Awards
Cigar Aficionado Hall of Fame, Class 2012 – In 2012 Jose was inducted in the Cigar Aficionado Hall of Fame.
OUR STORY
Matilde was founded in 1876 in Santiago de Los Caballeros and revived by the Seijas Family in 2014.
José Seijas
Founder
Our story starts with our founder, Jose Seijas. His passion for cigars started in 1974 when he was hired by Consolidated Cigar Corporation to create the Industrial Engineering department. One of his first tasks was to oversee the sorting, selection and stripping of tobacco which allowed him to get familiarized with the tobacco that he would be using for so many years. Four years later he was transferred to La Compania Insular Tabacalera, located in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, where for the first time he immersed himself with the full cigar manufacturing process. Jose spent 3 years before being transferred back to La Romana to work manufacturing in Tabacalera de Garcia, where he became VP of Operations and Master Blender until his retirement at the end of 2011. During his tenure in TDG Jose directed the blending and manufacturing of brands like: Seijas Signature (Top 25 of Cigar Aficionado), Mi Dominicana by Jose Seijas (Top 25 of Cigar Aficionado), Montecristo, Romeo & Julieta, Vega Fina, H.Upmann, Onyx, Trinidad, Don Diego, and many other brands.
“Making the best cigar in the world is what drives me.
Matilde is how I pay homage to my country”
- José Seijas
Rebirth of Matilde
with Matilde Renacer
Matilde was created in 1876 in Santiago de los Caballeros. The brand ceased to exist in the early 1900’s. It is one of the first tobacco company in the Dominican Republic.
About a year into his retirement Jose decided to return to the cigar industry, this time producing at a smaller scale in order to reach his goal of producing the best cigar possible. He embarked on his new journey with his sons, Enrique & Ricardo.
To pay homage to their country they decided to revive a brand with deep roots in the Dominican Republic - Matilde was revived by the Seijas family in 2014.
Matide Renacer was their first line. Renacer, meaning rebirth, was a suitable name for the occasion. Not only because it was the revival of Matilde but because it was the start of a new stage in Jose’s cigar life - from making millions of cigars to concentrating in just a few thousands to assure that only the best tobaccos were used and the best artisans would produce them. The blend was rated 92 and honored in Cigar Aficionado’s Top25 cigars of 2014.
