Welcome to the Procigar Festival 2024 Pre-Game Report! We are excited to once again bring you coverage of the Dominican Republic’s premier festival. Procigar Festival 2024 is split between two cities: La Romana (February 18-20, 2024) and Santiago (February 20-23, 2024, both in the Dominican Republic. We will be covering it all. In fact, this year, we will bring you our most coverage to date! This will be the fourth year Cigar Coop is covering the festival, and the first year we are bringing you coverage from La Romana.

The Basics

Procigar is an organization of cigar manufacturers based in the Dominican Republic.

The following are the 12 active members of Procigar:

• Arnold André
• De Los Reyes Cigars
• General Cigar Dominicana
• La Aurora
• La Flor Dominicana
• Oettinger Davidoff
• PDR Cigars
• Quesada Cigars
• Tabacalera Arturo Fuente
• Tabacalera de Garcia
• Tabacalera La Alianza
• Tabacalera Palma

Each year, the group puts on a festival combining farm and factory tours, seminars, and gala evening events. It is directed toward end-consumers and is usually held in February. It is one of three major festivals in the cigar industry, with the others being Festival del Habano (Cuba) and Puro Sabor (Nicaragua).

If you oversimplify the cigar industry, you can divide the industry into two major categories…..production (including agriculture) and distribution. Most cigar events in the U.S. come from the distribution side. The company sales teams are often involved with these types of cigar events. The three major festivals are more focused on the production end of things. You won’t see a lot of salespeople but will get to meet some of the people who handle cigar growing.

There are not many products that debut at Procigar, but some companies have used this platform to do launches. This is the 16th edition of the festival, and Procigar estimates over 1,000 people will be in attendance from 20 different countries.

Factory and Farm Tours

The following is the list of companies hosting factory and farm tours. Attendees can go on one of these tours on Wednesday, February 21, and one on Thursday, February 22. All tours take place during the Santiago portion of the Procigar Festival 2024. The one exception is Tabacalera de Garcia, which takes place on February 20 in La Romana.

• Arnold Andre
• Chateau de la Fuente/Cigar Family Charitable Foundation and House of Dreams. *
• Davidoff (Farm and Factory- Separate tours)
• De Los Reyes Cigars (Factory and Farm Tour) *
• General Cigar (Farm and Factory – Separate Tours)
• La Aurora(Factory)
• La Flor Dominicana (Factory and Farm) *
• Montecristo (Altadis – Farm Tour)
• PDR Cigars (Factory)
• Quesada Cigars (Factory)
• Tabacalera A. Fuente (Factory)
• Tabacalera de Garcia (Altadis – February 20, La Romana Portion)
• Tabacalera La Alianza (E.P. Carrillo – Factory)
• Tabacalera Palma (Factory and Farm)

Evening Events

• 2/18 Dinner at Lago Grill (La Romana)
• 2/19 Dinner at Cocomar – Minitas Beach (La Romana)
• 2/20 Welcome Reception (Santiago)
• 2/21 Welcome Dinner Party at Parque Central de Santiago
• 2/22 White Dinner Party at Monumento a los Héroes de la Restauración
• 2/23 Gala Dinner Party at Centro Español

Field Day

Once again, ProCigar will be hosting. “Field Day” on Friday, 2/23. This is being hosted at a tobacco field. This is similar to the multivendor events that we are used to in the States. This includes cigars, food, music, and interactive games and activities. It provides another opportunity for attendees to interact with Procigar manufacturers outside of the factory/farm visits and gala.

Tobacco Seminar

Procigar is hosting a tobacco seminar on Wednesday, 2/21, following that day’s factory and farm tour. The topic will be the influence of a cigar wrapper. It will feature Manuel Quesada, President of Quesada Cigars, David Perez, CEO of ASP Tobacco, and Michael Herklots, co-owner of Ferio Tego.

For full Procigar 2024  coverage, see our Procigar 2024 Coverage Hub