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For Long-term Success in the Family Biz, Look to Daughters (Feat. Raquel Quesada) | Box Press Ep. 51
Episode 5112th November 2021 • Box Press • Boveda Inc.
00:00:00 01:02:53

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When you share a cigar, you open up to each other. It’s no different for Raquel Quesada who  grew up in a cigar dynasty. She revealed some never-told stories to Boveda’s Rob Gagner over Quesada 1974 cigars at 2021 PCA in Las Vegas. 

Raquel talked openly about childhood hijinks; the least favorite training rotation of cigar operations; secret grows on the Quesada tobacco farm; and blending swaps she pulled on her dad, Manuel "Manolo" Quesada. As president and owner of the family-owned cigar factory, Manolo raised two strong daughters to succeed in the C-suite boy’s club of premium cigars. 

Highlights of the cigar conversation with Quesada include: 

  • Shaking her booty to Dance VXN (1:07)
  • Tweaking tobacco blends in dad’s cigar recipe (13:52)
  • Coloring a box of cigars for consistency (16:07)
  • Making your mark to get what you paid for (18:47)
  • Studying and working at a tobacco shop in Boston—a tropical girl in the snow (21:20)
  • Playing well with competitors strengthens the Dominican cigar industry (27:41)
  • Jamming in a band with Nirka Reyes, Abe Flores, Litto Gomez and “Henke” Kelner (30:21)
  • Being kids on a tobacco farm—Quesada exclusive (31:44)
  • Putting the Quesada name on a cigar for the first time with the Quesada 35th anniversary blend (38:16)
  • Hatching crazy ideas to expand the cigar brand—origin story of the of Quesada Oktoberfest (41:51)
  • How Raquel Quesada is similar to Manolo Quesada (46:44)
  • How Raquel Quesada is different than her dad (47:47)
  • Growing wrapper for an upcoming cigar release—Quesada exclusive (1:00:15) 

 

Quesada Cigars protects its premium cigars by packaging with Boveda. You can protect your cigars just like cigars makers. Preserve your passion with Boveda, makers of 2-way humidity control for cigars, easy seasoning for wood humidors, humidor bags and one-step hygrometer calibration kits. Shop Boveda for cigars here: https://store.bovedainc.com/collections/boveda-for-tobacco

Quesada Cigars is a family-owned Dominican cigar operation. Its best known brands are Quesada, Casa Magna, Heisenberg and Fonseca cigars. Learn more about Quesada Cigars http://quesadacigars.com/

Check Out More of Boveda Cigar Exclusives:

For My Humidor | Manuel Quesada (patriarch of Quesada Cigars)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR8Gkx47YQQ&t=10s

How Ferio Tego Cigars are Like Your Favorite Song (Feat. Michael Herklots) | Box Press Ep. 49

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYX2VJeHTjI

How to set up a new wood humidor with the Boveda Humidor Starter Kit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sub3mPJo1Tg&t=1s

Transcripts

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- I asked you what your favorite quote was.

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So I'm gonna read it.

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"Growth doesn't come with a single action.

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"It's a consequence of persistence, courage and hard work."

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So my question to you is how are you persistent?

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- Never giving up.

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- [Rob] Never give up.

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- Never give up, always there on the battle, in the battle

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and just giving the best of me for this

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to be the perfect one.

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- There's a story inside every smoke shop,

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with every cigar, and with every person.

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Come be a part of cigar lifestyle at Boveda.

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This is Box Press.

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(upbeat jazz hiphop)

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Welcome to another episode of Box Press.

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I'm your host, Rob Gagner.

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I'm here at PCA 2021 and I'm sitting down

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with Raquel Quesada of Quesada Cigars.

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Raquel, thank you for joining me.

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- Thank you, hi-- - Yes.

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- Rob, thank you for having me here.

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I'm very, very excited.

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- [Rob] I love it.

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- And I can't wait to see what today brings.

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- Exactly, great conversation,

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great company and great cigars.

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- Thank you, enjoy. - Yes.

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I have to ask what is Dance VXN?

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- Oh, that's like a dance that I do, it's just like,

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this girl in Miami, she came up with this dance.

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So, you know Zumba? - Yeah.

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- So it's pretty much like that, but more dancing.

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It's like a more sensual dance,

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but it's, it's not bad, it's okay.

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But I do that all the time and then it's become

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really popular worldwide.

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- [Rob] Sure.

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- And then there's specific teachers

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in each country, it's like-

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- [Rob] So do you teach it?

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- No, I don't teach it. - Okay.

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- I just take it, but then we have a really nice group

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in my town and then it's become really popular and people,

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every time I walk to even the bank or something,

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people like, "Oh, I saw you dancing."

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(Rob lightly laughing)

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- I'm like, "Okay, thank you.

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Because there's like- - How do they see you dancing?

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Through the club? - Because in the videos,

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yeah, my Instagram. - Oh, through the videos.

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- Yeah, you can watch that too. (loudly laughs)

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- Perfect, I didn't even think.

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- I am like a Zumba teacher.

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I got certified and everything.

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But on this one my knees are not good anymore,

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and it's a lot of, it's hard work.

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- Right.

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Zumba is, but this one's not?

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Or this one is?

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- This one is harder.

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- [Rob] Oh wow.

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- Yeah, on your knees and on your, specific muscles,

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- [Rob] Sure.

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- Because you do a lot of dancing, I guess. (softly laughs)

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- I danced competitively when I was

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from third grade until high school.

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- Really? - Yeah.

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- [Raquel] What did you dance for?

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- It was like production,

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you would compete on a stage against everyone else.

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So it was like tap, jazz, hip hop-

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- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - Lyrical, the whole nine.

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- Really? - It's a lot of fun.

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- Oh my God, I love dancing.

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I think I was a dancer in my other life.

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- Yes, exactly. - I love it.

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- It hits like a rhythmic soulful, like-

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- Wow, yeah. - Real passionate.

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- For me, it's like, no stress.

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Just like the whole day you leave it behind

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and you just like, express yourself and just be you

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and have fun. - Exactly, exactly

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- Wow, it's amazing.

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- And it has no language barrier.

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- Exactly. - Which I love.

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- How come you just like, out of the blue,

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you just decided you wanted to dance?

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- No, my mom, my mom was like,

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"You should sign up for dance."

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And I was like, "Dancing is for girls."

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And then she brought me by the studio

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where they had pictures of boys,

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and I was like, "Uh,"

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and I made a bet with her or deal with her.

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I was like, "I'll do it,

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"but I'll only dance with the boys."

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- Okay, no girls. - And that lasted all

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of a year because then I was like-

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- Into it. - Finally got to

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that maturity level of like,

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"Oh, I do like girls and I- - Like the girls.

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- "Wanna dance with them." - With girls.

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- "Specifically with this one girl."

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- Yeah, exactly. (Raquel lightly laughing)

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So it got to be really contagious after that.

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Then it was like production after production,

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after production, and line and everything,

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it was a lot of fun. - And then when did you decide

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that you're not gonna do it anymore?

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- Well, I went all the way until I graduated high school,

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because that's basically what it is, right?

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It's just like another recreational activity

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for students to do.

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- Like a side thing.

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- Yeah, like a sport.

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- Okay, ah, instead of taking volleyball or like-

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- Exactly, instead of doing baseball, I did that.

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Well, I did baseball too, but I was heavy dance.

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It was five days a week,

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Weekends, you would do competitions.

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- [Raquel] Yeah, that's like when you're like an athlete.

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- Yeah, it was a lot of fun.

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Kept me out of trouble-

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- Exactly, exactly. - It made me do my homework-because I couldn't go to

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So procrastination was nipped in the bud right away.

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- Wow, my son's like that, he's like a professional,

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well, he's like a high-end golfer.

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He's young, but he's like focused.

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He's into training, no drinking, no going out.

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So that way it's like.

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- [Rob] So he wants to be on the PGA tour at some point.

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- Yeah, he has like next week,

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we're gonna go to Florida for a tournament.

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And then at the end of the month, he's gonna be playing

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for Dominican Republic team, golf team.

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- Wow. - Internationally.

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- So he's all in. - Yeah.

