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Tropicana Cabaret in Havana

Friday, 7 December 2018 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: Caribbean / Karibik
Category/Kategorie: General Reading Time:  3 minutes

🔊 Listen to this Post El Tropicana is a cabaret in Havana, Cuba. It was launched on December 30, 1939 at the Villa Mina in Marianao and next door to El Colegio de Belen where Fidel Castro went to school. The Tropicana cabaret is located in a lush, tropical garden six-acre (24,000 m²) estate.

The Tropicana evolved out of a nightclub called Edén Concert, operated by Cuban impresario Victor de Correa. Two casino operators approached de Correa about opening a combination casino and cabaret on a property in Marianao rented from Guillermina Pérez Chaumont, known as Mina. The operators felt the tropical gardens of the Villa Mina, would provide a natural setting for an outdoor cabaret.

In December 1939, de Correa moved his company of singers, dancers and musicians into a converted mansion located on the estate. De Correa provided the food and entertainment, while Rafael Mascaro and Luis Bular operated the casino located in the chandeliered dining room of the estate’s mansion. Originally known as El Beau Site, de Correa decided to rename The Tropicana. With a fanfare from the Alfredo Brito Orchestra the Tropicana opened on December 30, 1939. Martín Fox, a well-connected gambler began renting table space in the casino. Eventually, by 1950, he would amass enough profits to take over the lease of what would become The Tropicana and hire Max Borges Jr. to design an expansion that would be known as Los Arcos de Cristal.

Max Borges designed a building composed of five reinforced concrete arches and glass walls over an indoor stage. When the indoor cabaret opened on March 15, 1952, it had a combined total seating capacity of 1,700 for the interior and outside areas. It’s furniture designed by Charles and Ray Eames. The Arcos de Cristal won numerous international prizes when it was built and was one of six Cuban buildings included in the 1954 Museum of Modern Art exhibit entitled “Latin American Architecture since 1945.” Borges won the Premio Anual, from the Colegio Nacional de Arquitectos in 1953 for his work on the Tropicana. The Arcos de Cristal may be seen in the Tropicana scene of the movie Our Man In Havana.

Read more on Cabaret-Tropicana.com, LonelyPlanet.com – Tropicana Nightclub and Wikipedia Tropicana Club (Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State - Weather report by weather.com - Global Passport Power Rank - Travel Risk Map - Democracy Index - GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank - Global Competitiveness Report - Corruption Perceptions Index - Press Freedom Index - World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index - UN Human Development Index - Global Peace Index - Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index). Photos by Wikimedia Commons. If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at comment@wingsch.net. Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.

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