On a warm and sunny day in Tamboril, considered to many as the cigar capital of the world, lying in the outskirts of Santiago, Dominican Republic, lies Jose Arnaldo Blanco, known to all as “Jochy”, puffing calmly on cigar. A man who has worked with tobacco for as long as he can recall and his unconditional love and passion for it is obvious to all.

Through hard work and determination, he’s grown and processed tobacco to perfection throughout his tenure as a manufacturer and grower for the last few decades, and his factory Tabacalera Palma has been the home for outstanding cigars that have gained the love and appreciation of smokers all over the world.

As he calmly takes a slow draw from his caramel-like colored wrapped cigar, he realizes that everything is exactly the way he wants it. Staring fondly at a painting across his desk, he appreciates rollers in the factory nearly 80 years ago and a smile starts to reflect. In his mind, this is the perfect time to bring to life exactly what he’s looking at. It’s where it all begins, La Galera is where cigars are produced in a factory; it’s where the magic happens. This is when La Galera cigars is born.