Last year, a prominent British retailer and friend of Rocky Patel reached out to the cigar maker. He needed a favor. There was a cigar roller based out of Cuba who did events all over the world, and he was looking to move his family to the U.S. The roller was Hamlet Jaime Paredes and the British retailer wanted to make sure that there was someone who could help get the roller and his family established in the U.S. Patel and Paredes hadn’t ever met, but Patel trusted his friend and when Paredes and his family arrived in Canada after leaving Cuba, Patel entered the picture. “As soon as he was in Canada, he called me,” said Patel to halfwheel. “I got a home in Naples for he and his family to live in. He started working at BURN (by Rocky Patel, a cigar bar.) After a while we allowed him to settle down and then he was working in the humidor in BURN for three to four months.” Paredes became one of the more prominent rollers in Cuba, known for his custom rolls. He spent times as the in-store roller at two factories in Cuba: Briones Montoto, the old Romeo y ...
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