Santiago Alfonso and the Tropicana Cabaret

December 15, 2021

Tropicana, the famous Cuban cabaret known in the world as "A Paradise Under the Stars", with more than 80 years, treasures a diversity of personal, creative and success stories. These days when the reopening takes place after almost two years, it is inevitable to associate the name of one man with that of Tropicana: that of Santiago Alfonso (Havana, 1939).

The invitation in 1956 to enjoy the show that was presented every night on the Tropicana stage changed Santiago's destiny. Dazzled by the magic of that tropical setting under the stars with a colorful musical spectacle, great artists like Nat "King" Cole, Celeste Mendoza accompanied by the orchestra under the baton of Bebo Valdés and glamorous dancers, he declared – "I am going to dance at Tropicana".

He began as a dancer, choreographer, stage manager and artistic director at Tropicana, which extended for more than 40 years. He himself declared himself a disciple of Ramiro Guerra, Tomas Morales and Joaquín M. Condall. Spectacles created by his imagination such as "Timba Suicida", still resonate among the great successes under the stars.

With the purpose of treasuring the life and work of distinctive artists of Cuban culture, we spent more than five years conducting interviews with prominent personalities of art and culture on the Island. In 1994 the interview with Santiago Alfonso was conducted: choreographer, dancer, professor and at that time Artistic Director of the renowned show of the Tropicana Cabaret. We conducted the interview during a partial rehearsal of the choreographic staging of one of his shows. Years later in 2004, Santiago founded his own entertainment company.