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Fonseca is the name of two premium cigar brands, one produced in Cuba, and the other produced in Nicaragua for two different companies.

History

Its founder, Don Francisco E. Fonseca was born in Manzanillo, Cuba, in 1868 (there are variations in birth years across documents). In 1892, he established both a factory and his cigar brand in Havana. He officially registered the brand under his name in 1907. Fonseca, accompanied by his wife Teresa Boetticher de Fonseca, later immigrated to New York. By 1903, Fonseca was overseeing a factory at 169 Front Street. He attained American citizenship in 1895.

Around 1905, the registry of cigar factories documented F.E. Fonseca & Co.'s presence at a new location: 129 Duane Street, situated in Tribeca. Meanwhile, Fonseca maintained a residence at 48 West 73rd Street in New York, where he and Teresa raised their four children, three of whom were named Francisco. Despite his residency in the United States, Fonseca regularly journeyed to Cuba to oversee his tobacco factory, "F.E. Fonseca. Fábrica de Tabacos y Cigarros."^[1] Fonseca cigars quickly became a success. Besides having a reputation for selecting the finest quality tobacco, Don Francisco developed an innovative method of packaging his cigars, wrapping each one separately in a tube of tin foil, and then an outer covering of fine Japanese paper, to shield the cigar from atmospheric changes^[2] (They are still packaged this way today, with the tubes now usually made of aluminum foil instead of tin). After Don Francisco's premature death of a heart attack in Havana in 1929,^[1] his wife Teresa continued the business and merged the brand with T. Castañeda and G. Montero to form the firm of Castañeda, Montero, Fonseca SA.

Production continued uninterrupted after the revolution and the cigars are still produced at the Lázaro Pena Factory in Havana. As a cigar brand, Fonseca is relatively mild by most aficionados' standards, sells for cheaper than most other Cuban cigar brands, and is marketed mostly in Spain and Canada, where the brand is particularly popular.

Vitolas in the Fonseca Line

The following list of Vitolas de Salida (commercial Vitolas) within the Fonseca marque lists their size and ring gauge in imperial (and metric), their "Vitolas de galera" (factory Vitolas), and their common name in American cigar slang. All are hand-made, long-filler cigars with the exception of the Delicias, which use short-filler tobacco.

Hand-Made Vitolas

Cosaco - 53⁄8" × 42 (137 × 16.67 mm), Cosaco, a corona
Delicia - 47⁄8" × 40 (124 × 15.88 mm), Standard, a petit corona
No. 1 - 63⁄8" × 44 (162 × 17.46 mm), Cazador, a lonsdale
KDT Cadete - 41⁄2" × 36 (114 × 14.29 mm), Cadete, a short panetela

Cultural references

Spanish poet Federico García Lorca mentions the “blond head of Fonseca” (la rubia cabeza de Fonseca), along with “the pink of Romeo y Julieta” in his poem “Son de negros en Cuba” (Poet in New York).

References

^ ^a ^b "F. E. Fonseca Dies in Havana". The New York Times. October 26, 1929. p. 17. "Francisco E. Fonseca, cigar manufacturer, president of F. E. Fonseca & Co., died Wednesday [October 23] in Havana. He was born in Cuba in 1868. A widow, three sons and two daughters survive."
^ Gill, William (1910). Havana cigars: A comprehensive and descriptive account of this world-famous industry from the earliest times to the present day. Havana, Cuba. p. 42.

External links

Hyman, Tony. "Cigar History, 1910-1960 Archived 2013-06-18 at the Wayback Machine". National Cigar Museum. nationalcigarmuseum.com
Hyman, Tony. "Cigar History Museum Library Bibliography". cigarhistory.info
Official website of Habanos S.A.
Cuban Cigars for Sale
Fonseca Cigars Reviews

[nyt-obit-1] "F. E. Fonseca Dies in Havana". The New York Times. October 26, 1929. p. 17. "Francisco E. Fonseca, cigar manufacturer, president of F. E. Fonseca & Co., died Wednesday [October 23] in Havana. He was born in Cuba in 1868. A widow, three sons and two daughters survive."

[2] Gill, William (1910). Havana cigars: A comprehensive and descriptive account of this world-famous industry from the earliest times to the present day. Havana, Cuba. p. 42.

