Menendez Amerino History
Everything began in the 1930s, when Alonso Menendez, together with José Manuel Garcia Gonzalez, founded Menendez Garcia Ltda. in Cuba. Their rise in cigar making was marked by the creation of the Montecristo brand, a name that endures today as one of the world's most iconic premium cigars. Years later, the family expandedfurther by acquiringH. Upmann, establishing themselves as Cuba's leading cigar producers and exporters.
History shifted dramatically in 1959 with the fall of Fulgencio Batista. When Fidel Castro came to power, the Cuban economy was nationalized, and by 1960 the Menendez family's factory and assets were seized. Exile became their only option. Relocating to the Canary Islands, Spain, Alonso and his sons, Benjamin and Félix, founded Cía. Insular Tabacalera, determined to carry forward the cigar-making tradition that had begun in Cuba.
In 1961, the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba prevented the family from accessing Cuban tobaccos, forcing them to seek raw materials from other origins. It was then that Alonso Menendez discovered the tobacco of Bahia, Brazil.
