{"product_id":"tropicana-havana-cuba-1956","title":"Tropicana, Havana, Cuba 1956","description":"\u003cp\u003eBorn in Havana, Cuba, the distinguished artist Rita Longa (1912-2000) created more than 400 sculptures in her lifetime, many of which are still displayed on the communist island country in the Caribbean, located south of Florida and the Bahamas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLos Venados, depicting a family group of deer, at the Havana Zoo (1947), the statue of La Virgen del Camino (1945) and her modernist sculpture Shape, Space and Light (1953), positioned at the main entrance of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana, are just some of her works that still enhance everyday life for Cubans.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis graceful ballerina on the front of this menu cover from the iconic Tropicana nightclub in Havana is also tribute to the work of this largely self-taught sculptor who worked in bronze, marble and tile.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCuban businessman and gambler Martin Fox owned the Tropicana during its 1950s hey-day and commissioned fellow countryman and architect Max Borges Jnr to carry out improvements on the famous garden estate and nightclub.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe presented the idea of a statue to Longa and on December 31, 1949, the marble Ballerina was placed at the main entrance of the famous cabaret as decoration for an illuminated water pond.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome may have expected a sculpture of one of the Tropicana’s extravagantly dressed showgirls, but the delicate beauty of the graceful and fluid Ballerina underlined Longa’s belief that the spirit of dance has no boundaries.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBallerina became the official logo and mascot of the Tropicana.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst opened on December 30, 1939, in a lush, tropical garden of six-acres, Tropicana was the height of glamour for visitors to Cuba in the 40s and 50s. The open-air cabaret was populated by showgirls in skimpy costumes and feathered headdresses and seated 1400 people, while full orchestras played to crowded dance floors that were both indoors and outdoors.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCelebrity revelers at Tropicana included Ernest Hemingway, Marlon Brando, Rita Hayworth and JFK. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThough Cuban-owned, the nightclub had ties to American organized crime.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn December 31, 1958, Cuba’s President Fulgencio Batista fled into exile with a reported $300m fortune - the panicked atmosphere at Tropicana that night featured in a scene in Godfather II.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFidel Castro and his revolutionary forces took power the following day and closed the island’s casinos. The nightclubs, like almost everything in communist-led Cuba, became government property.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTropicana still offers floor shows today that help showcase Cuban culture, mainly for tourists who can afford the price of entry, and Ballerina still greets every guest at the entrance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis menu is from 1956 when the Miami-based Wylly’s Tours began operating popular multi-day vacations to Cuba.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGallery quality Giclée print on natural white, matte, 100% cotton rag, acid and lignin free archival paper using Epson Ultrachrome HD archival inks. Custom printed with border for matting and framing.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb style=\"line-height: 1.2;\"\u003eEach order includes a print of the interior menu.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb style=\"line-height: 1.2;\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eAll printed in USA.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vintage Menu Art","offers":[{"title":"8.5x11\" Archival Print (Unframed) $25.00","offer_id":45686012248166,"sku":"8.5x11\"","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"11x14 Archival Print (Unframed) $30.00","offer_id":45686012280934,"sku":"11x14 U","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"13x19 Archival Print (Unframed) $40.00","offer_id":45686012313702,"sku":"13x19 U","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"16x20 Archival Print (Unframed) $55.00","offer_id":45686012346470,"sku":"16x20 U","price":55.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"20x24 Archival Print (Unframed) $85.00","offer_id":45686012379238,"sku":"20x24 U","price":85.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"24x36 Archival Print (Unframed) $135.00","offer_id":45686012412006,"sku":"24x36 U","price":135.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0131\/3352\/files\/tropicana-havana-cuba-1956-posters-prints-visual-artwork-800.webp?v=1780431847","url":"https:\/\/vintagemenuart.com\/products\/tropicana-havana-cuba-1956","provider":"Vintage Menu Art","version":"1.0","type":"link"}