Roller breaks Guinness Record with 90m cigar, dedicates to Fidel

Havana, Aug 13 (IANS) Famous Cuban cigar roller, Jose Castelar, has finished off his quest to break his own Guinness Record and rolled a 90 metre cigar dedicated to former President Fidel Castro on the eve of his 90th birthday.

After 10 days of hard work, Castelar reached a new accomplishment in a career full of world records and rolled the last few cms of the cigar in front of guests and the press, Xinhua nes agency reported.

"I feel very proud of this record which I dedicate to our leader Fidel Castro for his 90th birthday. He has been our guide for over 50 years and he has sacrificed for the freedom we can enjoy today," said Castelar.

Dressed in a bright red Cuban typical guayabera shirt, Castelar, also known as Cueto, cut off the cigar at exactly 90 meters although he rolled almost a metre more.

The length of the giant cigar was a very well-kept secret until Friday as Cueto never told reporters his determination to reach 90 metres in order to honour Castro.

"This is a great day for me and all Cuban cigar rollers because, once again, we have made our country stand out in the world through one of its most famous products," he added.

To make the giant cigar, Cueto used about 80 kilograms of dry tobacco leaves from Pinar del Rio, west of Havana, where the famous aromatic plant is cultivated.

His previous Guinness Record, with a cigar of 81.8 meters long, was established in 2011.

A team of about 100 collaborators including a physiotherapist helped the cigar roller to accomplish this new feat in the vaults of the fortress San Carlos de la Cabana in Havana.

This cigar roller scored his first Guinness world record by rolling a cigar of 11.4 meters in 2001, before topping his record by extending it to 14.86 metres in 2003, 20.41 metres in 2005 and to 45.38 metres in 2009.