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- Is he always on the golf course?

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- Yeah, always, all day, all the time.

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And when he's done, he wants to go back again

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and then it's like big time.

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- So do you have to tell him to get his homework done

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before he goes golf?

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- [Raquel] He's a good student though.

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- Is he?

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- He's always like a straight-A student.

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- Sure.

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- That's the blessing.

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- Exactly, that's a blessing. - That's a huge blessing.

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- Especially in boys on this time of age, time.

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- [Rob] How old is he?

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- He's gonna be 14 next month.

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- [Rob] Okay, so he's just entering that phase of like-

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- But boys now, like when I was growing up,

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when I was 14, now when they're 12,

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they're already doing what I was doing when I was 15.

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So there are really ahead of time.

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- [Rob] Right.

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- Because times are fast.

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So at the end, he's already, kids are drinking,

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and going to parties and doing all this.

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- So can they drink at that age in the D.R.?

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- They can't, but they can get it.

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- But they can get it. - They can get the drink.

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- Sure, just like everyone else in high school, it's like,

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you're not supposed to drink, but you can.

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- But do you know what?

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I was brought up in a family where you could smoke

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and that ended up in drinking, too.

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- [Rob] Sure.

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- So it was, it was fine.

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My dad, I mean the cigars were all there.

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The drinking was all there.

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So for me, there wasn't like a barrier of,

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"No, you can't drink, oh, no, you can't smoke."

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So, "Oh, you want to, go ahead," you know?

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So for me, with my son, I did the same.

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I mean, if you wanna, let's do it with me.

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- [Rob] Yes.

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- Go, come here and we'll do it together.

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- And educated. - Yeah.

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- I gotta ask, growing up in a cigar family,

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you said cigars were out, the alcohol was out, you learned-

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- Everything was out.

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- So do you have like some unwritten rule as family members?

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Like, "We're not gonna talk about cigars,"

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at certain points, or at certain areas?

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- Well, that was a little tough.

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We tried to do the rule,

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but we ended up breaking the rule.

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- [Rob] Sure, and what was the rule?

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Like while you're at home?

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- It's like, yeah, while we're home or,

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like Sundays were like family lunch, always.

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So we decided if it's Saturday, you can talk about it,

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but Sunday, it's like, really, you can't talk about it.

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But then we always ended up breaking the rule.

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And then my mom ended up being like really sad about it.

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It's like, "Oh, we talked about it,

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"we said we're not gonna do it

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"and you always end up doing this."

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But you know, it's inevitable, you can't.

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With my dad, it's like, there was always something he,

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"Oh, remember me a Monday that I have to do this and this,"

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or, "Remember me that the blend that I did last week,

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"I need to tweak it," and I'm like,

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and then I used to take notes.

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- Yeah, exactly, yeah, okay,

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I guess I'm just gonna be your secretary today.

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- Exactly. - I love it.

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- So at the end we always ended up talking about,

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and then my dad is so passionate about it that,

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he can't, it was always

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cigars, cigars- - It's what you're

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always doing. - Tobacco, yeah.

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So me and my sister, we were always on that.

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- I love that.

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So you try to set some boundaries,

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but at the end of the day, if you break 'em,

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no one's really upset.

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- [Raquel] No, just my mom.

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(softly laughing) - Yeah, just your mom,

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just your mom. - Because then we were all

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part of the team, just but her.

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- Yeah, she's like feeling out of the loop, I bet.

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- Yeah, totally, always.

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- Really?

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- She was always like out of the loop.

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So she was always a little,

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but then we went back to the topics

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of just regular things, and then back to tobacco,

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and then back to family and then back and forth,

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back and forth.

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- [Rob] Sure, does she like being out of the loop?

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Is that like refreshing to her?

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- I don't know, I think at times she wanted to be in it,

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but then at times she was just,

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"Well, just do your thing,

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"and enjoy your thing," and that's it.

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You know, Dominican families, or Cubans, or,

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we're all like so mixed,

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but the mom is always more on the side.

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But then my dad had only girls, so he had no options.

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He had to like get us in the loop.

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- [Rob] Wow, yeah.

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- And at that time they told him we were gonna be boys.

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Because there was like no technology or anything.

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So my room was all blue-

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- Oh, no. - And I was gonna be Manuel.

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So then when I came in, it was Raquel. (loudly laughing)

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- Guess they were wrong. - I'm the oldest one.

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- Of how many?

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- Of two, two girls. - Of two, got it.

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- And then my sister was supposed to be another boy,

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and then it was another girl.

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- You think that doctor was just like trying

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to say what they wanted to hear?

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- [Raquel] I think so.

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- "I'm sure you just want to hear this."

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- Yeah, because, I don't know, but in Latin families,

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like boys are very important

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because they're the ones that are gonna be

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like taking over the family business or whatever.

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So for my dad, it was a little tough,

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but then I think throughout the years,

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he really realized that it was better

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to have girls on board.

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(loudly laughing) - Exactly.

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And now there's no longer that stigma

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that girls can't take over the family business.

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- No, not anymore, and let me tell you something.

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Throughout the years, he tapped me like in the back

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and said, "You know, I'm so proud of you."

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And that's, that was really big for me at some point.

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Because you work so hard and then,

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and then your dad that always wanted

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to have something different is really telling you,

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"I'm so proud of you," you know?

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- Yeah, that affirmation is huge as a kid.

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- It's huge. - And even still today.

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- Yeah, he still tells me though.

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- That's awesome.

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That's great. - He did like a few weeks ago.

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He tells me, "I'm so proud of you."

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And it's hard for a man to, at least in my culture.

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- Right, to be vulnerable- - To realize that.

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- And express that. - Yeah, and express, yeah.

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And for my dad, coming from,

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leaving Cuba so early in his stage of life

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and then his mother passed away

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when they got to Dominican Republic,

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and then he went to Vietnam,

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and all these events in his life, so hard.

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It's even harder to really express what he really feels.

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But then he, throughout the years, I mean,

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he was really, really, really like,

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"I'm so proud of you girls." - That's awesome.

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- I get goosebumps.

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- I bet, because it means a lot.

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- It does, it does, especially,

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you work so hard and you try to make him proud

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and someday he calls you out.

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Because he used to have this,

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when we were at the other factory,

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because we moved like 11 years ago

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from one free zone to the other.

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And he had this extension

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and a speakerphone on the whole factory.

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And he was like, "Raquel Quesada, 231."

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And you're like, your heart starts beating

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and it's like, "Oh my God, what did I do wrong?"

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And then you ran to see him

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and then he's just telling, "You know what?

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"Sit here and, I'm so proud of you."

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- He just wanted to tell you how proud he is of you.

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- [Raquel] Yup, yup.

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- That's great. - I know.

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- At least he knows to do it when he feels it, right?

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Because some people feel it and then don't express it.

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So that's perfect. - But I'm telling you,

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it's hard to express it,

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but when you're ready, you're ready.

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And then you just tell 'em.

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- [Rob] That's awesome.

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- So I do that with my son all the time.

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Because it's really important, you know?

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On your growing stage of life.

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- [Rob] Yes, and you just have the one son?

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- Boy, yes, Rodrigo. - One boy, nice.

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That's awesome.

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- He's gonna be 14 next month.

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- Congrats to him, let's go.

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- I know.

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- Let's go get on the PGA tour.

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- We'll see, like in a few years, I'll tell Rob.

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- Yes, yes, let's do it. - I told you.

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We talked about it.

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- I wanna go to the inaugural PGA opening-

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- Yes, and we'll celebrate with Quesada Cigars.

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- And we'll celebrate and we'll cheer him on.

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- And Boveda. - "We're very proud of you."

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(both lightly laughing)

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Love it. - Totally.

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- Speaking of being proud,

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you had shared with Ben when you did the live

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that you did a blend without your dad knowing.

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- [Raquel] Yes.

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- How difficult is it to try to do a blend

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without your dad who knows everything that's going

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on at the factory- - Oh, yes.

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- How did you keep that under wraps?

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- My dad, when you go blind tasting with him,

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you bring cigars and he knows.

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He knows like if this seed from this place

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and this thing, he knows.

