La Faraona Cigar Factory
On Seventh Avenue in Ybor City, La Faraona Cigar Factory connects the neighborhood’s manufacturing heritage with the work of a modern family business. Its founder, Odelma Matos, brought experience in Cuban cigar making to a district whose identity had been shaped by earlier generations of immigrant tobacco workers.
Matos grew up in a family of tobacco workers and entered the industry at sixteen. Her interest extended beyond rolling cigars to understanding how tobacco plants are cultivated, harvested, and cured. That knowledge links the finished object with the agricultural work and preparation behind it.
Her family arrived in the United States in 2010, and she opened her first Ybor City cigar shop the following year. Establishing the business continued a family tradition while placing her skills within a community already closely associated with the craft.
La Faraona describes producing its cigars in Ybor City using selected Cuban-seed tobacco grown in Nicaragua. That distinction reflects the international connections behind contemporary cigar making: a tradition associated with Cuba can involve tobacco cultivated elsewhere and skilled work performed in Florida.
Matos has also offered classes in hand rolling. Teaching the process makes the craft visible, allowing participants to encounter the handling, shaping, and attention required to turn prepared tobacco leaves into a finished cigar.
La Faraona adds a contemporary chapter to Ybor City’s history. Alongside preserved factories and historical markers, a working business demonstrates how specialized knowledge travels with people and continues through practice, family enterprise, and teaching.
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