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 [[File:FE Fonseca.tif|thumb|Don Francisco E. Fonseca]]
-'''Fonseca''' is the name of two brands of [[cigar|premium cigar]], one produced on the island of [[Cuba]] for [[Habanos SA]], the Cuban state-owned [[Tobacco smoking|tobacco]] company, and the other produced in [[Nicaragua]] by [[Don Pepin Garcia]]'s My Father Cigar brand.
+'''Fonseca''' is the name of two [[cigar|premium cigar]] brands, one produced in [[Cuba]], and the other produced in [[Nicaragua]] for two different companies.
 <!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Fonseca logo.jpg|thumb|The Fonseca logo]] -->
 ==History==
-Don Francisco E. Fonseca was born in [[Manzanillo, Cuba]], in 1868<ref name="nyt-obit">"F. E. Fonseca Dies in Havana". ''[[The New York Times]]''. October 26, 1929. p.&nbsp;17. "Francisco E. Fonseca, cigar manufacturer, president of F. E. Fonseca&nbsp;&amp; Co., died Wednesday [October 23] in Havana. He was born in Cuba in 1868. A widow, three sons and two daughters survive."</ref> (or possibly 1869 or 1870; the documents differ) and established a factory and his own cigar brand in [[Havana]] in 1892. He registered the brand bearing his name in 1907. Fonseca and his wife Teresa Boetticher de Fonseca immigrated to New York and by 1903, Fonseca was operating a factory at 169 Front Street. He became an American citizen in 1895 and by 1905 the registry of cigar factories lists F.E. Fonseca & Co. in a new location: 129 Duane Street (court documents specify 148-150-152 Duane Street, in Tribeca). In New York, at his home at 48 West 73rd St., he and Teresa raised four children - three of whom he named Francisco. Fonseca made frequent trips to Cuba, where he supervised “F.E. Fonseca. Fábrica de Tabacos y Cigarros.”
+Its founder, Don Francisco E. Fonseca was born in [[Manzanillo, Cuba|Manzanillo]], [[Cuba]], in 1868 (there are variations in birth years across documents). In 1892, he established both a factory and his cigar brand in [[Havana]]. He officially registered the brand under his name in 1907. Fonseca, accompanied by his wife Teresa Boetticher de Fonseca, later immigrated to [[New York City|New York]]. By 1903, Fonseca was overseeing a factory at 169 Front Street. He attained [[American citizenship]] in 1895.
-Fonseca cigars quickly became a success. Besides having a reputation for selecting the finest quality tobacco, Don Francisco developed an innovative method of packaging his cigars, wrapping each one separately in a tube of [[tin foil]], and then an outer covering of fine [[Washi|Japanese paper]], so as to shield the cigar from atmospheric changes<ref>Gill, William (1910). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=OHtNAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA42 Havana cigars: A comprehensive and descriptive account of this world-famous industry from the earliest times to the present day]''. Havana, Cuba. p.&nbsp;42.</ref> (They are still packaged this way today, with the tubes now usually made of [[aluminum foil]] instead of tin). After Don Francisco's premature death of a heart attack, in Havana, in 1929,<ref name="nyt-obit"/> his wife Teresa continued the business and merged the brand with T. Castañeda and G. Montero to form the firm of Castañeda, Montero, Fonseca SA.
+Around 1905, the registry of cigar factories documented F.E. Fonseca & Co.'s presence at a new location: 129 Duane Street, situated in [[Tribeca]]. Meanwhile, Fonseca maintained a residence at 48 West 73rd Street in [[New York City|New York]], where he and Teresa raised their four children, three of whom were named Francisco. Despite his residency in the United States, Fonseca regularly journeyed to Cuba to oversee his tobacco factory, "F.E. Fonseca. Fábrica de Tabacos y Cigarros."<ref name="nyt-obit">"F. E. Fonseca Dies in Havana". ''[[The New York Times]]''. October 26, 1929. p.&nbsp;17. "Francisco E. Fonseca, cigar manufacturer, president of F. E. Fonseca&nbsp;&amp; Co., died Wednesday [October 23] in Havana. He was born in Cuba in 1868. A widow, three sons and two daughters survive."</ref> Fonseca cigars quickly became a success. Besides having a reputation for selecting the finest quality tobacco, Don Francisco developed an innovative method of packaging his cigars, wrapping each one separately in a tube of [[tin foil]], and then an outer covering of fine [[Washi|Japanese paper]], to shield the cigar from atmospheric changes<ref>Gill, William (1910). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=OHtNAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA42 Havana cigars: A comprehensive and descriptive account of this world-famous industry from the earliest times to the present day]''. Havana, Cuba. p.&nbsp;42.</ref> (They are still packaged this way today, with the tubes now usually made of [[aluminum foil]] instead of tin). After Don Francisco's premature death of a heart attack in Havana in 1929,<ref name="nyt-obit"/> his wife Teresa continued the business and merged the brand with T. Castañeda and G. Montero to form the firm of Castañeda, Montero, Fonseca SA.
 Production continued uninterrupted after the [[Cuban Revolution|revolution]] and the cigars are still produced at the Lázaro Pena Factory in Havana. As a cigar brand, Fonseca is relatively mild by most aficionados' standards, sells for cheaper than most other Cuban cigar brands, and is marketed mostly in [[Spain]] and [[Canada]], where the brand is particularly popular.
@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 ===''Vitolas'' in the Fonseca Line===
-The following list of Vitolas de Salida (commercial Vitolas) within the Fonseca marque lists their size and ring gauge in imperial (and metric), their Vitolas de galera (factory Vitolas), and their common name in American cigar slang. All are hand-made, long-filler cigars with the exception of the Delicias, which use short-filler tobacco.
+The following list of Vitolas de Salida (commercial Vitolas) within the Fonseca marque lists their size and ring gauge in imperial (and metric), their "Vitolas de galera" (factory Vitolas), and their common name in American cigar slang. All are hand-made, long-filler cigars with the exception of the Delicias, which use short-filler tobacco.
 ''Hand-Made Vitolas''
@@ Line 43: / Line 43: @@
 * Hyman, Tony. "[http://cigarhistory.info/Site/Bibliography.html Cigar History Museum Library Bibliography]". cigarhistory.info
 * [http://www.habanos.com Official website of Habanos S.A.]
+* [https://dutyfreecubancigars.com/ Cuban Cigars for Sale]
 * [http://www.cigars-review.org/cigars/Fonseca.htm Fonseca Cigars Reviews]