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Like he tells you, "Oh, this is Carrillo '98

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"from this place."

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Or he, "This is Allure."

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Or, "This is Cuban seed grown," and whatever.

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And for me it was like this is very challenging.

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But one day, he always used to tell me,

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he used to write on a little piece of paper

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like, "Do this plan and then go

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"and then bring it to me when it's ready

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"in a few days," or whatever.

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Sometimes we'll do just like something fast,

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which is like no technique or anything,

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just like some cigars.

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But sometimes it was just like in a few days.

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So that day he gives me this little paper,

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just like usual and I leave.

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And then when I bring the cigars, I tweaked the whole thing.

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It's like, I put another tobacco in-

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- So you tweaked

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what he wanted. - The whole, what he wanted.

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- Was it even resembling the cigar blend

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that he wanted at all?

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- No.

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- What made you think that you could tweak it?

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- Well, because I was like, I was on it

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and I was doing a few things without him knowing,

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and I said, you know what?

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I'm just gonna, this is my thing and I'm gonna do it.

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So I just went, I tweaked it.

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So what I did was when I came back,

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I put the cigars on his table and ran.

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I just like, I literally left-

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- Out. - And disappeared,

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like David Copperfield.

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And in a few minutes or sometime,

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he starts again, on that speaker thing,

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he said, "Raquel Quesada to the,"

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and his voice, I don't know, it's really like, strong voice.

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So I'm like, oh my God, I'm in deep trouble.

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- "He knows that I tweaked it."

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- He knows that I changed the whole thing.

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So when I go in, I was like, "Yes?"

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You know, with my little face, good girl Raquel,

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because I was always a good girl.

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My sister was more of the-

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- The rebellion, yeah. - The rebel, yes.

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And I was always, you know.

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But that day I was rebellious.

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So he's like, "What did you do to this?

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"Did you change my blend, Raquel?

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"Are you serious, are you telling me?"

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I'm like, "I did."

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He's like, "You know what, I love it."

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- Oh, you lucked out, you lucked out.

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- So at the end, that cigar was Fonseca Cubano Limitado

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at that time, like many years ago.

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So the box came out with a sticker saying,

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Made by Raquel and Manolo Quesada.

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- I love it. - I know.

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It's really exciting, that was like my first thing

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that I did big on, you know?

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- I love it. - Blending.

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Because you know, like my dad always said

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you have to go through all the different stages

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because when you're in a department and somebody comes

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with a problem or something that happened,

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you really need to know what's going on.

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So you can either help them or make it better,

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or say "No, let's do it this way."

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At the end, I went from when I,

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because I had studied abroad for a few years.

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So then when I came back,

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I spent several months just in different departments,

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like doing this, like classifying tobacco,

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classifying wrapper.

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I remember classifying colors for me was so exhausting

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because you have all these different colors

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and all these different cigars that have to be shipped

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all in the same color in a box.

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Because in the factory, they're very,

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very rigorous with that.

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The boxes have to come out like-

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- Yeah, you don't want a lot of color variation in one box.

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It'll look bad.

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- And then the cigars have to be all on the same,

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rolled in the same way,

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and you'd have to so many different quality things.

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So at the end for me was exhausting.

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I used to be like, "Do I have to be here for so long?"

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"I don't want to, can you just let me leave?"

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"No, no," and let me tell you something.

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Now I go on the shipping department

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and I see the lady on the table with the cigars

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and I could be really far away and I would go like,

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"This out, this gone, this here."

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And I really appreciate what he did

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because now I know the importance of that.

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And at the time it was like,

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"Oh my God, it's really exhausting."

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And it was frustrating because you can't, it's not easy.

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I mean, it's like, because when you have

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seven hours working that-

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- Mentally exhausting. - You get all mixed.

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Exhausted, and then, but now I go and I'm like so fast.

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- Yeah, you can't learn it unless you do it.

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- Unless you struggle there.

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- Yeah, exactly, yeah. - For a few days, or weeks.

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So I did, I even rolled cigars.

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I'm not good at it, but I can roll the cigars

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and do the bunch and everything.

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I like more bunching than rolling

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because they have to have a lot of crafting on your hands.

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If you're not born with that, it's a little tough.

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But I can do it, but it's not my specialty.

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- Yeah, exactly, exactly.

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- But so I did all the department's things.

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But at the end, I ended up doing the,

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I ended up in production for a few years

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and I bought the tobacco,

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and I was with the cigar makers for a few years,

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and that was something that I really enjoyed.

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And I also have like another story with the supplier of one

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of the fillers that we had that my dad always used to go,

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but then when I started, then I used to go.

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And he used to call my dad's like,

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"Please don't send her back.

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"I'm gonna go bankrupt."

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Because I used to go and put all the bales

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on a different line and I used to, with a Sharpie,

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mark all the ones that I wanted with my initials on.

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- [Rob] Love it.

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- And he was like, "Don't, don't send her back

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"Because she's gonna-

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- [Rob] He didn't wanna deal with it.

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- I know, because I always just take the best ones.

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And he's like, "Oh, you don't want the bad ones,

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"you only want the good ones."

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So I was like, I started marking all my bales

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and putting all my initials and I was like,

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so when I received my tobacco,

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I had all my bales marked.

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- "No switching out my bales." - No switching my bales.

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- That's right.

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- So that's something I really enjoy.

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I love that, that part of the-

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- That's awesome.

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- That was like one of my stages.

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I've been in the factory for 21 years, so.

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- [Rob] You've been in the factory for 21 years.

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- 21 years. - Holy cow.

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Yeah, I'm a baby still, but it's been 21.

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- So growing up in a tobacco family,

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at what point in your life did it click

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that your dad or your family's different

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than other families

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because of the global impact your brand has?

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- Let me tell you something, Rob,

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I think when you're born in this type of family,

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I think you realizes from the very beginning.

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- Really? - I mean,

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when I saw my grandfather smoking in the car

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with the windows up and it wasn't even bothering me,

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I said, you know what?

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I'm in, and this is no turning back.

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And let me tell you something, if you don't love it,

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you can't be in it because it's tough.

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I mean, smoking all day, being in the warehouses,

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being in the fermentation process.

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And my dad, I mean, we used to be like,

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he loves talking inside all these heated

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(softly laughing)

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rooms and I'm like, "Can we talk outside?"

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"No, we're gonna talk here."

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I'm like, "Okay, I was just suggesting."

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No, so, being a girl, your hair and your clothing

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and everything, it's like,

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but for me it's like,

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it's a legacy that I inherited it

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and I'm really proud of it.

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And I'm here until, I get so many opportunity

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to keep on telling the world that I'm happy about it

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and I'm very proud of it.

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- And you also did, so you talked about going stateside

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for some schooling at BA in Boston.

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- [Raquel] That was exciting.

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- Boston is my favorite city.

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- Oh, no, after me.

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- In, yeah, yeah, yeah.

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That is such an easy city to get around in.

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- [Raquel] Oh my god, I love.

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- I've got a good buddy who lives up on the Brookline,

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the Green Line, it's a great area.

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- [Raquel] The Green Line, yeah, yeah, yeah and it's very

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easy to get around. - I have to ask,

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did you ever eat Emack & Bolio's ice cream?

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The ice cream,

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so it's like a very '70s themed shop-

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- [Raquel] Oh, God, I missed it, I have to go back then.

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- Oh, yeah, and they would take a waffle cone

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and run the outside around the rim in marshmallow

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and then stick cereal to it

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like Fruit Loops, or- - Oh my God.

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- [Raquel] Lucky Charms, I can imagine.

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- Yeah, anything. - I'll die.

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- And then amazing ice cream inside.

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- Really?

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- It's my best, it's-

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- There's like a specific place that you go?

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- It's called Emack & Bolio's.

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- And Bolio's.

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- It's named after two homeless guys.

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- Where's it at though?

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- It's just in Boston, all over,

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kinda like just like a pop-up little ice cream shop.

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- Because I remember Ben & Jerry's was everywhere.

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There's a few things that were everywhere.

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- It's kind of real local to the Boston area.

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I mean they have franchises- - Oh, but I was there,

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I was there for four years, so.

