Скачать или смотреть Famous cigar seller counts Clinton among his international clientele

(1 Sep 2002) VOICED BY Louise Bates



0000 Cigar seller Emilio Egeraige serving Greek Cypriot clients in his cigar shop
0006 Clients' hand on a pile of boxes of cigars
0008 Close-up Egeraige's hand holding cigar
0012 Tilt up of Egeraige pointing to framed letter from former US President Bill Clinton
0022 Close-up of headed paper with the words "William Jefferson Clinton"
0025 Mid shot of letter from Clinton
0028 Close-up of Clinton's signature
0031 SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Emilio Egeraige, Cuban cigar seller
0052 Cutaways of cigars
0059 Egeraige toasting clients with a glass of rum
ENDS 0105

STORYLINE:

Cuban Emilio Egeraige has shared his cigars with movie stars, singers and poets, but the salesman is especially proud of a thank you note hanging on his shop wall from former U-S President Bill Clinton.

The long-time tobacco salesman received the letter last year after sending the ex-president a box of Romeo and Julieta cigars handcarried to the U-S by visiting former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy. Clinton replied with a thank you note which now hangs proudly alongside photos of Mr Egeraige with other eminent figures.

The U-S blockade on the communist island has prevented the sale of famed Cuban cigars in the United States for decades.

0003 Emilio has been sharing his cigars with a number of famous people for years. They include the former U-S President Jimmy Carter, Hollywood star Kevin Costner and Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

0015 But the Havana salesman is especially proud of a thank you note from former U-S President Bill Clinton.

0021 He received the letter last year after sending him a box of Romeo and Julieta cigars handcarried to the U-S by a visiting U-S dignatory.

0031 (SOUNDBITE: (Spanish) Emilio Egeraige, Cuban cigar seller)

0034 "I thought it was a joke," Emilio says. "For us Cubans it's a high honour - well at least it was for me - to get a letter from Clinton, one of the presidents of the United States. We're the victims of a massive blockade and in this case it was the cigar, not me, that was the diplomat, the ambassador."

0052 But the cigar salesman says the current U-S president will have to earn his cigars by calling for the lifting of the U-S trade embargo against Cuba and by showing more respect for Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

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