The history of the Tampa workshops is also connected with the political history of Cuba. The rolling galleries offered a setting where ideas circulated through reading and conversation.

In its article on the lectors of Ybor City, the J.C. Newman museum mentions that José Martí chose the lectors Francisco María González and José Dolores Poyo as his companions during his visit in search of support for his cause. The reference places the lectors within a communication network wider than factory work.

The case shows why a history of the cigar can lead towards the press and politics. The lectors helped gather an audience inside the gallery, and that voice had reach beyond the workshop. To study a particular visit by Martí, its date and his speech must be looked up in the documentation of the episode.