One day Ofelia did ask Martín why Tropicana never hired the man who was unquestionably the greatest Cuban singer of his era. Martín told her to see about it with Ardura, who made those decisions. “The reason Ardura gave me,” said Ofelia, “was Benny’s drinking. He was unreliable. He’d miss performances or show up late.” Other cabarets, including Sans Souci, were willing to work around Moré’s weaknesses. Rodney, on the other hand, was not. He demanded rigor and professionalism from his cast. At Tropicana the concept was the star of the show, not any individual performer.
