Tropicana Nights: The Life and Times of the Legendary Cuban Nightclub

by Rosa Lowinger

By dawn, President Prío, who had been at his own country estate (his brother, Antonio, had been dancing at Sans Souci when he received word of the coup) was back at the presidential palace, desperately, if ineffectually, trying to deal with a fait accompli. Later that morning, the radio stations began to broadcast news that Batista had taken control in order to save the country from “chaotic conditions which endangered lives and property.” The streets were deserted. Tanks surrounded the presidential palace. Scores of university students gathered outside to protest and to demand that their elected president, who was packing his family to leave for Mexico, mount more than a tepid response to Batista’s audacity. Eventually, inevitably, there was a bit of bloodshed, but it was minor considering the magnitude of what had happened. On March 10, 1952, constitutional rule was revoked on the island of Cuba. As of this writing, more than fifty years later, it has not been restored.