José Blanco (cigar industrialist)
José Blanco (born October 27, 1949) is the former Senior Vice President of the oldest Nicaraguan cigar company, Joya de Nicaragua S.A., in Estelí, Nicaragua, and the former Sales Director of La Aurora, the oldest Dominican cigar company in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Early life José Blanco was born on October 27, 1949, to Dominican parents in political exile from the dictatorial regime of General Rafael Trujillo. The family returned to the Dominican Republic in 1961 following Trujillo's assassination. Back in the Dominican Republic, his father started growing tobacco. His uncle owned a cigar factory as well as a farm, so he and his cousin, Jochi, spent summers there learning to ferment, age and sort tobacco. His love affair with the finished product began at age 15, when he smoked his first cigar from his uncle's factory. Family He is married to Emma Viktorsson, the daughter of the retired Director for Eastern Europe for Swedish Match, Ake Viktorsson. They have a young son, Jasper, born in 2012. José also has three adult children from a previous marriage; Euler, Lourdes and Gregory. His cousin - also christened José but known as “Jochi” - Blanco is a tobacco grower and the owner and