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But I have to go back then and try it.

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- Yeah, try Emack & Bolio's, you'll love it.

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- You know, I didn't want to come back from Boston,

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but then my dad said one day,

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'Either you come back or you're on your own."

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And I was like, "Okay." - "Okay, I'll come back."

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- I think I'm packing my bags and leaving now.

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- [Rob] You wanted to stay though.

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- Yeah, well, I went for just one year

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and I stayed for four years.

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- How did you eke out another four years on that?

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- Well, you know- - Did you tell Dad,

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"I gotta do this- - We're girls

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and we get around. - "I gotta do this,

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"I gotta keep doing this." - "Well, there's a really

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"good opportunity on this program,

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"at this university."

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- Yeah, you were working it hard.

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It's a great town to be. - Yeah, oh my God, I have-

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- I love it.

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- Amazing friends from that time that I still,

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we get together and I really connected,

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from a lot of different countries,

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like Venezuela and Colombia and all these places,

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Costa Rica, and we're still friends.

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And now with all the social media, it's even better.

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We're so connected.

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- When you first arrived to Boston,

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what was the most shocking thing that you experienced?

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- The weather, oh my God.

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- [Rob] Oh, really, was it cold?

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- Oh my God.

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- What year was it, or what time of year

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did you end up going to Boston for school?

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- It was '97 - August?

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- It was that winter of '97.

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- Winter of '97.

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- Yeah, so, and I got like really bad winters.

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It's like, I even had a snow storm

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in the middle of me going to school in my car.

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Imagine this tropical girl just arrived in Boston

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with a snow storm in the middle of nowhere,

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and I was like crying. - You've never experienced

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snow in your entire life?

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- No, not even driving in snow,

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which is like a totally different experience.

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- [Rob] Did you have a car in Boston?

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- Yeah, I had a car.

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- [Rob] That's insane.

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- Well, you get around. (both lightly laughing)

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I learned my lesson like very fast

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because I used to go, I lived in Mass Ave

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and I used to go to Harvard extension school in Cambridge.

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So I started like taking the bus, but at one point I said,

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"You know what, dad, I need a car."

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He's like, "Okay, get whatever you want."

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And I'm like, "Okay." - Great.

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- Why not?

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- I wouldn't drive around, my buddy,

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he didn't even drive his car for a year

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because of all the public transportation, it's so easy to-

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- It's so easy. - Jump on the train

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and get somewhere. - The Metro is so, so easy.

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- So easy, and that's kinda what I loved about it.

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- I had a bus like really like a stop right there.

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But then my classes were like really late

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until 10 o'clock at night.

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So I said, you know-

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- That makes more sense. - You know, it's a little,

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it's not dangerous, but it's, let's get a car

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because it's more convenient for me

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to get at 10 o'clock after I get out,

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I get home like at 11.

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The bus has all these stops, let's get a car.

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He's like, "Okay, fine."

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- There you go. - I convinced him.

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- So then would you and your friends get out of the city

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and go to more, like I went to Worcester.

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- Yeah, no we didn't go to- - That was a great town.

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- But then we went to like Newport

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and different, yeah, and then-

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- Would you ever go into New York City from there?

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- No, no, no, I didn't drive to New York.

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- No? - No.

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- No, too much. - I think we drove

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like one time, and that was it for me.

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Because we got lost and-

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- [Rob] Oh, yeah.

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- It wasn't like a really good experience.

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So we decided we're not gonna do that anymore.

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But we do, we drove to like Newport and,

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maybe like Martha's Vineyard or whatever was close.

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- [Rob] Sure.

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- So at the end, yes, we drove to different places.

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Oh, we went skiing one time.

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- [Rob] Skiing?

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- I don't remember where, something close, it was famous-

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- How was skiing for the first time,

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never being on snow? - Oh my God, I love it,

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I love it. - You love it?

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- I was really good at it too.

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- Really? - Yes.

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- What made you good at it?

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You have no experience, do you?

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- I don't know, well, my dad was always

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like really into skiing,

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so we used to go like skiing to Colorado.

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And probably when I went to Boston,

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I had skied for like two years maybe before,

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so I wasn't that good.

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But then we kept on skiing for other years.

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So we did like black ones and blue ones and-

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- [Rob] So you already had some experience with the snow.

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- Some experience, yeah, but let me tell you, it's not easy.

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It's tough. - No, yeah, I know

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and if you're a dancer- - Especially with all that

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equipment you have and you have to carry.

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- [Rob] But if you're a dancer,

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you have good body awareness.

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- Yeah, I was always like really sport.

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I was really into sport.

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I was a tennis player too, at one point.

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- That's right, you like tennis.

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- I was a little good at it too.

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- Nice. - I got to be like sixth

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of Dominican Republic at one point.

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- Really? - Yeah.

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- Tennis is not an easy sport.

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- [Raquel] I know and I love it.

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- Me and my wife tried to play, it's not easy.

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- No, but let me tell you something.

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If you start like when you're young, it's easier.

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It's like riding a bike, once you start and you know-

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- [Rob] It's a lot of muscle memory

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knowing how to hit that ball. - Exactly, the memory,

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you will not forget and you can ride a bike and even now,

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and you know, so tennis is pretty much the same.

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If you learn it when you're young, then,

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I mean, I've been, I haven't played like in two years.

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If I start right now, I'll get my swing right away.

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- So you still don't play just for fun?

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- I do sometimes, but I-

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- Not regularly. - Now I'm more into

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dancing and stuff, but I do play sometimes.

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And my husband plays, and my son plays too.

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- [Rob] Sure, it's a whole family affair.

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And my dad and my mom play too, and my dad-

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- [Rob] You guys can play doubles.

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- Yeah, and my dad played like few weeks ago.

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- [Rob] Really?

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- And he did good, yeah,

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he plays with Albert Montserrat from Cigar Rings.

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- Okay, yep. - You probably know.

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So they do, and Litto, they do the-

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- Litto, Litto Gomez at LFD. - Litto, yeah!

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They play all together.

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- What is it growing up around all these like cigar icons-

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- I know. - And just like,

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they're included in your family, basically.

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- I know, and let me tell you something,

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in Dominican Republic, we're all very like close.

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Like Mr. Kelner is like, he's like my dad too.

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He was just in the booth a few hours ago

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and we were just like chatting and talking.

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And it's really, it's really important

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to have like that relationship with all these,

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I mean we're competitors,

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but at the end we're also like a big family.

Speaker:

It's like we have our boundaries,

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you know you're my competition,

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but it's very important also to get along

Speaker:

so we can show the world that our cigars are important.

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- But do you think the idea behind competitors is different

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from an American perspective versus

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like a Dominican Republic perspective?

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- We try to be like a big family and try

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to work together for the country.

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So as we work that hard,

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then we just get along really good

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as others may not get so good on.

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- So there are other people in Dominican

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that you don't get along with,

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as well. - Yeah, another or maybe

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other countries maybe. - Sure.

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- But, in Dominican, the pro-cigar community,

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gets, I mean, we go like even for meetings

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that are not even meetings, just like cocktails

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and just talk about the world and what's going on,

Speaker:

and the cigar business and everything.

Speaker:

So at the end, we get along really good.

Speaker:

It's like it's not only business.

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We also do like more of our relationship.

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We just like build a relationship-

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- Like you said, Henke Kelner is like another father to you.

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- Like my other father.

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- And Litto I mean, he plays tennis with my dad

Speaker:

and everybody else, who else is there?

Speaker:

Abe Flores. - Abe Flores.

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- Abe Flores and then,

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there's Ciro from Fuente and even Carlito too,

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and the daughter, she was here a little bit,

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a little while ago. - Love her.

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- We were just chatting and

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we're gonna have another interview on Monday together.

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And then we write on Instagram, you know,

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"We're gonna kill it, we're gonna be,

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"we're the women of this."

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- That's awesome. - So we're always like,

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(softly laughs) - That's so awesome.

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- So I think it's very important that also our parents,

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showed us that that relationship is also important to build

Speaker:

because we're the ones growing,

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coming along. - The next generation.

