Apparently they take turns becoming slow smoking champion in the Dominican Republic. In 2022 Rafael Solano Portoreal became the first national Cigar Smoking World Championship winner ever, when he smoked for 1 hour 50 minutes and 21 seconds.
In 2023 he had to concede to Freylin Perez Diaz. The year before she failed to reach the top three, but this time she managed to keep her cigar alive for an impressive 2 hours 27 minutes and 6 seconds. That time Solano Portoreal had to settle for second place, but the year after he was back on the throne with almost the exact time as two years before, 1 hour 50 minutes and 26 seconds. This year it wasn’t certain there would even be a national contest. At the start of the season, organizer and CSWC judge, Danays León Sánchez, announced a regular qualifier, but this was later changed to a time chase event, which was later canceled and then announced again. With only two days to go before the grand final, the event was held in Santo Domingo, and the winner was…. Perez Diaz.
Far from the 2023 performance, she still managed to take home the title, when she smoked for 1 hour 32 minutes and 6 seconds. Second place went to Magda Alicia, who reached a smoking time of 1 hour 14 minutes and 34 seconds. Cesar Saul Bencosme claimed third place with 1 hour 8 minutes and 37 seconds.
The most interesting thing about this scenario is that in four years, the trophy has remained under the same roof. This is because Perez Diaz and Solano Portorreal are married. One can only imagine the rivalry and the intense family training sessions.
- Freylin Perez Diaz 1:32:06
- Magda Alicia 1:14:34
- Cesar Saul Bencosme 1:08:37
