Deep in Havana's affluent Miramar district, at the top of a small hill, sits an architectural paradox: an opulent, palm-fringed mansion that houses a cigar factory.

Its name, El Laguito ("The Little Lake"), is humble. But within its walls, a revolution was ignited—not with guns, but with tobacco. In 1966, Fidel Castro transformed this former sugar baron's home into a top-secret factory, establishing the Escuela de Torcedoras (School of Women Cigar Rollers) and creating a secretive monument to female craftsmanship that would change the global cigar industry forever.

This is the story of how women's hands built the world's most coveted cigar.

 From Mansion to Manuscript

Before it became the birthplace of Cohiba, El Laguito was the exclusive social club for Cuba's wealthy elite. The mansion was originally built by sugar magnate Alberto Casimiro Fowler and his wife, overlooking a natural lake.

In 1959, Castro's government seized the property. By 1966, it had been stripped of its chandeliers and ballgowns, repurposed into something the world had never seen before. Revolutionary heroine Celia Sánchez personally selected the site, not as a standard industrial facility, but as a training ground for an unprecedented mission.

Key Figures:

 The Accidental Discovery: The Birth of the Legend

The Cohiba brand was born from a chance encounter. In the early 1960s, Castro's chief bodyguard, Bienvenido "Chicho" Perez, casually offered him a cigar. It was an unbranded, private roll made by a friend for personal enjoyment. That friend was Eduardo Rivera, and he worked at a modest factory called La Corona. The cigar's aroma and flawless construction stunned Castro.

Soon after, Rivera was secretly crafting hundreds of cigars for Castro in his own apartment, working under the constant, paranoid fear of CIA infiltration. By 1966, Castro's demand had grown so much that a dedicated, more secure facility was needed—and El Laguito was born. The name Cohiba, derived from the Taino Indian word for the tobacco rolls practiced by Cuba's original inhabitants, was chosen at Sánchez's suggestion.

 When Women Do the Work Better

Before El Laguito, women were generally barred from the most skilled cigar-making roles; their primary function was in the lower-paid menial work of stripping leaves or sorting piles, but never shaping the final product. When Rivera was planning the factory, Sánchez famously asked him who made the better cigars—men or women. His answer was a turning point: women worked more cautiously and with greater precision.

This single answer made El Laguito the first factory in Cuba to be staffed entirely by women. The initial 20 torcedoras were selected by Sánchez herself from the daughters and relatives of trusted revolutionaries. Today, over 70% of the 250+ workers are women, making El Laguito a unique powerhouse in a still largely male-dominated industry.

 The Holy Trinity: Roles & Responsibilities

In this exclusive environment, every worker had a specialized task, creating a "holy trinity" of female craftsmanship:

• Torcedoras (Rollers): The artists who blend the tripa (filler) and use a chaveta to perfectly bind and cap the cigar. Norma Fernández, one of the most famous, eventually rose to head of quality, personally tasting and approving every line of the exclusive Behike.

• Despalilladoras (Strippers): Responsible for removing the central vein or stem of the tobacco leaf, a delicate process that, if done incorrectly, can ruin the cigar's burn.

• Ligador (Master Blender): The rarest title in the room. While most factories keep blending a secret, El Laguito's master blender is the final gatekeeper. For over a decade, Carlos Perez was the only man in Cuba solely responsible for shaping the exact leaf mixture that defines the Cohiba profile.

 The Signature Cohiba Texture: The Third Fermentation

Unlike every other Habanos brand, Cohiba undergoes a distinctive and extra step known as "La Tercera Fermentacion" (The Third Fermentation). In this process, select filler leaves are aged in white oak barrels for 25 to 30 days. This additional fermentation dramatically reduces the ammonia and tannins in the leaf, resulting in the uniquely smooth, creamy, and richly aromatic experience that is the hallmark of a Cohiba.

💣 The 'Exploding Cigar' Paranoia: Security & Secrecy

The creation of Cohiba was not just about quality; it was about survival. Rumors of a CIA assassination attempt involving an exploding cigar forced Castro to consume only tobacco he knew was made by his most trusted, isolated hands. For years, production was a state secret, and the cigarettes were given exclusively as diplomatic gifts. Former French President Charles de Gaulle famously received a small batch in 1965, before the brand had a name, while smoking them unknowingly in the most secure room in Cuba.

 Going Public: The Fall of the Walls

For almost two decades, the product remained a secret weapon of statecraft. It wasn't until 1982, when Spain hosted the FIFA World Cup, that Castro finally authorized his private stash for commercial release.

Over the following decades, the blend grew in stature and complexity. A major turning point was 2010, with the launch of the Behike line, most notably the BHK 52, 54, and 56. It remains the most expensive, most sought-after regular-production cigar in the world, with a ritual for checking maturity that involves their lead quality controller being the only person who can sign off on their release.

 The Magic of a Mansion Floor

Today, the mansion feels less like a factory and more like a chapel of craftsmanship. The natural light from the mansion's formerly grand windows pours into the galera (rolling room), a stark contrast to the concrete warrens of other factories. Here, production peaks at nearly 2 million cigars annually.

After nearly 60 years, the hands shaping the perfect capa remain predominantly female. As Nelsa Leonar Delgado, a woman who joined at just 20 years old and is now 74, put it: "I don’t know if this factory is part of my life, or if I am part of this factory". That is the final, untold story of El Laguito—one where the lives of revolutionary women and the world's finest cigar are so intertwined that they have become indistinguishable.