Cigar factory keeps oral tradition smoking

HAVANA - Perched on a wooden dais in front of 600 workers rolling Cuba's legendary cigars, Grisel reads aloud - poems, novels and even sex tips from the newspaper - keeping workers entertained, their attention rapt, just the way it has been done for 150 years.

Grisel, 55, a petite former teacher who wears reading glasses she adjusts frequently, may have a job that predates electricity.

But nobody in Cuba seems to have any interest in replacing her with a radio or TV.