TROPICANA
IS MOST BEAUTIFUL CLUB
[REF:
Cabaret Yearbook, Winter Resort Number, Volume One, poss
1956, p62]
TROPICANA IS MOST BEAUTIFUL CLUB
[To see a full size photo,
right click and VIEW IMAGE]
[caption] Tropicana
is actually two niteries. Arched
outdoor area along modernistic lines is set in tropical
palm
trees. Indoor Crystal Arc is air-conditioned for hot
days.
Five years ago owner spent more than $500,000 to build new
facilities.
TO THE MILLIONS of Americans who have visited the city–and
to the many
millions more who would like to but have not as yet–the name
of Havana
suggests rum, rumba, roulette and romance. These the
441-year-old
city certainly has, but no-where are they more concentrated
than in
some of its cabarets.
There is no nitery anywhere in the world that matches the
Tropicana for
beauty as well as size. Its tropical grounds with palm
trees
amidst its outdoor tables cover more than 300,000 square
feet.
Able to accommodate 1750 nightly customers, the Tropicana is
a resort
spa unmatched anywhere in the States. For in addition
to musical
extravaganzas featuring lovely Latin girls, the club also
has legalized
gambling that includes everything from dollar slot machines
to dice and
roulette.
The shows are done on a par with Hollywood musicals and the
bill runs
to $10,000 weekly. Three orchestras keep busy all
evening
providing music for dancers. For unlike so many
Americans
bistros, the Tropicana does have dancing. The latest
Latin
rhythms are featured and Cubans do not miss an opportunity
to
dance. The club also has another innovation–its
prices. For
$5 minimum on Saturday night, the customer gets a full meal.
Tropicana was formerly a private club, sold after the death
of the
owner. In converting the estate to a club, businessman
Martin Fox
did not spare any expense. He also was determined to
salvage as
much of the natural beauty of the tropical site as
possible.
Today the Tropicana is as much as tourist attraction for its
natural
beauty as for its productions, which cost about $75,000 to
stage.
Usually there is a headliner to top off the lavish shows.
Carmen
Miranda made her last night club appearance before her death
at the
club.
To pay the freight for the club, that runs to $5,000 daily
takes a lot
of customers and Tropicana usually has them–some 500 every
night during
the summer and a full house every evening during the winter
resort
season beginning in December.
Page 63
[To see a full size photo,
right click and VIEW IMAGE]
[caption] Attractive
outdoor bar of Tropicana is located so
that show can be watched from here without paying $5
minimum.
Drinks cost $1, are mostly based on rum.
[caption] Brazilian theme is motif of new Tropicana
show,
staged by club choreographer Rodney. Chorus performs
not only in
front of customers but on stages set in palms.
Page 64
CHORINES ARE HIPPY BUT NATURAL LOOKING
[To see a full size photo, right click and VIEW IMAGE]
[caption]
Typical Tropicana show girl is Alicia
Figueroa, a tall, long-limbed sultry beauty. Club
gives two shows
nightly -- first at 11:30 and at 1:30 a.m.
LIKE NIGHT CLUBS all over the world, the gay spots in Havana
present
girls–but they are unlike the females seen in America or
Europe.
The Latin chorine is more buxom, more sexy-looking than her
American
counterpart. In keeping with the Latin standard of
what is a
desirable woman, most dancers have hips that would bar them
from
American stages. Actually Latin pulchritude is closer
to nature,
not nearly as make-believe as some U.S. chorines.
[To see a full size photo, right click and VIEW IMAGE]
[caption] Elia
Roban is native Cuban beauty in
Tropicana show. Club spends up to $10,000 for
costumes in each
review.
In costume the tendency runs to bold bright colors and
flashy primitive
effects. Dancing is no nearly as precise as in U.S.
choruses but
there is much more zest in the native Latin steps. To
get a
dancing job at the Tropicana is a true mark of distinction
and there is
much competition for the chorus, although the salary is only
about $50
weekly. That is low by American standards but high in
Cuba.
Page 65
[To see a full size photo,
right click and VIEW IMAGE]
[caption] Jennie Leon is typical of broad-hipped
girls in
chorus. Her costume has French touch, with exposed
garters.
[caption] Nelsy Vega is slimmer, more streamlined
than most
Cuban chorines. High headdress are worn in current
review.
[caption] Afro-Cuban motif is used in many dances at
Tropicana. Mayra performs sacrificial dance in
costume of
feathers and horns.
Page 67
NO G-STRING FOR BURLESQUE
THE ONE SPOT in Havana that provides a full, uncluttered
view of
females in a natural state is a burlesque house called the
Shanghai. Formerly a Chinese theater converted to a
burlesque
house 24 years ago, the Shanghai is Havana's only strip
palace–and
perhaps the only theater in the world where girls strip
completely nude
minus any G-strings or net coverings. Operating
quasi-legally,
theater has never had to close "except for revolutions,"
says
impresario Jose Orozco Garcia.
[To see a full size photo, right click and VIEW IMAGE]
[caption] Sneaked
camera shot at Shanghai burlesque shows hefty Cuban
glamour girls about to strip nude in finale.
Actually the Shanghai combines nude strippers with
pornographic movies,
which Garcia points out "come from New York, Paris and
Mexico
City." There are rarely women in the audience of the
shabby
theater that has two shows nightly with prices from 60 cents
to
$1.25. The girls in the show are a motley collection
of hefty
chorines, who appear totally nude at the finale. There
are
usually eight and the impresario explains: "Ours is a small
country and
there are not many girls who are willing to appear naked."
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