Pleasure, friendship and sharing...
... and the word is in Maya ...
Maya, originally an engineer, but after meeting Nestor Plasencia from Plasencia Cigars, started cigar production in 1994 and made a name for herself with the cigars she produced with her own name, Maya is the guest of SOTL interviews this time. He did not offend me and, despite his busy pace, he gave him the opportunity to have a short interview with him.
Saying that he has entered the cigar industry in order to establish a connection between Honduras and France, Maya says that he will enable him to travel to Honduras, his homeland he missed while living in France, and says that the cigar is invaluable for this business. After entering the industry, Maya, who is very successful as a woman in the world of men, says that the biggest obstacle she faces as a woman is to throw aside the fact that both the men in the industry and she are women. Now I'm asking about the ratio of men to women from his firm, “Men are slightly more, albeit slightly more. The ratio is about 59/41. However, every year, the proportion of women in the industry is increasing, and of course this is a pleasing event. ”He adds,“ They do this not by highlighting their gender, but by showing what they can contribute to the sector or their work. ”He adds.
So, what are Maya Selva Cigars doing to get women accustomed to the sector or to attract them?
"We celebrated International Women's Day this year with a series of activities that we started in Hong Kong, continued in Paris and ended in Tegucigalpa. We explained the sector to women as well as the cigar and cigar culture. Women, women, in a friendly atmosphere. , we both answered their questions and talked about the cigar is a culture, sharing, friendship and celebration. "
"I love my job very much and it takes all my time, so I don't have much time to do an extra hobby. However, I love reading literature and poetry and listening to music whenever I have time. Because I spend a lot of time on airplanes, I can find time while flying to do them," says Maya.
When I asked, "Do you have a special car for women, special wine for women so that I can produce special cigars?" I get a clear answer. Still, she mentions that when smoking cigars, women, unlike most men, care about the aromas they get from the cigar, not the hardness. He also adds that he saw that women were more open to experimenting with new cigars.
Maya Selva chooses Nicaragua, not the Dominican Republic, to produce cigars from different tobacco after Honduras. When I asked the reason for this; "When I gained my confidence in blending, I was given an opportunity from Nicaragua, which was slowly raising its economy and domestic political events. I also did not want to miss this opportunity. Unfortunately, I could not add the Dominican Republic to this equation because I could not spare time yet. But one. day, of course, I would also like to use their tobacco in my cigars. " he replied.
In the days when tobacco and tobacco products are under such pressure, we come to the question of what will be the fate of the cigar. He reminded that the Honduras Congress accepted the production of completely handmade cigars as a Cultural Heritage in 2016, and said that he has no doubt that other countries will recognize this craft, which has a history of 1500 years, in the same way.
So when does Maya like to smoke the most for pleasure? Stating that he prefers to smoke either in the factory or after dinner with his friends, Maya preferred the most vitola, which is a 48 x 7 cigar, which is roughly equivalent to a Churchill vitola. "Especially in Honduras, the cigars I smoke are a different pleasure." says Maya.
Maya Selva Cigars, in the near future plans, heralds the establishment of a new Limited Edition series, new vitolas and new sales points for the existing series.
Before I finish the interview, I ask him to describe his passion for cigars in three words; He replies "Time, taste and people (friendship)" and finally says, "Enjoy the cigar, be curious, share it with your friends and enjoy life."