Her story is like that of many women in Latin America. The third child of a single mother who gave her all every day to pull her family forward, 28-year-old Gretel Isabel Fuentes Flores has also become a single mother of two daughters. However, she now holds the opportunity for a better life for her family, built amidst tobacco, leaf by leaf.
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Born in La Trinidad, Estelí, Nicaragua, as the youngest of three siblings –two sisters and one brother– she had to support the family economy from a very young age. She would go out with her mother to sell tortillas, cajeta (caramel), and other homemade products they prepared themselves.
On a daily basis, half her time was for work and the other for study, but Gretel left school every day to search for more formal employment. “I told my mother I didn’t want to study anymore; I wanted to work to help her. Because any child, when they see their mother cry over their economic situation, only thinks of helping.”
Thus, after selling her mother’s products, she found her first job at age 15, entering a cigar factory to learn the stemming process (despalillo) –which consists of removing the veins from cured tobacco leaves– and later had the chance to learn the rolling process of the cigars.
With some experience between her fingers, she approached Estelí Cigars, where several family members worked and spoke highly of the work environment. “Here they let you work, without interference, so that everything comes out as well as possible.”
Five years later, Gretel affirms she has found her place in life as a rolera, moving forward alongside her daughters, aged 12 and 5. But unlike her mother, she does so with greater possibilities for progress, ensuring they lack for nothing and do not have to work at such an early age.
At her rolling table, she puts all her love into the crafting of each cigar. “We do it this way so that customers speak well of the brands. If I do it poorly, not only will the supervisors notice, but the customer will too.”
In the atmosphere of Estelí Cigars, all the bunchers (boncheros) are men, while the placement of the wrapper leaf is destined solely for the hands of the women, forming solid teams that consider themselves part of a large family.
During the workday, the dynamic is fluid and cordial. “If another roller is doing something wrong, we support and guide her, so that we all always do our best.”
In addition to smoking for work to check the quality of her pieces, Gretel enjoys tobacco as a relaxing activity at the end of the day. “It isn’t common in Nicaragua for women to smoke cigars, but I like to taste and know what I am making.”
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