Tampa Celebrates Ybor City’s 140th Anniversary

Today, Tampa celebrated the 140th anniversary of the founding of Ybor City and Tampa’s historic cigar industry. Hundreds of civic leaders, community members, and cigar enthusiasts gathered at Hotel Haya as Tampa Mayor Jane Castor rolled a cigar to recreate the first cigar rolled in Tampa, which occurred on April 13, 1886.  The ceremony included a 140-foot-long cigar, cigar rolling classes, lector readings, museum exhibits, and more.

“One hundred forty years is just incredible,” said Mayor Castor.  “Thousands of immigrants came from around the world to create the greatest cigars in the history of the world right here in Tampa.  That is how we got our name, ‘Cigar City'!”

On April 13, 1886, Serafin Sanchez and Ignacio Haya rolled the first cigar in Tampa on 7th Avenue and 15th Street, across the street from where Hotel Haya sits today.  Before coming to Tampa, Sanchez and Haya were successful cigar makers in Key West, Florida.  They followed Vicente Martinez Ybor to Tampa and opened their factory a few weeks before Ybor’s factory.

“When the first cigar was rolled in Tampa 140 years ago today, it forever changed Tampa’s destiny,” said Drew Newman, fourth-generation owner of J.C. Newman Cigar Co. “In just a few decades, cigars transformed Tampa from a small town of 700 people into the largest city in Florida and made Tampa world famous as ‘Cigar City’.”

 At its peak in the 1930s, Tampa had more than 150 cigar factories that handcrafted more than 500 million cigars per year. More cigars were rolled in Tampa than anywhere else in the world.  

 “Ybor City’s cigar tradition built Tampa and continues to connect us to the generations who came before us,” said Newman. “As we celebrate 140 years, we are committed to preserving this important legacy for generations to come.”

To commemorate the anniversary, Odelma Matos of La Faraona Cigars rolled a 140-foot-long cigar. Last month, she set a world record by rolling a 469-long cigar in Ybor City. One hundred forty attendees also rolled cigars that were placed inside a humidor that will be stored in J.C. Newman’s Cigar Vault until the 150th Anniversary of Ybor City in 2036. Today’s event was organized by Hotel Haya and a large group of Ybor City stakeholders.