Tribute to Maya Selva
Written on 4 December 2020
As she did every day, she had climbed the hill. Sitting on her wooden bench, she could see the Basilica of Suyapa from there, and when she closed her eyes, she could picture every contour of this city she loved so much. She could feel the dampness in the air clinging to her hair and the almost stifling heat rising from Tegucigalpa. As she breathed in, she could smell the earthy scents wafting from the surrounding trees. With the sense of pride she had grown up with, she spoke to her city:
A cigar-related anecdote
“One day, I will take the flavours of Honduras beyond our borders”
She celebrated her sixteenth birthday in Paris, as her family had returned to France to live there. She missed the air of Tegucigalpa terribly. She thought back to the tobacco factory she had visited with her Honduran grandfather, to the smell of the dried tobacco leaves, and to the care taken in picking them. Throughout her engineering studies, she was driven by a desire to capture the scents of Honduras. Once her studies were complete, she was bursting with impatience to realise her dreams through this product that so perfectly embodied the spirit of the land: the cigar.
She then presented her project and her vision to her grandfather’s friend, who owned the tobacco factory in Honduras. He flatly refused to help her with this venture and asked her to explain her reasoning: ‘Maya, cigars are a man’s world. Growing the leaves requires expertise and patience. Cigars emphasise the power of the man who smokes them; they are the excuse that allows men to get together to talk business, make important decisions, and discuss politics.”
She was left speechless by these illogical arguments. Is a woman not entitled to demonstrate her expertise and take on the most demanding tasks? Is she not capable of making difficult decisions, showing her strength and standing by her opinion? Is her palate not developed enough to detect the subtle, complex or powerful aromas of a cigar? She thus decided to prove that no gender boundaries applied to a pleasure as pure and simple as enjoying a cigar. That expertise had no age, no gender and no limits, and that she would be able to pass it on and honour it with respect.
A few years later, through sheer determination and hard work, Maya realised her dream: hand-rolled cigars, grown in estates she had personally selected in Honduras and Nicaragua, which embody her vision and her appreciation of the terroir.
She wanted to share this vision and this product, particularly with women, in order to open the doors to this wonderful world and give everyone the chance to discover this exceptional product.
“It seems that women have a vast range of tastes, so it makes sense that they smoke cigars full of flavour” Maya de Selva
Cigars are often, unwittingly, categorised as a male pursuit. In reality, they bring people together, regardless of gender, age or background. They open the door to bold, complex and varied flavours, and to endless combinations. The shared experience they create is, at its core, a moment of humility.
Cigars enjoyed by women are also a slice of history. From their medicinal and purifying properties for Catherine de’ Medici, to the pleasure they brought to Elizabeth I – who made their use more widespread – and the charismatic Kim Basinger, cigars have always been cherished by women. Whether you’re an activist like Maya Selva or simply enjoy a cigar like a good glass of wine (or both), the cigar is, above all, a story of discovery and sharing.
An article loosely based on biographical details about Maya de Selva
References
Photo: https://forbes.com.mx/la-mujer-rompio-estereotipo-del-genero/
https://www.lepoint.fr/art-de-vivre/maya-selva-femme-de-cigare-08-03-2012-1439004_4.php