feet (2,229.7 m²) unit opened in 1992 in the town of Ocotal and a smaller building in the country's cigar capital, Estelí. Plasencia's primary operations remain in Honduras, however, centered in two buildings in Danlí and smaller units in the villages of El Paraíso and Morocelí
.
Plasencia is closely associated with the cigar-making Oliva family
, with Cuban émigré Gilberto Oliva, Sr. having served as manager of Plasencia's Moroceli factory, opened in 1991.
The output of Plasencia's factories experienced steady growth from 1 million cigars in 1986 to approximately 33 million just ten years later. The Plasencia factories are responsible for the manufacture of cigars for 30 or more labels, including products for J.R. Tobacco, Swisher International, and Rocky Patel.
During the middle 1990s, about 70 percent of the tobacco used in Plasencia-made cigars came from his own Honduran and Nicaraguan fields, with the remainder purchased on the market. Both Connecticut-seed and Cuban-seed is used in Plasencia's fields.
Today Plasencia is regarded by many as "one of the foremost tobacco experts in the world." In 2000 he told Smoke magazine:
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
grower and cigar
Cigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
maker of Cuban
Cubans
Cubans or Cuban people are the inhabitants or citizens of Cuba. Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
descent whose factories in Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
and Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
produce over 30 million cigars a year. Contracting out the use of his factories to Rocky Patel and other leading brands, Plasencia remains one of the leading figures in the Central American cigar industry.
Early years
Nestor Plasencia, Sr. was born in about 1950 in CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
to a tobacco growing family which emigrated after the Cuban Revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
of 1959.
After the revolution
The Plasencia family remained closely involved in the tobacco industry in Central America, with Nestor's uncle Herminio Plasencia continuing to be active in day-to-day operations in growing operations into the 1990s.During the early 1980s, Plasencia lost his tobacco farms and factories in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
as a result of the Sandinista revolution. During this interval he moved his focus across the border to neighboring Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
.
Nestor Plasencia today again operates two factories in Nicaragua — a 24000 square feet (2,229.7 m²) unit opened in 1992 in the town of Ocotal and a smaller building in the country's cigar capital, Estelí. Plasencia's primary operations remain in Honduras, however, centered in two buildings in Danlí and smaller units in the villages of El Paraíso and Morocelí
Morocelí
Morocelí is a municipality in the Honduran department of El Paraíso.The town houses a cigar factory operated by Nestor Plasencia....
.
Plasencia is closely associated with the cigar-making Oliva family
Oliva Cigar Co.
Oliva Cigar Co. the manufacturer of several brands of cigars primarily grown and produced in Nicaragua and sold worldwide. The family-owned company traces its roots to patriarch Melanio Oliva, who began growing tobacco in Pinar del Río, Cuba in 1886...
, with Cuban émigré Gilberto Oliva, Sr. having served as manager of Plasencia's Moroceli factory, opened in 1991.
The output of Plasencia's factories experienced steady growth from 1 million cigars in 1986 to approximately 33 million just ten years later. The Plasencia factories are responsible for the manufacture of cigars for 30 or more labels, including products for J.R. Tobacco, Swisher International, and Rocky Patel.
During the middle 1990s, about 70 percent of the tobacco used in Plasencia-made cigars came from his own Honduran and Nicaraguan fields, with the remainder purchased on the market. Both Connecticut-seed and Cuban-seed is used in Plasencia's fields.
Today Plasencia is regarded by many as "one of the foremost tobacco experts in the world." In 2000 he told Smoke magazine:
"Anyone who tells you they know everything there is to know about tobacco is either a liar or a fool. There are so many variables, so much is left to nature, that we can’t know or control everything. But we must control what we can to the best of our abilities."
Family
Nestor Plasencia, Sr.'s American educated son, Nestor Junior, is today actively involved in the family business.Some cigars made by Plasencia
- 5 Vegas: Classic, Gold, Gold Maduro, Cask Strength
- Alec Bradley: Harvest 97, Maxx
- Casa Magna
- Cu Avana: Intenso
- Cuba Libre
- Gurkha: Avenger G5
- El Mejor: Emerald, Espresso
- Nestor: Reserve
- Padilla: Obsidian
- Rocky Patel: Connecticut, Decade, Edge, Sun Grown, Renaissance
External links
- Gary Korb, "Interview with Nestor Plasencia, Jr.," Yuma Cigars, 2005. yumacigars.com/ Retrieved October 25, 2010.