“Cinco Décadas: The Rise of the Nicaraguan Cigar” is a beautiful book launched by Joya De Nicaragua at the 2018 InterTabac trade show on 22 September which celebrates the soul of Nicaragua and that of the people, past and present, of Joya De Nicaragua.
Cinco Décadas sheds light on the collective evolution of the Nicaraguan people, of the country, and the company through the lens of one singular product: the most Nicaraguan cigar, a product that has become a means to share that evolution with the world and has transformed the lives of thousands of Nicaraguans and millions of cigar lovers around the world.
“For many people, Nicaragua is a newcomer to the cigar world; but at Joya de Nicaragua we’ve always known how deep and rooted tobacco culture has been in our history and in our identity,” said Juan Ignacio Martinez, Executive President of Joya De Nicaragua.
“We wanted to demonstrate this to the world, but we wanted to do it in a remarkable way, one unlike any other cigar book out there. With Cinco Décadas our goal was to showcase the profound impact that tobacco and cigars have had in our country, in our people, our culture and in our future. It’s not a book about a person, or a family, or the process of making cigars. It’s book about all of those things.”
Over 204 expertly designed and illustrated pages, readers will hear from the people of Joya de Nicaragua in their own words, how they came to work for it; fight for it; love it. The pages of Cinco Décadas are a testament to those people that, filled with courage and hope, helped build this unparalleled institution.
Commissioned by Juan Ignacio Martinez with a handshake, Cigar Journal’s UK Editor Nick Hammond embarked on nearly two years of intense research before an interview-filled two week window in Nicaragua itself to deliver a touching, human story that transcends cigars.
“Being asked to write the story of Joya de Nicaragua was something of a dream come true,” said Nick. “To write of a cigar firm which has defied the odds to survive and thrive today. To write of a country which ceaselessly fights for a better life. And to write of the company owners – the Martinez family – whom I hold in the very highest regard. I’m very proud to have been involved in this remarkable project.”
The very complex political and social history of Nicaragua meant it was tough to find a line of narrative in the book which was both accurate, not overtly antagonising to the various points of view but yet remained easy to read and understand was intriguing, said Hammond. “People have devoted their lives to Joya De Nicaragua. The overwhelming emotion I encountered, and which I hope readers glean throughout the book’s pages, was of being humbled by people who have so little yet work so hard with such belief.”
“As we close the chapter of our first 50 years, we begin to write the story of the next five decades hand in hand with the story of our whole nation,” said Martinez.
The first edition of “Cinco Décadas: The Rise of the Nicaraguan Cigar” is published in English and will be translated to Spanish and other languages. It will be available in special Joya de Nicaragua events starting in October and in certain specialty shops around the world. Towards the end of the year, it will be available online.
