Miguel Puldon: The Look at Tobacco

Miguel Puldon is no doubt a diehard chronicler of the habano festivals. Through the lens of his photographic camera, he takes shots of boldface names attending the gathering or many of the highlights within the shows.

Now his images have a space of their own during the 13th Festival, with silhouettes of naked bodies linked to the billowing smoke of a cigar, or factory façades, or snapshots of larger-than-life characters like Compay Segundo or Alejandro Robaina, plus many other elements that mark his presence and observation of the environment.

He admits he likes smoking cigars every so often, in special moments or during powwows with friends, when pleasure means all-out enjoyment. However, his biggest connection with Cuba’s premium cigars is precisely in the venues and meetings of the festival, and even long before that, in a brand commemoration, a moment that usually comes as an additional opportunity to take his shots.