HAVANA
Nightlife Guide
1956
[REF:
CABARET magazine Dec 1956 pp 51-52]
HAVANA
BIG FOUR
TROPICANA, Truffin
and
Batista (B-4544). This is the largest and most
beautiful night
club in the world. Located on what was once a s
36,000-square-meter estate, Tropicana has ample room for two
complete
sets of stages, table areas and dance floors, in addition to
well-tended grounds extending beyond the night club
proper. Tall
trees rising over the tables and through the roof in some
spots lend
the proper tropical atmosphere which blends well with the
ultra-modern
architecture of the night club. Shows include a chorus
line of 50
and the dancers often perform on catwalks among the
trees.
Rhythms and costumes are colorfully native, with voodooism a
frequent
theme. Top talent is imported from abroad.
Minimum at
tables is $4.50 per person, but this can be avoided by
sitting at
central bar which has a good view of both stages.
CASINO PARISIEN
(Hotel
Nacional), 21st and 0 (U-8981). This is the newest of
Havana's
night clubs, having opened its doors in January of
1956. Located
in the city's largest hotel, the cabaret actually consists
of the
Casino Parisien, where there is dining, dancing and shows
(usually a
name singer or dance couple); the Casino Internacional with
a gambling
layout; and the Starlight Terrace, a bar connecting the
other two
sections. The casino is managed by Wilbur Clark, who
also runs
Las Vegas' Desert Inn. The minimum is $3.50 at the
tables.
SANS SOUCI, Arroyo
Arenas
Hwy. (BO-7979). Sans Souci is located in a
Spanish-style villa,
but this year has undergone a major program of renovation
and
expansion. Shows, like those of the other major clubs,
are
production numbers including name acts, usually
imported.
Good-looking U.S. showgirls are an added attraction.
There is the
same gambling layout as at the other big cabarets, including
roulette,
craps, chemin de fer, and slots. In addition, Sans
Souci recently
instituted an innovation at night clubs: bingo, with prizes
ranging up
to $1,500.
MONTMARTRE, 23rd and
P
(U-5207). Housed in a onetime indoor dog track,
Montmartre is
eminently successful in concealing its past beneath a lavish
overlay of
Gallic fittings and atmosphere. It is the only major
Havana club
which is entirely indoors, and is conveniently located in
Vedado, near
the center of the city. The entertainment leans toward
top
continental as well as American show names backed by lush
song and
dance production numbers masterminded by mercurial Joe
Carlyle.
Expensive, and a favorite with native Cubans as well as
tourists.
The casino is open from 4 pm daily.
SPANISH ATMOSPHERE
TABERNA SAN ROMAN,
San
Pedro and Oficios (M-4460). Cured meats hang from the
ceiling,
bullfight posters decorate the walls and wine jugs sit on
long
shelves. A band provides dance music (Cuban and
Spanish), and on
Saturday nights the Spanish equivalent of a jam session gets
under way:
customers make impromptu music and someone plays a bagpipe
(Spanish,
not Scottish). Located on the water-front, the Taberna is
well off the
tourist track.
EL COLMAO, Aramburu
No.
366. (U-9729). This place provides Spanish music,
singing and
dancing in its shows. Customers try to drink wine by
pouring it
in a thin stream from Andalusian jugs directly into their
mouth (a
hazardous endeavor). Enough wine, and soon the
customers, join in
the informal shows.
TASCA ESPANOLA,
Carcel and
Prado (W-9452). The Tasca is decorated to resemble a
Spanish
bandit's cave. Guitarists, singers, pianists and
dancers do
double duty providing the show and also providing music for
dancing by
customers.
BURLESQUE
SHANGHAI, Zanja No.
205
(W-9497). The girls in the line at the
long-established Shanghai
have never heard of G-string and get along very nicely in
the buff,
thank you. Their uninhibited if some what inexpert
prancing is
only one part of a unique mixture that is burlesque, Havana
style. Blackout skits, unintelligible to the visitor
who doesn't
speak Spanish, are alternated with dance numbers by leading
performers,
and snappy movies, both of which are easily understood in
any
language. The theater, once a Chinese playhouse, is in
Chinatown
in Old Havana, near the main shopping district. It's
cramped and
stuffy, but at $1.25 you could hardly expect more.
SMALL, BUT...
BAMBU, Rancho
Boyeros Rd.
(I-5072). About 15 minutes from Havana, the Bambu is
located in
rustic surroundings. Shows consist of local talent.
PANCHIN, Fifth and C
(B-7794). This is located in Havana's Coney Island
area.
Genuine native rhythms (rhumba, mambo, cha cha cha) are
played by small
orchestras who know their stuff. Customers on the
dance floor
often provide the best show in the place when they really
let
themselves go.
PENNSYLVANIA. Fifth
and C
(B-7807). It is but a few steps from the Panchin to
the
Pennsylvania, and the "atmosphere" in both places is much
the
same. Teachers from U.S. dancing schools come to these
places to
get the real lowdown on Cuban dances.
SOUTHLAND CLUB, San
Rafael
and Prado (M-9296). A cozy place off tourist-traveled
Prado
Boulevard, with dance music and a show, consisting of the
usual singers
and mambo dancers.
SIERRA, Concha and
Cristina (X-2928). A small place providing good local
shows and music.
EL DORADO, Prado No.
521
(M-4888). This is an outdoor café a la Paris, with an
all-girl orchestra providing the music. Customers sip
their
drinks and watch the crowds go by.
DAIQUIRI DENS
FLORIDITA, Obispo
and
Monserrate (M-5031). The Floridita (formally known as
La Florida)
proudly calls itself "the cradle of the daiquiri" (named
after a Cuban
river). It has developed daiquiri-making into an art,
and
provides daiquiris with different flavors to suit the
customers'
tastes. The Floridita's best customer is also its most
famous:
Cuban resident Ernest Hemingway, who uses a special outsized
glass
named "the Papa." The place has fine food and good
music from
singers and small musical groups.
MONSEIGNEUR, 21ST
AND 0
(F-7684). Primarily a restaurant (a la Monseigneur of
Paris),
this place has one of the best bars in town. Pleasant
music is
provided by a string ensemble, with the musicians separating
and going
to the different tables to play.
MES AMIS, Seventh
and La
Copa. This is a haunt for local Americans.
Singers and
pianists provide listening music, but some people like to
dance too.
SLOOPY JOE'S,
Agramonte No.
252 (M-4178). This is an old-time mecca for tourists,
but few
locals (Cubans or Americans ) go here. Sandwiches are
excellent,
and a "conjunto" (small musical group) provides music.
CARNIVAL ROOM (Hotel
Sevilla-Biltmore), Prado No. 255 (M-9961). A tiny bar
with
shows-usually a guitar and castanet combo with a singer-to
match, and
all the daiquiri you can drink.
OFFBEAT BOITES
COLONIAL, Oficios
No. 164
(A-7324). A local-talent show designed to confirm the
wildest
tourist rumors about Havana as the city of sin and cigars is
the
standard offering here, with prices and promotion leveled at
the
dollar-heavy pocketbooks of the gullible Americanos.
Worth a
look-see.
PALETTE CLUB,
Central
Highway (X-3019). Better call before coming out
here,
because the attractions of this out-of-town spot (risque
shows, private
rooms, stag movies) make it the first target of any
government cleanup
campaign. If operating, it will top anything your cab
driver can
suggest–but at a price.
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