Gilberto Leon closes his 6th Street shop for the day in 2002, carrying a machete he kept for protection but never had to use. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
Gilberto Leon at his cigar-rolling station in 2002. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
Gilberto Leon and two assistants made about 600 cigars each day, and prices ranged from about $3 to $6. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
Hand-rolled cigars on a wooden press. Gilberto Leon opened his 6th Street shop in Los Angeles in 1979. The small, crowded space had tobacco leaves stacked on old desks, a wooden counter and a tight work space where he rolled cigars. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
Gilberto Leon fires up one of his creations for a friend. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
