International Stars at the Closing of the XVIII Habanos Festival

HAVANA, March 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

• Chucho Valdés, Estrella Morente and Jorge Drexler join this final celebration to pay tribute the Cohiba brand
• Up to 320.000 euros were raised in the auction of the first humidor of the exclusive special series "Cohiba 50 Aniversario"
• Juan Jesús Machín from Cuba won the "Maestro de Maestros" title in final of the XV International Habanosommelier Contest

Cuba was witness once again to the largest annual international event celebrating the Habano culture. The festival has come to an end with the celebration of the Gala Evening that paid tribute to the Cohiba brand on its 50th Anniversary, with exclusive tastings of its new releases. The gala hosted 1,200 guests that enjoyed live performances by Cuban pianist and composer, Chucho Valdes; the Spanish flamenco singer, Estrella Morente; and the Uruguayan singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler.

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This year the traditional humidor auction of seven collector items reached a total of 865.000€ that will be entirely donated to the Cuban Public Health System. This edition has been especially unique thanks to the auction of the first humidor (01/50) of the exclusive special series "Cohiba 50 Aniversario", which raised 320.000 euros. This humidor is an authentic work of art and a unique collector's item, and heralds a true innovation in terms of traditional craftsmanship and technical design and development.

During the evening, the "Maestro de Maestros" was chosen in the XV International Habanosommelier Contest. The winner was Juan Jesús Machín from Cuba. Luis Manuel García Urrea (United Arab Emirates) and Pedro Tejeda (Cuba) were runners-up in second and third place respectively.

Finally, the 20^th Edition of the Habanos Awards 2015 was held. Valerio Cornale received the award in the Communication category. Dominique Gyselinck was awarded in the category of Business and Manuel Tuero was the winner in the Production category.

This yearly event celebrating the world's finest tobacco has reached a milestone in its history, reuniting in its 18^th edition more than 2,000 participants from over 60 countries, who were able to see and experience the most significant global launches of Habanos first hand.

http://www.habanos.com

For further information for the press:
Habanos, S.A. :Daymi Difurniao ([e-mail]; Tel.: [phone], Ext. 565)
Young & Rubicam Group :Mónica Perpiñá-R. ([e-mail]; Tel.: [phone])

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