Reynaldo Creagh with Annette Meisl
Reynaldo Creagh with Annette Meisl
LA GALANA sponsorship
Annette Meisl met Reynaldo Creagh for the first time in 1996. The charismatic singer, known to everyone as “Rey”, was just 77 years young at the time and was the bandleader of the famous “boy band” Vieja Trova Santiaguera – five men who together reached the proud age of 400 years. Annette Meisl, then still an artist agent, organized many successful tours with the great-grandfathers of the Cuban Son and over the years the collaboration developed into a close friendship. When Annette Meisl asked her grandfather friend to sponsor the LA GALANA cigar factory in 2007, he didn't hesitate for a moment. He interrupted his touring activities for a day to certify the sponsorship between two appearances in the Cologne Philharmonic Hall - where he received a standing ovation for his singing in the show “Bar at Buena Vista Social Club”. On December 7, 2007, all the Cuban cigar rollers, the German employees and closest friends of LA GALANA gathered in the premises of the LA GALANA cigar factory to be present at the historic moment. A sip of sweet Cuban rum was dedicated to the Santeria gods, Rey gave a short speech, Annette thanked this impressive person of respect for Cuban culture and with his hand shaking with age, Rey signed the document that now occupies a place of honor in the factory . Rey's sponsorship stands for the impeccable quality of LA GALANA cigars and the loyalty to the Cuban culture with which the craft is still practiced at LA GALANA today.
