Tampa Bay Business Journal - November 14, 2005
http://www.bizjournals.com/bizwomen/tampabay/content/story.html?story_id=1189004

Cigar City Magazine focuses on Ybor City

By Jane Meinhardt - Staff Writer

Three entrepreneurs driven by their families' heritage have created a magazine focused on the colorful history and culture of Ybor City and Tampa.

The first issue of Cigar City Magazine rolled out Oct. 27 with a cover photograph featuring the late actress Carmen Ramirez Esperante, who was known as Ybor City's "Lady of Spain."

Her granddaughter is Marilyn Esperante Figueredo, a retired Delta employee and the editor of the fledgling publication.

The free magazine that includes stories about the families who settled in what become Ybor City is itself sort of a family affair.

Lisa Figueredo, publisher and art director, is the editor's niece. Her son is the magazine's distribution director.

Vienna LoCicero Santisteban, another Tampa resident whose family is part of Ybor City's historic fabric, is the advertising and public relations director.

Bringing people together

The family histories of all three women are interwoven with relatives and events related to the cigar industry and the early immigrants who formed Ybor City and Tampa.

"The magazine is about families, and people sharing stories about families and events in the past that are part of history and our rich culture," Marilyn Figueredo said.

The three women teamed up with Cory Seymour, president of South Island Design Inc. in Clearwater, who became the magazine's lead designer and Web editor.

Working from a temporary office in one of the women's homes, planning for the first issue of Cigar City Magazine began in July. Judging from incoming advertising revenue and interest in the publication, 56 pages were planned -- and published.

"Most of our advertisers are people with roots here," said Lisa Figueredo, who also continues to run her Tampa advertising business, MediaTex. "They feel their heritage is important."

The magazine is printed on high quality, coated paper in full color. Twenty thousand of the 25,000 issues printed were distributed in Centro, the Tampa Tribune's new bi-lingual newspaper.

Other issues are being distributed to businesses, Ybor City and West Tampa merchants, the Port of Tampa, the Ybor City Museum, Channelside and related attractions.

The evolving business plan for the magazine estimates production, payroll and other costs for each bi-monthly issue at $50,000.

"This is a labor of love, which is often the essence of something special and successful," said Tom Keating, president of the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce. "There is a lot of deep history here, and this type of thing is tremendously important for Ybor City."

As Ybor City evolves, the magazine serves as a niche business highlighting the area's industrial background and character and a forum for all the ethnic and cultural events that will shape its future, he said.

In a half-page ad in the magazine, the chamber advertises its Nov. 26-27 annual Spirit of Ybor holiday festival.

"It's all part of bringing back Ybor and showing you can do business here," Keating said. "Without Ybor City, Tampa doesn't have as much character. This is where it all started."

Most of the advertisers in the inaugural publication are buying space in the second issue, Santisteban said. It did some trade deals, where advertising was traded for something other than cash, but very few.

Many of the ads are related to the cigar industry.

"A lot of advertisers are businesses with cultural ties," Santisteban said. "Others are people who are as proud of their heritage as we are."

The magazine's creators use the Ybor City Museum and the University of South Florida's Special Collections Department to conduct research and verify facts. The first issue contains articles written by physician and author Ferdie Pacheco; Maura Barrios, former assistant director of Latin American and Caribbean Studies at USF, and Vince Pardo, Ybor City Development Corporation manager.

The magazine founders have been besieged by requests for subscriptions to the magazine, which is a potential future goal.

"We've had commercial companies calling to purchase 200 copies for their lobby, and we tell them they are free," Lisa Figueredo said. "We'll see what happens in the future."

jmeinhardt@bizjournals.com | 727.224.2299