A fabulous night out
A must visit in Havana: an open air terrace, surrounded by a luxuriant forest, where the fabulous and unique Tropicana shows take place from 8.30 p.m. until dawn with a capacity up to 1000 people.
Villa Mina emerged at the entrance of Marianao neighborhood in Havana and adjoining the Zanja-Marianao railroad from the beginnings of the last century. A beautiful suburban property belonging to Regino Truffin, surrounded by a rainforest, it is a daydream setting for a cabaret turned into a whole legend for world music shows, it was once called “The most appealing and magnificent night club in the world”; the mythical Tropicana.
By the late 1930’s, Mina Pérez Chaumont, Truffín´s widow, decided to rent the property out to a group of entrepreneurs headed by Victor de Correa who wanted to set a night club. Sergio Orta, show choreographer and director, suggested Tropicana as the name for this club, he was inspired by the homonymous melody from the flutist and composer Alfredo Brito, whose premiere took place in this place. The club was established as Tropicana during the year 1940’s Christmas celebrations.
Tropicana captivated the wealthy elite really fast. The Cuban enchanted nights, its starry sky, the tropical warm moon, the hot and languid music, those dazzling women (the best of Cuban mulatas, that’s the way it’s been acknowledged) and the exuberant garden gave the visitors the idea of being in an unreal world of exotic splendor.
