Dominican Republic, 1955. Ramon A. Rodriguez (aka Don Pulita), a humble tobacconist with a vast wisdom decided to start a new business with his friend Don Jose J. Dominguez.
In 1956 the company Fabrica de Cigarros Cibao is born, producing the Puros Cibao brand, to sell it in the local market.
The company began in a warehouse with a small staff of 9 to 10 craftsmen and with monthly production of 10 thousand to 12 thousand cigars.
In the early 70's Cigarros Cibao had a monthly production of 500 000 cigars which were distributed throughout the country, the Puros Cibao brand had a great acceptance in the market due to its quality. Because of that, other cigar factories followed Cigarros Cibao’s steps and tried to make their products to have the same quality, and taking this as a business opportunity, the company started selling raw materials.
In this same period Don Jose J. Dominguez decides to transfer its shares
to Don Pulita, leaving him as the absolute owner of the company.
In 1976, Osvaldo R. Rodriguez, youngest son of Don Pulita, took control of the
company. He was a meritorious student of business administration with a great
enthusiasm and with the vision of taking the company to a higher level. This
goal was achieved by making radical changes in the company, but maintaining the
traditions and techniques that his father and mentor taught him.
By 1995 the company made some huge changes on its products and techniques, it was decided to change the name of the company, becoming Tabacalera El Artista S.A., which means “The Artist”, this name was chosen because we consider our self true artists in the production of cigars.
In 1996, taking
advantage of the Dominican cigars "BOOM", we start commercializing
worldwide the renowned brand Don Augusto, breaking expectations in the
production of cigars.
Today we are Tabacalera El Artista S.R.L. a globalized company with a high growth rate, prepared with an adequate infrastructure for the production and packing of any tobacco product. We have a vast workforce that always gives the best to produce top quality merchandise. And also, we have a long list of customers around the world with whom we are committed to provide the best service, focusing on quality and consistency.