Flor de Rafael González Márquez is a highly popular brand in the important Spanish market. It became famous in Spain after an advertising campaign which proclaimed “González Márquez was born in Havana”, during the rule of the Premier Felipe González Márquez.
There exist two stories about the origin of the
Rafael Gonzalez Cuban cigars name. One is linked to the presence of the Marques Rafael Gonzalez who dedicated his time to
Cuban cigar businesses in Havana. The other one mentions Márquez and Rafael González, two Spanish manufacturers settled in Vuelta Abajo, who baptized their Cuban
cigars with the names of “La Flor de Márquez”, which dates from 1936, and “La Flor de Rafael González”, registered in 1946.
In 1954, these trademarks merged, giving rise to “La Flor de Rafael González Márquez”, which is what the brand is now world-wide known as. The statement “These cigars have been manufactured from a secret blend of pure Vuelta Abajo tobaccos selected by the Marquez Rafael Gonzalez, Grande of Spain” can still be seen when one examines a Rafael González cigar box.
It was in this brand that the 6 "inch(165mm) by 42 gauge cigar, which has the factory name of Cervantes, was first called a Lonsdale after Hugh Cecil Lowther the Fifth Earl of Lonsdale, the famous English sporting Earl and cigar aficionado of that period.
Cigar aficionados often compare Montecristo cigars and Rafael González cigars because of their similar flavors. Astute cigar smokers know that Rafael González are a little lighter than Montecristos, which tend to be more full-bodied.