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- Next generation, so that, even Tony,

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we did a Procigar, and Nirka from Reyes.

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We did like a few years ago,

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we played it like in a band and me and Nirka,

Speaker:

we sang at a Procigar,

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and Litto and Henke were playing the guitar

Speaker:

and Abe Flores too.

Speaker:

And Tony was also singing, it was crazy.

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- I love it. (Raquel loudly laughs)

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You guys could start a little band here after the show.

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- Yeah. - Here we go.

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- And play at our booth.

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- Exactly, I love it.

Speaker:

No better way to entertain people

Speaker:

than just have a good time playing, I love it.

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That's amazing.

Speaker:

- So that relationship really,

Speaker:

we got it from our parents,

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we'll be building it and it's gonna keep on growing.

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- [Rob] That's awesome.

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It's really important.

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- So growing up in a family

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that basically could be considered farmers.

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- [Raquel] Exactly, because that's another story.

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We were bakers. - Did you run through

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the fields as children?

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- Yeah, yeah, yeah, we used to like run around

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on the fields and on the bales,

Speaker:

that's like another, like inside joke that we have

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in our family.

Speaker:

It's like, oh, we used to like run in the bales,

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and just like hop on them and be like kids.

Speaker:

- Just hop on 'em, run all over 'em, do whatever you want.

Speaker:

- Yeah, there's people in the factory

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that have been working for 45 years or more

Speaker:

because our factory has like 40, it was like 1974.

Speaker:

So it's gonna be, it's 47 years.

Speaker:

So they'll tell me like, "Oh my God,

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"I remember when you were a little girl,

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"this little blonde girl, like running around everywhere."

Speaker:

And I remember, and it's really like so satisfying,

Speaker:

like these people are still rolling cigars in my factory

Speaker:

in our factory, and they saw me

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come grow up in this fabulous industry.

Speaker:

- Yeah, they seen you come up.

Speaker:

- Come up and all these stages and now...

Speaker:

- Did you ever get yelled at by somebody then

Speaker:

while you're playing around and you go, "Oh shoot,

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"I overstepped my bounds." - Oh yeah, we did.

Speaker:

It's like, I remember one time, one of my cousins,

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oh my God, he wrote his signature in one of the, on the

Speaker:

aging room, you know?

Speaker:

That's all covered in cedar and everything.

Speaker:

So he wrote, he started writing his signature all over the

Speaker:

(softly laughs) - All over the cedar.

Speaker:

- All over the cedar and he, we got really like grounded.

Speaker:

I remember (softly laughs)

Speaker:

I think that story, I never told that before.

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- [Rob] That's a good one.

Speaker:

- And he's now like a grownup

Speaker:

and he has his own company and everything, so.

Speaker:

- Don't write on the cedar in the aging room.

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You are going to get in trouble.

Speaker:

- No, and I remember like also growing up, the cigars,

Speaker:

we used to leave 'em maybe like on,

Speaker:

and just like keep on running around,

Speaker:

and it was like, it's dangerous, you know?

Speaker:

It's like, just be careful.

Speaker:

So we were always like being watched out.

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- There's a lot of workers probably watching you guys

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as you ran around.

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- [Raquel] Yes, it was fun though.

Speaker:

- "Those are the Quesada kids, watch out for them."

Speaker:

- Yeah, we were a few, so it was hard.

Speaker:

- I know some of the Kelners always talk about,

Speaker:

you gotta be careful when you run through the field

Speaker:

so you don't break the tobacco leaves

Speaker:

because otherwise you're really gonna get in trouble.

Speaker:

- Yeah, oh my God, I remember my dad always

Speaker:

like picking up leaves from the floor, maybe somebody like,

Speaker:

that's something that I learned,

Speaker:

like always be aware of what's on the floor

Speaker:

because one leaf, you're saving the whole world,

Speaker:

the whole factory.

Speaker:

So that was something that I learned from-

Speaker:

- So you learned to be mindful of your surroundings

Speaker:

in case something got misplaced.

Speaker:

- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, or like a cigar

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that might have misplaced or something.

Speaker:

You're always aware and my dad is very strict on that.

Speaker:

- Is he? - Yes, he's very strict.

Speaker:

- Don't screw up the operation.

Speaker:

- Yes, always be careful about it

Speaker:

and save, like you save a tree,

Speaker:

save the factory. - Save everything.

Speaker:

Because it takes a long time to grow all this.

Speaker:

- I know, I mean, once you see the whole operation thing,

Speaker:

you really realize, oh my God,

Speaker:

this is so, such a hard work

Speaker:

and these people, they have their own families

Speaker:

and their own things at home.

Speaker:

And then they come here at seven in the morning

Speaker:

and it's like they're there 6:45 AM

Speaker:

and then it's 4:30 in the afternoon

Speaker:

and they're still rolling cigars.

Speaker:

I mean, it's a lot of effort

Speaker:

and a lot of sacrifices you do day to day

Speaker:

that you really have to be aware to really enjoy, you know?

Speaker:

This, that that you're smoking

Speaker:

that you maybe take for granted, you know?

Speaker:

And it's a lot of hard work and a lot of people.

Speaker:

- Yeah, it doesn't take just a couple months

Speaker:

to produce this, this takes years.

Speaker:

- No, years, and a lot of hands, you know?

Speaker:

- Was there any part of the cigar process,

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you've already talked about the parts that you didn't like,

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which was coloring, and of course,

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you like the buying part,

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but was there anything that actually shocked you?

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You're like, "Wow, I didn't know we actually had

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"to do this in order to make cigars."

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- Well, overall, per se, I mean, just the whole process.

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Once you realize it's such hard work,

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then you realize, oh my God, this is really hard.

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But specifically,

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I think everything, I mean from

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getting the tobacco from the fields,

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all the processes you have to do,

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like wet the tobacco and then just fermenting it,

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and then, the day-to-day.

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If it's heated, if it's already from a,

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I mean all the, all those different things is,

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it's a lot of, for me was shocking.

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It's like you never realize,

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once you learn of it or you are aware of it,

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then you say, oh my God,

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this is gold.

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- Right, was there ever a time

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where you saw your dad struggle

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or get stumped by something and you thought, oh, wow.

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- Yeah, I mean that,

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when you experience with different seasons

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and tobaccos that you don't know how they're gonna react,

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I mean, I experienced with them working together,

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like growing up and just like learning.

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Sometimes tobacco got messed up

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and sometimes a whole crop,

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maybe because it was a lot of rain or a lot of dry

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and you lose a lot of time and money.

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And you're like, oh my God, this is,

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it's like the passion keeps you going.

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But it's tough. - Sure.

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- I saw my dad struggle at times

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with different tobaccos and maybe they put it

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in a different fermentation process

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or in a different packaging.

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I remember that maybe the Tercios that you do with the palm

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bark, and you do a different process.

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He struggled with that because that's like a Cuban thing

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they did like back in the times,

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and he wanted to do it in Dominican.

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So they started doing it and it was hard.

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I mean, now it's a piece of cake.

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- Is it the one where you wrap the tobacco really tight

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in palm leaves? - Yeah, yeah, exactly.

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- Like a pole? - Like a pole, uh-huh,

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and then you put it- - What is it called, andullo?

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- Uh-huh, andullos.

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- Okay.

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- And then you just put it in and those,

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it's like a palm tree, like dry.

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And then I remember that was about more than 20 years ago

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because now it's very easy.

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You learn your lesson well, but at the time it was tough.

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So I saw my dad struggle at times with some tobaccos.

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But at the end you just learn and you keep on going.

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- What about a project that you thought,

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"This is gonna be great," and it turned sour-

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- Oh my God. - And you were like,

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"This isn't happening."

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- No, you know what I'm gonna tell you better?

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The one that we decided we were gonna do,

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and it was a success.

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- [Rob] Oh good, thank God.

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- Well, my dad never wanted to put the Quesada

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last name in our products.

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He was very hesitant all the time.

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He was always, we had our brands and different names,

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but then the younger generation wanted to do.

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Because it's our, it's our last name,

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it comes from Cuba, from Spain,

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that has a whole history behind it.

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So we said, "We have to do this."

