Customer Reviews

Tropicana Nights: The Life and Times of the Legendary Cuban Nightclub

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You think you've read everything there is to read about Cuba, but you haven't--until you've picked up Tropicana Nights by Rosa Lowinger. This adeptly-written book chronicles the rise and eventual fall of Havana's most glamorous night club. The book follows the lives of its owners, Martin and Ofelia Fox, as they build their "paradise under the stars," with cameos by a veritable who's who of iconic entertainers: Carmen Miranda, Nat King Cole, Josephine Baker and Steve Allen. Woven into the story are sidebars on Cuban music, modernist architecture and regional politics, that, together, come to form a complete picture of Cuban culture in the 1950s. The book also follows Ofelia as she rebuilds her life from scratch in the United States following the Cuban revolution and Martin's death. It's an entertaining, page-turning read with a gripping, personal narrative. And it offers the most striking portrait yet of what it has meant to be Cuban in the twentieth century.

This fascinating book provides a never-before-seen insiders look at the creation and transformation of Cuba's legendary club, the Tropicana. The Tropicana wasn't just a nightclub and casino, it was a showcase for Cuban music and dance that helped spread Cuban culture internationally.

Anyone who has seen a big Las Vegas "spectacular" production should know that many of the elements we consider "Vegas style" were actually created at the Tropicana in the 1950s by the Tropicana's shrewd owner and the club's choreographer, Roderico "Rodney" Neyra.

The book is written by journalist Rosa Lowinger and Ofelia Fox, the widow of the club's last owner, Martín Fox. The book quite naturally revolves around Fox, a shrewd businessman who navigated the minefield of Cuban politics to create a fantastic entertainment venue that attracted visitors from all over the world.

So many books of this type are as about as engaging as an encyclopedia entry, but this one reads more like a novel. There's plenty of suspense, intrigue, romance, and a cast of characters -- some famous and some infamous -- that come to life in the author's detailed and poetic text.

The book includes a nice section of period photos, and is a compelling read. If you want to know more about Cuban culture in the '50's, this is a book that can't be missed.

Highly recommended.

Also recommended: Waiting for Snow in Havana, Three Guys From Miami Cook Cuban

An amazing story that transports you to Cuba of the 50s. It is informative and extremely entertaining. The descriptions of the shows, the dancers, the empresarios and most importantly the night club itself make you feel a part of it. Absolutely the next best thing to being there. Reads like a novel that you just can't put down.

a fascinating complement after having read Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost It to the Revolution.Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cubaand Then Lost It to the Revolution
As a young boy we vacationed in Cuba in 1954 and visited the Tropicana, so it was great reading both books and getting some notion of what was going on there. Of course I had no idea at the time.

Tropicana Nights gives the reader a sense of what life was like in Havana during the 1940s and 1950s. The Tropicana nightclub embodied the creativity and glamour of that era.

Tropicana still exists in Havana today. In the 1940s and 50s, it was a nightclub, cabaret and casino. It hosted performers such as Nat "King" Cole, Ginger Rogers and Liberace. Its audience was composed of the rich and famous, politicians and people wanting a special night out. Tropicana consistently met and raised people's expectations. The shows were legendary due to the imaginative choreography, live animals and beautiful Tropicana models.

This book is a collaboration of two women who are brought together to tell Tropicana's story. Ofelia Fox is the widow of Martin Fox who owned the Tropicana from 1950-1962. Rosa Lowinger was born in Havana but raised in Miami. As they work together on the book, some issues are raised.

Rosa and Ofelia have different views on Cuban politics. Ofelia claims that both Batista and Castro are dictators. Rosa must be sensitive about what she writes about Castro or risk being denied entry back into Cuba.

Rosa is curious about the possible Mob involvement at Tropicana. Ofelia and Martin went to Trafficante's daughter's wedding and were personally entertained by Frankie Carbo (a hit man for Bugsy Siegel in the 1930s) when they visited New York. Ofelia maintains that this was just a good business relationship. but Rosa isn't so sure. It is up to the reader to decide who is right.

There are also questions about Ofelia's relationship with her roommate (Rosa Sanchez). They have been together for more than 30 years yet when asked, Ofelia states that Rosa is a close friend but they are not a couple.

Lowinger has written a book that reads like a juicy novel. She has a great writing style, I kept turning the pages to find out what happened next. After reading the personal anecdotes and seeing the photos, I felt like I knew the various characters (the showgirls, the dancers and roulette dealers). I also enjoyed finding out what happened to everyone in recent years.

Armchair Interviews says: Come spend some time at the Tropicana and find out why it was paradise under the stars.

I visited the Tropicana in Havana in October, 1959... only a couple of months before the departure of Batista and Castro's entrance into Havana. While I knew virtually nothing of the 'politics' of Cuba at the time, I was aware of the tensions throughout the city. However, there are no memories of my visit to that beautiful country any more vivid that my evening at Tropicana; even though it has been fifty years (this month). TROPICANA NIGHTS helped me relive that evening and 'filled in the blanks' of history, culture, politics, and personality that were previously unknown to me.

I found the book completely fascinating. If you have an interest in the Cuba of old, this is a 'must read!'

Rosita Lowinger brings Cuba in the '40s and '50s to vibrant life in this excellent book. Anybody interested in learning about the island of Cuba should read it, because it's chock-full of historical facts. In addition, you learn all about the politics, the music, the cabaret circuit, the culture, even the Mafia connections! Rosita is an excellent writer who puts lots of "sabor" in her prose. I hope she's working on the screeplay right now. You cannot put the damn book down! It's easily the best I've read all year.

Tropicana Nights brings to life the second most famous nightclub of the 20th century, and the events of the Castro revolution. Rosa Lowinger weaves into the story just enough personal history to give context to all the larger events. Details are included when they are relevant to the story told, but the story is allowed to move along quickly, and this book is entertaining and illuminating. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to get an idea of what pre-revolutionary Havana was like, whether or not they are interested in nightclubs. My parents, who often went to Tropicana, said that the book tells it like it was. The book also includes wonderful vintage photos.

This book tells the story of the most famous caberet in the Americas and why it is still legendary even today. It also weaves the history of pre and post Revolutionary Cuba and all the intrigue that implies. Havana nightlife comes alive. The city's customs, both quaint and treacherous, play themselves out against a tropical motif that could only happen in Cuba. Models, gangsters, jazzmen, dancers, rumbereros, number runners, government henchman and architects all play a role in the vision of Senor Martin Fox whose love of a location gave birth to a legend. You will laugh and cry, but you will better understand this land so close and yet so foreign. Very well handled in the capable hands of author Rosa Lowenger, you will never think of Cuba the same again.

Tropicana Nights shows the views of two Cuban women from different generations who politically disagree, but are brought together by their love for Cuban culture, particularly the Tropicana Nightclub. This book provides an insider's view on the intrigue, gambling, music and dance of a place that holds an almost mythical place in the history of Cuba.