Tropicana Club

The Tropicana is the most famous nightclub in Cuba and one of the most famous in the world — a spectacular open-air cabaret show performed under the trees of a garden venue in the Marianao suburb, about 20 minutes from central Havana. The show has been running since 1939 with minimal variation: a large cast of dancers in elaborate feathered costumes performing a high-energy Afro-Cuban cabaret, with live orchestra, sequins, and a general commitment to spectacle that the word "extravagant" does not quite capture.

The Tropicana is expensive by Cuban standards (around $80–120 for the show including a drink and a floor spot), and it caters almost exclusively to tourists. None of that matters: the show is genuinely extraordinary, the setting — performers dancing on elevated platforms among the trees, with the Cuban night sky above — is unique, and the energy of the dancers is infectious. Book in advance, especially in high season.

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A story
The Tropicana opened in 1939 in what were then the suburbs of Havana — its open-air design was possible because the Cuban climate allowed performances under the stars year-round. It quickly became one of the most famous nightclubs in the world, attracting Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich, and Nat King Cole in the 1950s. After the revolution, when most of Havana's entertainment venues closed or radically changed character, Tropicana survived by becoming a state enterprise. It has been performing essentially the same show for over eighty years.