500 Guests Attended Sold-Out Premiere of Hand Rolled Documentary

Last night, a sold-out crowd of 500 guests attended the premiere of the new Hand Rolled documentary at the Centro Asturiano de Tampa theater. The film tells the story of Tampa’s legacy as the “Fine Cigar Capital of the World” and showcases how J.C. Newman’s historic El Reloj cigar factory is keeping Tampa’s cigar tradition alive. It features interviews with the Newman Family along with Carlito Fuente, Jeff Borysiewicz, David Savona, Patrick Lagreid, and Scott Pearce.

 “Since 1886, Tampa has been known as ‘Cigar City,’” said fourth-generation owner Drew Newman. “A century ago, Tampa’s cigar factories rolled 500 million cigars per year – more than anywhere else in the world. My family and I are so honored that filmmakers Steve Gherebean and Jesse Mariut share the story of Ybor City and Tampa’s cigar heritage.”

 The documentary can now be streamed for free on YouTube. It is the first in a series that will share stores of the cigar community. It follows the successful and award-winning Hand Rolled film, which has had been streamed more than 300,000 times.

 “The Centro Asturiano theater is the oldest theater in Florida,” said Neman. “Because it was built a century ago to entertain the cigar workers of Tampa, it was a very fitting venue to host the premiere of this new documentary on Tampa’s historic cigar industry.”