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So, but he was really like, "No, no, no,

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"we're not gonna do that."

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So we started blending behind his back.

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We came with the Quesada 35th anniversary, it was like-

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- More blending behind your dad's back.

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What are you doing, Raquel?

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What are you doing? - But this time,

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I have a back-up because-- - Oh, you had other

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constituents with you. - There are other,

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yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, like my cousins and my sister.

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At that time, we all work together.

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So, we did that, and even Michael Herklots too,

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helped a little that.

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And then we came out with the Quesada 35th.

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So what we did was, this was like, really mind-boggling.

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So we went to New York at the townhouse,

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in Nat Sherman's townhouse at that time,

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and we did this really big event.

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So we're gonna release the 35th

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and he didn't even know we were gonna release the cigar.

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He thought-- - He didn't know a cigar was

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gonna come out of his factory? - No!

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- How did you guys keep that under wraps?

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- We told them we were just gonna,

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like his legacy, we were just gonna honor him

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on all that he had done

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in the cigar industry. - Oh, at the townhouse.

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That's what the party's for.

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- Yeah, so we're gonna honor him.

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- [Rob] So he'll go along.

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- Yeah, he was like, "Oh, perfect, we'll do that."

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And then everybody came along, even my mom was there.

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And so when we started, because everybody spoke

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and we spoke about him and we talked about,

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we talk about the project and the cigar.

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It was very, very emotional.

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- Oh, I bet. - He approved of it,

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and then when we came to the PCA, at that time, IPCPR,

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we sold, we only did like a certain amount of boxes,

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because it was the first product we were making.

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So it was probably like about 2,000 boxes or 3,000.

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I can't remember the exact quantity.

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But we sold like the first day of the show,

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all the boxes of the 35th.

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And let me tell you something, people like write to me,

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"Do you have any of those 35th boxes over there

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"that I could buy?"

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- It was a coveted cigar.

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It's a unicorn now.

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- Yeah, exactly, so it was very successful.

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We had a great time.

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Even the sneaking part of it was really fun.

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So at the end- - Was he shocked?

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- He was very shocked, but he was very,

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very, very emotional.

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We even like cried and everything.

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He was very proud of us at the end.

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He just put his foot down and said, "You know what?

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"Let's go," and then after that,

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we came with a Quesada Tributo,

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and then Quesada Espana, the Quesada 1974.

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So we have all these different lines on the Quesada line,

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and the Quesada Reserva Privada, the barber pole,

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we have so many different ones that at the end,

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it was a success and we had a point.

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- [Rob] Exactly.

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- But if it wouldn't been a success,

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I don't think I would be sitting here,

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talking to you, Rob. - Yeah, no, no, no,

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you're not gonna talk about that one, we know.

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- But let me tell you, I don't think I remember one

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that it wasn't, maybe not a success-

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- [Rob] Something that never hit the shelf?

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- No, no.

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Maybe some blends that he didn't agree on, but per se,

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the Oktoberfest was something else that he didn't agree on.

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And then my cousin, TJ- - I am so surprised by that.

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The Oktoberfest, no one else does an Oktoberfest cigar.

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- No, but then that was like, at that time,

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TJ, Terence Reilly used to work with us,

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was my cousin, is my cousin.

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He was the one with the idea.

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He says, "We have to come out for the season again

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"and then just do the Oktoberfest."

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And then my dad's like- - Is that what your dad

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didn't like about it, it's seasonal, or what?

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- Not the seasonal, just the idea of something new.

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So random, like Oktoberfest.

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Who knows about Oktoberfest?

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You know, the U.S. is gonna- - "Who knows about it?"

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Pretty much the whole world celebrates it.

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- Yeah, but the thing is, 10 years ago,

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or whatever years ago,

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he wasn't that open-minded.

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He was more on the conservative side,

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just a regular sizes of the regular cigars.

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And now, we're coming up with this box

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with like the beer mugs and all

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these different names. - The Keg.

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The box looked like a little barrel of beer.

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- Yeah, yeah, yeah, they were put on the boxes

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and he was like, "You're not gonna do that, are you insane?"

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"That looks terrible.

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"No, you're not gonna sell one box of that."

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And then, all these names, like Uber and DasBoot,

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and it's like, I mean, Bavarian.

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And then TJ came up with all these different names

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that you go to Germany- - Oh, beer names.

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- No, no, no, you go to Germany and they probably would

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never make sense to them. - Yeah, Germans, right, oh.

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- So it was for the U.S. market.

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And then, and he's like, "You're," I mean,

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I think we ended up convincing him,

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but he wasn't convinced at all.

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So we came to one of the PCAs, at that time, IPCPR,

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and it was a sort of success.

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And then this year we're celebrating

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the 10th year of Oktoberfest.

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So at the end,

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so I'm telling you, maybe he was not convinced

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at the moment when we had the projects.

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But then he kind of like put his foot down

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and then we ended up being in a good place, on a good path.

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- I coveted some of those boxes

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because they're kind of like wine.

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When they come out with a specific-

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- [Raquel] Exactly.

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- Because it wasn't always the same blend every time.

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- No, no, it wasn't, always a different blend,

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but the one for this year, the 10th anniversary one,

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is very, very related to the first one

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we made in the first year.

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So we kind of got, we went back to-

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- And what year was that, 2015?

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- So 10 years ago, so '11.

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- Okay, 2011.

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- 2011, so we went back to the roots.

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Yeah, you have it there, I brought you.

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Yeah, so it says like 10th anniversary and everything.

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- I love it.

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Yeah, I think that was the one that I was chasing that,

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did the band change every year?

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- Yeah, the band changed every year.

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But I think like for the last four years or three years,

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we use like the one on top and then this year,

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we just put the 10th anniversary one, yeah.

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- Great cigar, went great with Oktoberfest beer too.

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- My dad, and I quote,

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because if not, I'll get in trouble.

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"It's the best one so far."

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- [Rob] This one.

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- The 2021. - Go out, and get your-

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Oktoberfest 10th Anniversary. - 10th Anniversary.

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10th Anniversary. (Raquel softy laughs)

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- That's a mouthful. - Exactly.

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- Don't say that five times fast.

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- 10th Anniversary, yeah. - I love it.

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- I know, he says it's the best one out so far, so.

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- So something he didn't think would succeed succeeded.

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- Succeeded, and then at the end he had to,

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when we came up out all these different crazy ideas,

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he was like, "Okay, fine, don't even tell me about 'em."

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- It softened the blow of like other unique projects,

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Like the Heisenberg.

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- That was something else, exactly.

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- I love that cigar, the shape was

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like an Al Capone style- - Yeah, all different shapes.

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Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

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- Very trumpeted-looking cigar, I loved it.

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- Yeah, that was another of TJs, yeah.

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. It's like a box-pressed, trumpeted torpedo.

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- We don't make 'em anymore, but.

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- I'm asking you personally now

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to come back with that cigar.

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- Okay, I will take that-

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- That shape, everything.

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You guys still have the molds for that?

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- Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course.

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- Make a blend, I love that shape.

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- I will, we will do. - It's so unique.

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- Will do, will do. - Aw, it's awesome.

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And you had to-

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- I'll send you the first ones.

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- Please do, and you had to put the cigars

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every other upside-down because of how-

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- [Raquel] Oh, yeah, one to the one side and the other one

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to the other side. - Angled that cigar was,

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it wouldn't fit in a box nicely,

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you had to, every other. - In a box, totally.

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- It was awesome, and the story behind it was even better.

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- Yeah, yeah, yep, yep.

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- Nobody knows what the blend

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is all made of. - Embrace uncertainty.

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- Embrace the idea that you have no idea, good luck.

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- Exactly, and don't even ask me about the blend

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because you're not gonna get it.

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- So what is the blend?

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No, I'm just kidding. (both loudly laughing)

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- I totally forgot about that.

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My mind is not working well.

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- Whoops.

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I gotta ask, how are you similar to your dad?

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Anything, one particular thing stick out that you're like,

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"Yeah, this, I got this from my dad."

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- Very perfectionist.

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- Perfectionist. - Yes.

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And very, like I'm always on time.

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- Really? - Yeah.

