In our culture, hearing someone say “head of the family” often makes people think of Vito Corleone: images of Marlon Brando fill our head, our voices deepen and our stomachs pang with an unflinching desire to eat a cannoli… or twelve. “Head of the family“ reminds so many of us of The Godfather. This is, of course, unless we are cigar fans. Then, “head of the family” garners up a whole different image. Sorry Vito… er, Mr. Corleone, but, when it comes to tobacco, there is another family heads above you.

For lovers of the leaf, the title of “head of the family” belongs to Arturo Fuente; they are arguably the most famous cigar family in the entire world. If every tobacco grower in the world were kin, Arturo Fuente would be their patriarch.

To truly get to know the Arturo Fuente family, we must travel back to 1800 Cuba, to a time when tobacco growers were not only cultivating tobacco, but they were also cultivating a new way of life.

Four generations ago, Arturo Fuente learned from his father the art of growing, blending, and rolling tobacco. It was an art Arturo took to heart and one he would soon pass onto his son, a virtual prince in an up and coming cigar empire.

Carlos Fuente, the son of Arturo, was brought up in a place historically known for cigars: Ybor City near Tampa, Florida. Learning the skills the cigar industry required, Carlos spent his days at school and his afternoons in his family’s factory. Before too long, Carlos mastered his family’s chosen field: he was a cigar man in occupation and in spirit.

Carlos Fuente eventually became king; the business was handed down from Arturo. Soon after, Carlos’s wife gave birth to a son, Carlos Jr. Like his namesake, Carlos Jr. dived into this world, soon finding himself up to his elbows in tobacco leaves, leaves he would learn to turn into the finest cigars.

Familial ties were smooth - no one born in the family forsook their birthright, choosing to run off with the circus or become a blacksmith - but the family’s business was not without tragedy: several of their factories were lost to fire.