A lifetime of curiosity.

He was an airline director, and I often accompanied him on his journeys. Even now, I remember those flights with a particular tenderness: hot meals chosen and served with care, silver cutlery, drinks poured into real glasses, and the warm exchange of smiles as the stewardess passed through the cabin. Beside my father, I felt safe. The world was vast, and everything about it invited my curiosity.

Among my clearest memories are the moments when he and his friends would buy cigars on board. They would pause to appreciate the aroma, discuss the tobacco’s origins and talk about the character of a blend. I listened as their conversations travelled between countries, cultures and people. To a young boy, those exchanges made the world feel wonderfully open.

Then came the lighting, the settling back into their seats, and the unhurried pleasure of being together. There was a quiet companionship between them. A cigar gave them time to talk, to listen and to enjoy each other’s company.

I could not have known then how deeply those moments would influence my life.

What stayed with me was the way they approached each cigar. A famous label or a particular origin never settled the conversation. They paid attention to what they actually experienced: its aroma, its character, the way it smoked and the pleasure it brought. Their curiosity taught me to form my own judgement and to respect the craft behind the cigar.

By the time I turned eighteen, I wanted to carry that feeling into a business of my own. I wanted to preserve something of the warmth, discovery and sincerity I had known beside my father.

That desire took me closer to the people who understood tobacco through a lifetime of working with it. I spent time with farmers and family cigar businesses, listening, observing and learning. Those encounters gave depth to the fascination I had carried since childhood. Behind every finished cigar were decisions, patience and skills that deserved to be understood.

Over the years, my knowledge grew through that direct contact with the craft. Working with tobacco, developing blends and evaluating cigars gradually sharpened my judgement. I learned to pay closer attention, to recognise differences and to understand how individual choices could shape the entire smoking experience. Each lesson gave me a better question to ask the next time.

As I developed my own cigars, that experience became a more structured approach to production and evaluation. I wanted the pleasure of a cigar to be supported by care, consistency and standards that could be assessed. The emotion that first drew me to cigars had matured into a responsibility towards the people who would enjoy them.

That journey led me to found La Bóveda de Puros, a signature brand devoted exclusively to vintage cigars. It brought together my appreciation for aged tobacco, my work in blending and the values that had accompanied me since those early journeys. I later sold the brand to a major player in the cigar industry, bringing an important chapter of my life to a close.

Today, I continue that work through La Bóveda Privada, which I founded to share four decades of experience with hotels, cigar lounges, brands and private collectors. Through consultancy, bespoke blend creation, training, humidor advisory and curated cigar experiences, I put that knowledge to work for others.

And whenever I introduce someone to a cigar, explain a blend or share what experience has taught me, I remember where it all began: beside my father, listening with curiosity as a conversation opened the world to me.

That is the feeling I still hope to pass on.