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That's not Dominican. - I am always not on time.

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I was even late for this interview, so I apologize.

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- Yes, you were!

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I was here like 20 minutes behind, before.

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- Yeah, you were here early.

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- Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm always on time

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and he's always on time too.

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And if we're going the airport, it's like four hours before,

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because if not, we'll get nervous.

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We're very similar on those.

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- I do like that, airports, I'd rather get there early.

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- [Raquel] Early, because you never know.

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- I don't like rushing, and I don't like connectors.

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- Like to come here, I had my alarm, and a snooze.

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It's like 12:30 alarm,

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and then a snooze 10 minutes, and I'm here

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20 minutes before. - The backup.

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The backup alarm to the backup alarm to the backup alarm.

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- I don't think I recall being late for any big event.

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- Really? - No.

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- How are you totally different than your dad?

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- I'm more, I'm very sensitive person.

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Like, and he's very strong.

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So sometimes I would be like crying.

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He's like, "Stop crying, that's for like,"

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but I'm like that, you know?

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- [Rob] That's how I express my emotions.

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- Exactly, and for me, it's not even good or bad.

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It's just it is what it is,

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and if you're like that- - It's the way-

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- You're like that. - You release energy.

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Exactly, so I'm very, very sensitive.

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And then he's very, very, very like strong

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and he's very hard-hearted.

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- Hard-hearted. - And I'm very like,

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sensitive heart hearted, I guess.

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I don't know how you call it in English.

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- Delicate. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.

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- But I guess it's a girl thing.

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- I love it, well, no, anybody, right?

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Anybody could be sensitive.

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- But now, but then throughout the years,

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if I cry now, he's like, he's fine with it.

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He's like used to it. - He knows, he's like,

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"All right, she's just doing her thing.

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"She'll be back- - It's like tears-

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"In 20 minutes." - Coming out and all.

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"She'll be back in two minutes."

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- Yeah, it's fine.

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I have to say, being, I mean,

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your title is key account director, brand ambassador,

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shareholder, whatever you wanna say there.

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But I think one of the things that I picked up on is

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this idea of being a brand ambassador.

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Because your brand is your name,

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like you said earlier. - I know, I know.

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- Are you really feeling like you're,

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I think Americans have a different perspective

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of brand ambassadors.

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Do you really feel like a brand ambassador

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or do you just feel like you're carrying on

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what your family's always done?

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- Yeah, that's what I feel like.

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It's like the passion and the history

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behind my name is something that I'm responsible for

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and the life gave me that opportunity

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because I was born in this family,

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and at the end, I'm so proud of it

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and of what my ancestors have made

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throughout all these years,

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that I wouldn't have,

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I can't see myself without being here.

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And now with all these social media,

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I'm like more active on it

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and I'm more committed to it and I'm loving it.

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- [Rob] That's awesome.

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- It's like, let me tell you, I'm not,

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I don't love these interviews,

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but I think I'm starting to love it.

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- Good! (Raquel softly laughing)

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Well, this one, she likes, folks.

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That's a home run.

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- I know, it's like I get really nervous before,

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but then once, like once when I start, I'm like,

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well, it's not that bad at all.

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- [Rob] No, we're just talking.

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- Exactly - Learning about

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the Quesada brand. - Exactly.

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In the kitchen, like you said.

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- Yeah, we're in the kitchen, havin' a good conversation,

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cigar-- - Exactly, cigars.

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- I don't have coffee, I do, I mean, if you want one.

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- Water. (softly laughs) (crosstalk drowns out Rob)

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There's water.

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- What do you think makes your perspective unique

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in bringing something new to the Quesada name?

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- I think something that my father always said

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that I grew up with listening to others is like quality

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and consistency all the time.

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I mean, you really have to work hard

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on that with our products.

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Something that you had maybe smoked 10 years ago,

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that you smoke it now,

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and if it's the same brand, you resemble to it.

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And it's the same thing, you know?

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- Right, you're connected to that.

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- Exactly, it's not like- - Like the Oktoberfest for me.

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- Exactly, like, oh, I, maybe last year I smoked one

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and then I'm smoking now and it doesn't make any sense.

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It's like something that you really have to work hard.

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And I remember,

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working in a cigar factory,

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you have to see there's three turns to one cigar.

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And then that the head is like perfectly made,

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and then when they draw, they draw perfectly.

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And then one day, and then when you smoke,

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the ash, so many details that he always really,

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really pushed so hard on us.

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That for me, that quality and that consistency is very,

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very branded on the Quesada name.

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And also the way that we make our clients feel at home.

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I mean, my goal is like a perfect example of it.

Speaker:

Michael comes through our factory and it's like his home.

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He knows everybody, he knows the cigar makers

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by their names, and it's just like,

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he goes around everywhere.

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He knows where this is and that is,

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and where the wrappers being classified.

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The lady has been there for 20 years, all that.

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It's like, we make people feel at home

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and that's very important

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because you really want to come back,

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and Michael always wants to come back.

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He wants to live there, I think.

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That's my Dominican, my American brother

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and I'm Dominican sister.

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So that's something that it's really important

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- When you came to Boston to go to school

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did you ever lie to anyone on what you did

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or what your family, did or if they ever asked?

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- I don't think they, they were aware of it.

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- No. - I mean, now, my friends,

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they even, like one of my friends that texted me yesterday

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and was like, "Bring me those cigars."

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Because I'm gonna see her now in Miami after here.

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She's like, "Bring me cigars.

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"You never ever show those."

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- [Rob] You never carried around cigars?

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- Exactly, and now it's like, they're so,

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they're well known and like, "Bring me some,

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"because I wanna try, I wanna smoke with you."

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So it was kind of underground. - So when you went to college

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you weren't the cigar-smoking friend.

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- No, and let me tell you something,

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no, but I worked at a cigar store

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in my hours that I didn't go to school,

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and people will come in and buy cigars

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and they didn't even know I was Raquel Quesada.

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- "My dad made that."

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- I know, it's like, "Oh, I really love this!"

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And I'm like, "Oh, really?

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"Oh, I hope you enjoy them." - Interesting.

Speaker:

- So I worked there for a few years and it was,

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and then, but then eventually they realized it

Speaker:

because like maybe my dad was in the Cigar Aficionado

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or whatever, or in a magazine, or I was in it too

Speaker:

And then they resembled it and then they came back

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and was like, "Oh, you, you!"

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"You never told me."

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- You're sneaky. - "You were mean."

Speaker:

- Sneaky, sneaky. - So at the end, yeah.

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It was tough but it was fun. - So you weren't getting

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your friends into cigars.

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- No, no, not at that time.

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I mean, they knew that, like my close, close friends,

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maybe yes, but not the other ones

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that were not as close. - Well, you're lucky

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because then I'm sure a lot of people would've been like,

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"Hey, bring cigars to the party next time."

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- Yeah, to the party, I get that a lot.

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- Now you do. - And let me tell you,

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sometimes I don't even have the ones,

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because I forget, or maybe at the minute of it,

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I don't have them to hand out, and they're like,

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"Raquel, where are the cigars?"

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And I'm like, oh my gosh. - Your cigars!

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You're supposed to be the one that has-

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(crosstalk drowns out Rob) - You're not carrying

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all of them.

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- You're gonna have to bring a suitcase.

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- But now I'm like always on top of it.

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It's like, "The cigars, the cigars, where are the cigars?"

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Because I never carry them and now I should.

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- [Rob] It's that brand ambassador coming out of you.

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- I know, it's like- - Just hand 'em

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out like candy. - "Where are the cigars?"

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Exactly, so now I do.

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- But how do you escape?

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What is your favorite thing to do to escape and just do you?

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- Well, to get away from that hectic day-to-day thing,

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I dance a lot, I was telling you about it-

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- Yeah, it's Dance VXN

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- It's like a dance, yeah, it's a VXN dance.

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It's similar to Zumba, but you work harder and dance more.

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It's like more specific moves. - It's supposed to be

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for exercise, right? - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,

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yeah, totally. - Get your heart rate up-

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- Yeah, yeah, yeah. - And have fun.

