Havana, March 6 (RHC-Agencies) -- Cuba's 19th Habanos Cigar Festival concluded over the weekend with the traditional auction of unique handcrafted humidors.
A much anticipated event among cigar connoisseurs, the auction is the highlight of the annual cigar festival, which this year saw seven one-of-a-kind humidors made of precious woods raise a total of 1.3 million U.S. dollars.
Canadian bidder Leander Da Silva walked away with the most expensive creation of the lot, a 20-drawer humidor stocked with 580 premium hand-rolled Cohiba cigars, purchased for 380,000 euros (403,600 U.S. dollars).
The funds are earmarked for Cuba's universal health care system, which provides free medical treatment to all Cuban citizens.
The closing night gala also included an awards ceremony to acknowledge achievement in different aspects of the cigar industry.
The fair, organized by Cuba's cigar company Habanos, drew some 2,000 buyers, distributors, collectors and fans from 50 countries.