This three story 38,405 sq. ft. cigar factory at 202 S 22nd St. was built in 1895 for V. Guerra, Diaz & Co., owned by Frank R. Diaz and his uncle and father-in-law Spanish immigrant from Rennes, Asturias Vicente Guerra (1850-1909).  V. Guerra, Diaz & Co. manufactured the Corina brand here and occupied the building until 1899 when the Cuban American Cigar Mfg. Co. acquired the company and the facilities. Vicente was retained as VP & General Manager of the Cuban American Cigar Mfg. Co.  

As stated on the passenger list for a voyage of the vessel Olivette from Havana to Tampa on March 1, 1899, Vicente Guerra was cousin of José Escalante.  In 1908, The Cuban American Cigar Mfg. Co. ceded the factory building to José Escalante & Co. who continued to manufacture the Corina cigar brand here.  José Escalante & Co. remained here until 1956 when the company was sold to the General Cigar Co. who was in turn acquired by the Tampa Cigar Co. in 1958 and remained here until 1962.

José Escalante Pérez (1873-1939) was born in Ribadesella, Province of Asturias, Spain.  His obituary on Find A Grave states he was survived  by two brothers, Manuel (1865-1959) and Francisco (1874-1957).  Manuel was the first of the brothers to emigrate to Cuba as a young boy where he learned the cigar trade.  After learning the trade he sent for his brother José, who as Manuel learned the cigar trade in Cuba.  The last one of the brothers to arrive in Cuba was Manuel who as the other two did, learned the cigar trade there.  Once they were all familiar with the cigar making business, they left Cuba for New York; Francisco in 1890, Manuel in 1891 and José in 1898.  In New York, the brothers opened a  buckeye factory or "chinchal" as small cigar factories were called in those days.

A June 1905 passport application by Francisco states that he arrived in the US from Cuba in 1890 and since then lived uninterruptedly at New York and Tampa.  At the time of the application he was employed at the Cuban American Mfg. Co. Corina Branch in Tampa.  The 1910 Polk's Baker's Directory of the United States list both Frank and Manuel as foremen at José Escalante & Co. which had been established in 1908 as evidenced by a 1918 passport application[1] by José.  The directory lists William Lilienfeld as  President, Eugene Lilienfeld as Secretary and José Escalante as General Manager of José Escalante & Co. located at Livingston Ave NE corner Stewart in Tampa.

It is evident that since its beginnings, William and Eugene Lilienfeld were investors in José Escalante & Co.  As related to a member of the Lilienfeld family by a member of the Escalante family, it was in New York that the connection between the two families took place.  David Lilienfeld (1837-1899) was a German immigrant from Diepenau in Hanover Province, who arrived in Kalamazoo, MI in 1859.  Soon after his arrival, David was joined by his brother William.  Some sources state that in 1861[2], others in 1870[3] and still others in 1877, David and William launched a cigar retail business, which would also include wholesale liquors and imported beers they named D. Lilienfeld & Bro.

The Book of Chicagoans published in 1917 lists Edward David Lilienfeld (1869-1949) born in Kalamazoo, MI "becoming connected in 1891 with the firm of D. Lilienfeld Bro. founded in 1877, cigar manufacturers that moved to Chicago, IL in 1894 and continued in the same line , now president of Lilienfeld Bro. & Co., Inc. and secretary-treasurer of José Escalante & Co."  The same publication lists Eugene William Lilienfeld (1881-1953) born in Chicago, IL "who has been associated since leaving school with the cigar business established by his father in the 1870's and is now secretary and director of D. Lilienfeld & Bro. and president of José Escalante & Co."

An article on the May 31, 1924 edition of United States Tobacco Journal shows a picture of the D. Lilienfeld & Bro. storefront in Kalamazoo, MI in 1880 and states that D. Lilienfield & Bro. was established by David Lilienfeld in Kalamazoo, MI.  The article states that at the time Edward David Lilienfeld was head of the company as well as of José Escalante Co., "old Tampa cigar factory acquired by the Lilienfeld brothers and removed for business headquarters to the Windy City."  Their cigar manufacturing operation was commonly referred to as the Lilies Cigar Co. as Lilies was their flagship cigar brand.  In 1919, the Lilies Cigar Co. merged into the Consolidated Cigar Corp., today known as Altadis. 

An article on the Tampa Daily Times published November 6, 1939 notifying José Escalnte's death, states that he died as the result of double pneumonia in New Orleans where he was on a business trip.  The article reads: "Jose E. Escalante, 67, pioneer Tampa cigar manufacturer died yesterday afternoon in New Orleans, it was learned by friends here today.  Mr. Escalante was the General Manager and one of the founders of the Jose Escalante Cigar Co.  He had been a resident of Tampa for the last forty five years, coming here from New York.  Mr. Escalante was born in Spain and recieved his early education in schools there.  He came to Cuba as a young man and went from there to New York." 

José Escalante & Co. produced the El Suelo, Standard Club, Monogram, Murillo and Aurelia brands at this location as well as the well known Corina brand which was the first machine made cigar to have a pre-formed hole in the cap for which design José Escalante & Co. was assigned a US Patent.  José Escalante & Co. was also one of the biggest users of the Boite Nature wooden cigar boxes.

José Escalante & Co., decided to open a second factory in New Orleans, LA after the cigar workers strike of 1910 that lasted from July 1910 until January 1911.  Urbano M. Escalante (1894-1965) was the son of Maria Escalnate and nephew of Manuel, Francisco and José Escalante.  Urbano emigrated to Tampa in 1914 and after being trained in the business, was sent to New Orleans in 1919 to run the factory there which picture ca. 1947 is shown in the first gallery below. 

On August 23, 1943 Eugene W. Lilienfeld, then president of Jose Escalante & Co., Inc. whose main office was in Chicago, submitted a patent application for a cigar box and assigned it to Jose Escalante & Co.  The invention was different from previous cigar boxes in that the cover holding consisted of a spring wire arm.

The color photos below are of the Tampa factory building in 2015.  The "Corina Factory" and "Clear Havana Cigars" white letters on the front are clearly identifiable.  The name "Corina" is also at the top center on the parapet of the building.  On the building side wall, "Guerra, Diaz & Co." can still be read. 

The building has been owned by J. Kent Larson since 1989 where he operated his business Larson’s Deluxe Plastic Card Co. Inc. and rented space to other tenants, one of whch was the advertising agency Dunn & Co.  In March, 2015 Corina Holdings represented by its principal owner Troy Dunn, acquired the building for $1.3 million and while it still rents out part of the building, reportedly Dunn plans to be its sole tenant in the near future.

We thank the contribution of our viewer Rufo de Francisco who provided valuable information regarding Mr. Escalante's biography and history as a cigar maker in the US.

______________________________________________

1 Dated April 15, 1918 states José was born in Spain on December 18, 1873, that he emigrated to the US March 1898 from Havana and had resided in Tampa uninterruptedly from 1898 to 1918, that he was a naturalized US Citizen and that his profession was Cigar Manufacturer.  This application is accompanied by a sworn statement from Frank Escalante, Second Assistant Secretary of Jose Escalante & Co. of Tampa, FL stating among other things that the company had been engaged in business for ten years and that Jose Escalante had been in the employ of the firm for ten years from 1908 to 1918. 

2 Source: The Kalamazoo House Bed and Breakfast: The History and Legacy of The David Lilienfeld House

3 Source: History: Southwest Michigan Spark September 2022, Cigarmakers in Kalamazoo.