Bronx —
Francisco Rosario sits at a worn wooden desk behind a storefront window, transforming a pile of flat, brown leaves into cigars as thick as Italian sausages. He holds the butt of a cigar snugly between his lips as he works, tearing, smoothing, and rolling the fragrant leaves. Our Lady of Fatima, emblazoned on a gold medal hanging from his neck, presides over the ritual.
Rosario, 52, has been making cigars since his childhood in the Dominican Republic. In spite of chatter to the contrary, he insists that Dominican cigars are the best.
