In this report, I will provide a summary of Cigar Coop’s coverage of the Procigar Festival 2025. This post-game analysis offers a collection of key insights and reflections, presented in no particular order, to encapsulate the event’s highlights and overall experience.
Procigar is the best-run and executed national cigar festival in the world. It isn’t a multivendor event with tablecloths and cigar boxes. It’s a national festival that brings Dominican culture and cigars together. I am always amazed at the number of moving parts that make up this festival. Perhaps what impresses me most about Procigar is the festival’s continuous improvement from year to year.
(This author’s) Best Procigar to Date
This marks my fifth festival. Each year, I’ve been quite satisfied with the festival overall. This year, the 2025 festival took things to a whole new level. I can confidently say that this was the finest Procigar Festival I’ve experienced out of the five I’ve attended.
Some of the things we cover in-depth, but in general:
- There was more entertainment at the evening galas – particularly the gala auction night.
- The tours as a whole were better: better content, better organized
- Newer hotels
- The addition of a third day of tours replacing the Field Day
New Leadership
Last year, Procigar underwent some leadership changes. First, Agustín Fernández was hired as the new Executive Director. Second, Litto Gomez was selected as the new President, succeeding long-time President Henke Kelner. Procigar has always been a well-run organization, and the new leadership continued that model.
Agustin and his staff did an excellent job planning and executing this show, and I really didn’t see any hiccups. Litto brings passion and energy that is uniquely his own, and this enthusiasm positively impacts the entire festival. Each year, I often see Litto welcoming Procigar guests at the host hotel as they prepare to board the buses for the factory and farm tours. It’s one of those small details that stands out to me, and it adds a wonderful touch to the experience.
It also takes a great team and many hardworking people to help make this an event.
The Charity Auction
For the 2025 Charity Auction, Procigar reported that $451,650 was raised for various Dominican charitable organizations.
The amount raised this year was $451,000, a decrease from the $530,000 collected in 2024. This decline was certainly not due to a lack of effort from Procigar or its members. In fact, I thought the selection of items donated by the members for the auction was excellent. It’s always a challenge to surpass previous years’ totals. While it would have been great to break the record again, what matters most is that Procigar was able to raise a significant amount of money for charity.
Manuel “Manolo” Quesada of Quesada Cigars co-hosted the auction with Michael Herklots for many years. Now, with Manolo stepping down as President of Quesada Cigars, his daughter Raquel has taken on the co-hosting role. She did an excellent job collaborating with Herklots during the auction.
The auction is something truly special. Not only is it for a great cause, but the auctioned humidors are works of art. Plus, it does provide a competitive atmosphere for those who donate these items for a good cause. Michael Herklots, as the auctioneer, is simply fabulous as well. It’s not just Michael’s delivery that is great, but it’s his preparation. Last year, I spent time with Michael as he was preparing. I can tell you first hand it’s a major effort.
The New Hotels
The 2025 Festival saw some major changes to the host hotels. The Hodelpa Gran Almirante was replaced as the main host hotel with the new Marriott Residence Inn, and the AC Marriott was added as a hotel.
In general, the comments were positive about both new hotels. I stayed at the Residence Inn; it was clean and had very modern rooms. At the same time, there were three slight drawbacks. First, the Residence Inn lacked a hotel restaurant. That was one nice feature of the Gran Almirante (I enjoyed getting some late-night chiva. Second, many industry people who came from the States did not stay at the new host hotels. This was an issue because it was nice to have a smoke with industry people at the hotel. Finally, while we could smoke on the third floor patio, it also was closed at night, so it made a late night smoke difficult. In fairness, the Gran Almirante also closed their roof patio at night.
On the other hand, the Marriott Residence Inn hosted the Warm Up Reception and the Blending Seminar. We were able to smoke easily at both of these events.
Several attendees told Cigar Coop positive things about the AC Marriott, including its close proximity to the Monumento a los Heroes de la Restauracion (where the White Party was held). In the end, the pluses of the hotel changes still outweighed the minuses.
A Third Day of Factory/Farm Tours
The past few years have seen a “Field Day” on the morning/afternoon of the final day of Procigar. This year, Field Day was axed in favor of another day of farm/factory tours.
For the past few years, Field Day has taken place at the La Aurora farm. It 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.
While I really liked the Field Day concept, I believe having a third day for factory tours was more beneficial.
This puts a wrap on our 2025 Procigar Festival coverage. I believe we brought the most in-depth coverage ever to this festival. Thank you for coming along for the journey, and thanks to Procigar for their support! For complete coverage, visit Procigar Festival 2025’s Coverage Hub.
Photo/Video Credits: Cigar Coop