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- Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly, so I just get away

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from the day-to-day stress and all that, and-

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- [Rob] And this can be seen on Instagram, folks.

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- Yeah, shh. - That's why, oh,

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the cat's out of the bag, secrets.

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- It's like me dancing.

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My dad said the other day, he's like,

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"I saw you dancing, Raquel, what were you doing?"

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I was like, oh my God.

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- [Rob] Your dad said this?

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- Yeah, because he's an Instagram too.

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So he follows me and then I'm dancing, and then he's like,

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and then he clicks on a like, it's really fun.

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It's like, "Manolo Quesada just liked you."

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- Yeah, just like that. (laughter drowns out Raquel)

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- Really, Dad, you like that?

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- Yeah, and I also, I love the beach

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and in Dominican Republic, you have the best beaches.

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And then I'm always on the golf course all the time.

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- [Rob] Do you golf as well?

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- No, I'm really bad at it.

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- You just like to be there to support your son.

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- Yeah, I'm really good on the scores

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and the techniques and everything, I know which

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pole to use or which one on the yard.

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- [Rob] You could be his caddy.

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- Yeah, I could be his caddy, he wants me to be his caddy.

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But I don't know if I can do the bag.

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- We'll get you can electronic cart.

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- Oh, they're not allowed.

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- Oh yeah, that's, right.

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- I've caddied for him- - You have to earn your pay.

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- And a few times, but it's tough.

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Because you walk like 10 kilometers in one-

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- [Rob] It's a long day.

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- And then sometimes it's like four days and three days.

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So I've done it for one day, but I'm not-

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- Another cigar rep was telling me

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he tried to caddy for one of his buddies.

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- It's tough. - And the guy was like,

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"So how far are we to the pin?"

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And he was kinda like, "Well, I don't know, like 150 yards."

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And the caddy next to him was like, he goes, "168 yards."

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Like he had paced it out, I was like,

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"Whoa." - Was like, "Whoa."

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It's tough. - These guys know every

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inch of that playing field. - Oh, no, no, no, my son,

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he has a little notebook here

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with all the holes

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and you know, the breeze- - Where he likes to hit it-

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- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

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- And where are the best approach is

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and how far out and what club he's gonna use on that.

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- And the- - I love it.

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- If it's against it or-

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- With the wind, against the wind.

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- With the wind, against it, or if it's like going down-

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- Does all that stuff factor into the swing, do you think?

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- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - All that matters.

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- Everything matters, and let me tell you, for me,

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at the beginning, because I don't play, and I've tried,

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but I'm really good in sports,

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but I can't play golf for the world.

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And I've tried and I try, and he knows that I've tried.

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And I can't, it's so frustrating for me at the beginning

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because one, I mean, you could be 17 holes,

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you're doing great, and then the last one,

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you do one shot and it damages the whole day.

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- For me- - Super psychological.

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- Oh my God, no, it's all psychological.

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If your brain is not where it has to be,

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you're not gonna do the first hole.

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- [Rob] It's like sitting at the coloring table.

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- Exactly. - For eight hours,

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like, whoa, whoa, whoa.

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- Exactly, you're like, "What is going wrong?"

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- [Rob] Wow.

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- So that's what I enjoy the most, pretty much.

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- You like the dancing, you like the beach,

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get away from it all, get a little reprieve.

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- And just be after my son all the time.

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I think I know all the golf courses

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around Dominican Republic

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and the people think I'm just having fun at the beach.

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And I'm like, no, I didn't even go to the beach,

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- [Rob] Right, "I'm on the golf course."

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- Because the thing is like, it's five,

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six hours in the call, and then when he's done,

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with the tournament that day,

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then he goes to the driving range and he,

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and I always, I like to be there with him.

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So I go to the driving range and he just like

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shoots, shoots, shoots until seven o'clock at night

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and we just go to bed because we were exhausted.

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- Yeah, there's no time for fun.

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- No, no, no, so they're very, very exhausted.

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- I asked you what your favorite quote was,

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so I'm gonna read it, it's very good.

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"Growth doesn't come with a single action.

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"It's a consequence of persistence, courage and hard work."

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So my question to you is how are you persistent?

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- Never giving up.

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- Never give up. - Never give up,

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always there on the battle, in the battle

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and just giving the best of me

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for this to be the perfect one.

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- I love it, appreciate it.

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What are we smoking today?

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- Oh, we're smoking a 1974, Quesada 1974.

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This is a new size for the show,

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it's a six by 52 Toro.

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This blend, I don't know, I'm enjoying it a lot.

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I love this blend, it's very smooth, very,

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have a lot of complexity. - Very smooth, very.

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- It's not mild, but it's not strong.

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It's more between the two. - No I'd give this to anybody.

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- Yup, yup, yup, I mean, if you-

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- And I would have a box of this.

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- I mean, if you, exactly,

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if you're starting, it's great.

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If you're been smoking for a long time,

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it's also good because you'll enjoy it either way.

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So it's got Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers and binders

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and it's an Ecuador Cameroon and wrapper.

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- [Rob] Ecuador Cameroon?

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- Yeah, it's like a Cameroon seed in Ecuador.

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Yeah, we just buy it from-

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- Do you grow- - No, we don't grow.

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We don't grow wrapper. - Right.

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- Well, we grew wrapper to one year, like 2018

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and Habano 2000,

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but that's been for an specific project

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that we have coming along. - Coming up?

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Oh, in 2017 you said you did? - We're working on that, '18.

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- '18, you grew wrapper- - Yeah,

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so we're letting it there and-

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- For a project that's coming up.

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You heard it here first on Box Press.

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- [Raquel] Yes, yes.

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- I get the story, I get, it get it.

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- You get the first news. - I get it out, it's coming.

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- Thank you.

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Thank you. - So we're working on that.

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- I love it. - But it's still our baby.

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- So is there a big difference between African Cameroon

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and Ecuadorian Cameroon wrapper?

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Or do you not know?

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- Yeah, just the taste, depending on the blend

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that you're working on, then you use-

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- Could your dad blind sample it and be like,

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"Yeah, that's Ecuadorian- - Yeah, that's it.

Speaker:

- "That's African." - Exactly.

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I was the other day telling somebody

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I haven't blind-tasted him in a few years,

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in a few months or years and I'm gonna do that again.

Speaker:

- Good, with the Cameroon, be like,

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"Let's see, Dad, what do you know?"

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- Yeah, or something-

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- "Where's this Cameroon coming from?"

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- Or just like a new seed that we're working on

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and see if he's like so good at it now than before.

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And I'll trick him.

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- Can he taste the priming level of it too?

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Like the quality level or more just the-

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- [Raquel] No, it's more general, I would say.

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- More just the region- - Just like the seeds and-

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- And the seeds. - Yeah, the regions,

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yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah and the different countries.

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- [Rob] I love it.

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- I know. - Amazing.

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- I'm not that good at it, but he's really good at it.

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- Right, yeah, it's not easy. - It takes a lot of years.

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and knowledge. - Exactly.

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Amazing.

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Raquel, I appreciate it so much.

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- Oh my God, I've had so much fun.

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- I'm so glad you had fun and you weren't nervous.

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This is super easy.

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- Well, I hope it's given you all the expectations you had.

Speaker:

- Absolutely, great stories, learning more about you.

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- Thank you. - Quesada Cigars.

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- [Raquel] I'm really, really thankful.

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- We appreciate you guys very much for always-

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- [Raquel] A lot of gratitude towards you and-

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- Yes, appreciation all around.

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- I'm a fan.

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- Thank you, I appreciate that.

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As always, here's another episode of Box Press.

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If you need more Quesada Cigars, ask your retailer,

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go to quesadacigars.com.

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- Yes, quesadacigars.com. - Find out where to get 'em.

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- And my @raquelquesadaofficial on Instagram.

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- @raquelquesadaofficial- - @raquelquesadaofficial.

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- On Instagram, follow @quesadacigars.

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They have new stuff coming up, you heard it here first.

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They've never made wrapper and they'd gone ahead and made it

Speaker:

in 2018 coming up for a new blend in the future.

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We don't know when, stay tuned.

Speaker:

- Thank you. - Appreciate it.

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