Arturo Fuente cigars are not only one of the finest cigars in the world, but they are also sources of inspiration for artists around the world. The Fuente family are storytellers and all of their products come from unique experiences and meetings.
In 2004, Andy Garcia started shooting his, now iconic, movie The Lost City, and one of the key scenes takes place at Chateau de la Fuente. He initially wanted to shoot there in July but since the plants are harvested in March it was not be possible to shoot.
Carlito Fuente was not going to let it happen and decided to plant tobacco during summertime to allow Garcia to shoot his key scene. Carlito planted a few acres of tobacco that allowed the scene to be shot in the middle of 3-foot-high plants, ensuring the success of a scene that has become iconic.
After the movie was shot, the plants were harvested and Garcia remembers the scene pretty well. “When we finished shooting the scene, I asked Carlito what he was going to do with the tobacco,” Garcia recalled. “He said if the tobacco was good he’d use it. I suggested using it to make a cigar with the logo from The Lost City, and that the project would benefit his foundation.”
This led to the creation of The Lost City Scholarship Fund, an initiative created to provide college scholarships to the student who graduated from the Cigar Family High School.
The Cigar Family High School was initially planned to be a donation to add a wing onto an existing school and has grown into the 23-acre Cigar Family Complex. The Complex includes a primary and secondary school, a health center, an organic farming program as well as a sport and recreational facility. Through the Cigar Family Complex, children and families are being provided with the education, resources, and tools they need to help empower themselves to create opportunities for their future.
The Lost City tobacco leaves were aged for five years and even though they were planted and harvested off-season they ended up perfect. Boasting the celebrated complexity of the original Fuente Fuente OpusX wrapper and a character of their own. The medium-to-full body and complex and sophisticated flavors of the summer-grown wrapper make Fuente Fuente OpusX The Lost City a distinctive experience for any cigar connoisseurs, no matter what their taste or preference.
The Scholarship celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2014 and continues to fund the education of the Dominican youth. Hardships and challenges are part of the Fuente family’s history and they are using their experience and know-how and to build their legacy through benevolent actions.
Carlito and The Cigar Family Foundation are supporting many projects to raise money for their community and The Lost City is one of them. We at MrPINGLIFE were impressed by the foundation and will share with you more stories about their work in the near future.
