Robaina Museum (Pinar del Rio) at the Robaina Plantation

              It's been a few years now since Alejandro Robaina passed away and he is missed by everyone who knew him. He was a remarkable human being who loved his farm, a simple man, salt of the earth. He was the ambassador for Cuban Cigars and traveled all over the world with his grandson Hirochi promoting it. But no matter in which beautiful far away country he was in, he was always concerned about his fields and wanted to come home to look after his farm. Alejandro always had one of the best producing farms in the country and almost always the best wrapper. A brand new house was built years ago next to his existing one. It was built with the intention of moving Alejandro out of his old, ill equipped home and into a more comfortable, modern, air-conditioned one. When it finally was complete, Alejandro never moved in. He preferred to stay in the old one....that was his home. That was Alejandro, he didn't care about the flashy stuff. The house became an entertainment space or somewhere to go to get out of the heat. I'm happy to have some fond memories of a few gatherings in that space.
              Today, the building has been converted into a museum in memory of Alejandro. They couldn't get him to move in while he was alive but had no problem doing so now. The house is filled with all sorts of paraphernalia, plaques, awards, paintings (of him, gifted by artists), statuettes, photos taken at different stages in  his life, humidors and even his vintage Victorola Record Player.
              There is a bust of Alejandro in the garden behind the old house. It's where Hirochi says they will bring Alejandro's bones and make this his final resting spot. That's exactly where he should be, overlooking the land he loved so much.




Vegas Robaina
Cuchillas de Barbacoa
San Luis, Pinar del Rio, Cuba

The Pictures below were taken years ago while Alejandro was still alive

Soon to be Alejandro's final resting place