Domingo Rojas, Cigar Roller

Domingo Rojas in 1978. Photo by Peggy A. Bulger, courtesy of the State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.

Rojas demonstrates his work. Photo by Peggy A. Bulger, courtesy of the State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.

 

Rojas with his final product. Photo by Peggy A. Bulger, courtesy of the State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.

In 1978, Domingo Rojas sat down to tell his oral history for the North Florida Folklife Project. The primary focus of the interview was his role as a foreman in the Tampa cigar industry. He moved to St. Augustine later in life, worked for a furniture store, and opened a restaurant with his wife serving, among other things, traditional Cuban sandwiches.  

Although he never worked in the cigar industry in St. Augustine, he demonstrated the techniques at the Infiesta Cigar Company. These photographs are from that meeting.

Listen to the full audio on Florida Memory:

Interview with cigar roller Domingo Rojas.