The final day is simple: wake up, eat, go to the airport in Managua. And with that, the Nicaraguan cigar festival is over. It’s incredible to see the growth of Puro Sabor compared to where it was two years ago, let alone where it was before that: when multiple members of the organization were strongly opposed to the concept of a Nicaraguan cigar festival due to how poorly the first two had gone. In short, they were embarrassed. Not only is there nothing to be embarrassed about, there’s a lot to be proud about. Puro Sabor 2017 is worth attending next year and given the supply issues with hotel rooms this year, my guess is it might actually sell out due to capacity restrictions. There were many first time attendees to the festival this year, new members, new industry folk and new guests—all of them seemed pleasantly surprised by just how well run the festival was. That’s a testament to Juan Ignacio Martínez, the Asociación Nicaragüense de Tabacaleros’s new head, Nestor Andrés Plasencia, who oversaw the organization during the last two festivals, and Maximiza, the event coordinator whose fingerprints can be seen all over the festival. More importantly, it’s a testament to the ...
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