The important thing, of course, was for the conflict to end before tourism became seriously affected. The hotels had been crowded throughout the holidays (both the heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey and Senator John F. Kennedy had been to Cuba in December 1957); but in early 1958, Martín had seen a drop in attendance at the cabaret. Normally it was practically impossible to get a table during the winter season without a reservation. Now some nights there were empty tables. The Cubans were the ones staying home, but if the violence did not end soon, Martín knew, the Americans would stop coming.
