www.ambiente.us OCTOBER / OCTUBRE 2008
Night Club In The Sky
Cubana Airlines' Tropicana Special - 1957
Patrons of novel high-flying bistro enjoy the show and drinks while 10,000 feet above ocean
on way to Cuba.
By Henry Durling
THE DREAM of every night club
operator is to create an atmosphere
that will hold his customers, keep
them from drifting out after a while
and into the spot down the street,
and nearly every trick from door
prizes to knockout drops has been
tried to accomplish this end through
the years. The most effective
method to date, however, has been
adopted in Miami, where people
are all up in the air about a new kind
of cabaret that literally sets a new
high in atmosphere by whisking its
patrons 10,000 feet into the rarified
regions where only birds usually go.
The fledgling nitery is Cubana
Airlines' Tropicana Special, an
innovation in cabaret enterprise
that has eliminated all the problems
of drifting patrons.
Jaded night club fans in the famed
resort are finding that boredom
banishes and drinks and
entertainment have a new zest
when enjoyed in cloudland.
MAMBO LINE is joined by customers as performers snake up
and down the aisle in the plane, when party gets warmed up
later.
As a result, the new nitery in the sky is enjoying a booming
business that is the envy of all its earthbound competitors.
PASSING OUT SONG CARDS,
dancers Gloria and Rolando
invite customers to join
singing and dancing during
flight.
The Special is designed primarily for bon vivants desirous of
sampling the night life of nearby Cuba. It takes off every Thursday
from Miami's International Airport. An hour later it sets its happier
patrons down in the balmy air of the land of daiquiris and sex at
Havana's Aeropuerto Jose Marti. In between the bibblers are
treated to excellent drinks, top-notch Latin music, and a floor
show that fills the plane with song and laughter.
DANCING DOWN THE AISLE, vivacious Gloria carries
show full length of cabin, making each patron feel
he has a ringside seat as the plane wings across
water to Cuba. Special decor designed for flight
includes seat cloths bearing name and symbol of
Tropicana night club.
Brainchild of Antonio Montero, stocky, dynamic
promotion manager of the burgeoning Cuban
airline, the flying saloon took two months of
preparation before it was unveiled last year. It is
currently being operated in a package deal with
Havana's fabulous Tropicana night club, from which it takes its name.
MINIATURE STAGE installed at
front of cabin has arch like
that at Tropicana night club,
collapsible for easy removal
from plane between special
flights to Cuban capital.
Revelers who want to try the
thrills of a night spot in the air
pay $68.80 for a ticket which
includes the night club flight,
an evening with dinner and
drinks at the Tropicana itself,
an over-night stay in a
Havana hotel, breakfast, and
return flight.
Boarding the special, patrons find each of the 46 seats decked out in a specially-designed seat-cloth bearing
the special's name and emblem. Up ahead, a gold curtain obscures the front of the cabin, which has been
converted into a miniature stage, set off by a proscenium arch glowing with concealed lights.
OPENING SHOW, Gloria and
Rolando display form which
makes them top attraction in
Tropicana floor show, where
patrons see them in adagio
and ballroom numbers.
First come the drinks frozen
daiquiris made by a special
Cuban recipe that includes a
dash of grenadine, for a
festive pink color. You can't
drink too many of these
man-sized potions, but you
can have as many as you
can drink.
MUSIC AND DANCE take up most of show,
with aerobatics of Gloria and Rolando
backed up by comic antics and lively music
of Cuban band for package night club trip
to Caribbean.
Then as the cabin lights dim, Cruz gives a
bilingual introduction to the show,
welcoming the patrons aboard first in
Spanish, then in English. Suddenly, the
plane is filled with an infectious, rhythmic
Latin tune.
DANCING DOWN AISLE, Gloria leads band
in riotous Conga line which is climax to show,
draws patrons out of seats to join dance,
leaves everyone exhausted. Tight-fitting
costumes were selected to avoid catching
seats, brushing patrons during hectic
dancing.
RETURNING TO STAGE, dancers
are able to keep footing
because special flight plan
followed by plane crew
minimizes lurching of plane,
also reduces engine noise so
music can be heard. The
band includes specially cut-
down piano hidden behind
the stage.
The gold curtains whisk aside
to reveal five musicians
decked out in fiesta
costumes, with trumpet, drums, guitar, maracas and piano. As the torrid Cuban music pours over them, the
audience loses consciousness of the drone of the plane's four huge engines.
Up ahead, Captain Jesus Lopez Guerrero and his crew are following special operations plans for the flight
throttling back a little, bleeding air from the pressurized cabin to reduce engine noise. As the bright lights
and music vibrate aft, they look out over the dark-blue gulf, scattered woolly clouds and the diamond chain of
lights that are the Florida Keys moving slowly behind.
In the cabin, dancers Gloria and Rolando, an acrobatic dance team from the Tropicana floor show, have
made their entrance. A diminutive, air-size performer, Gloria opens with a lively cha-cha dance. She
bounces up and down the aisle, carrying the show the length of the plane, making each patron feel he has a
floor side seat.
Some of the lucky males find their hair mussed, their cheek patted as she passes, and some return the
favor. A few find her in their laps, smiling impishly and bounding out again before they regain their wits. One
or two are invited to dance, and become part of the act on the tiny six-foot square stage, then return to their
seats red-faced, flustered but immensely pleased.
Women, too, are drawn into the act in this intimate revue as Rolando escorts them forward to dance.
Gloria varies the fares with a sweet-voiced rendition of 'Siboney' and the whole band joins in roaring 'El
Rancho Grande.' The patrons follow the Spanish songs on little cards distributed for their use, occasionally
are urged to join in a community song.
Other numbers include a series of burlesque bits by a band member who mimics Maurice Chevalier with a
battered straw hat and 'Je Ne Sais Pas - Why I Love You Like I Do.'
WAITING FOR TAKEOFF, Gloria relaxes into a tiny
backstage space just aft of crew compartment in
specially-converted plane.
While the show goes on, the plane approaches
the Cuban shore, and in another ten minutes the
entertainment reaches its climax. Gloria leads
the whole crew along the aisle, singing and
playing, and then Gloria and Rolando do flashy
acrobatic bits as they range the length of the sky
nitery alone. The curtain closes in a crescendo of
music, the cabin lights come up, and another
round of drinks is passed before landing.
Shortly, the voyagers have been ushered through
customs and are on their way by special car to
the Tropicana and a continuation of their fun.
The enthusiastic response of patrons was summed
up by a Detroit machine shop operator who said:
'It's like nothing that ever was before. Think of it
way up there, with a floor show and everything.
The time went so fast you hardly knew you were
flying.'
TOASTING NOVEL ENTERPRISE, aerial night club
patrons enjoy specially-concocted daquiri
[daiquiri] cocktails served liberally.
Successful as the novel bistro is, it wasn't
born without considerable in the way of
labor pangs. 'There were quite a few
problems to work out,' says Cruz, who
manages the flight as well as emceeing it.
Among the problems faced in launching
the special was the primary one of
converting the interior of a Lockheed
Constellation to a night club atmosphere
without losing too much payload.
'We had to put in a stage without losing
too many seats,' explains Cruz. 'We did it by
taking out only eight - two seats on each side of the
aisle and combining that area with part of the service section just behind the pilot's cabin.'
All of the appointments had to be removable so that the plane could be returned to regular service until the
next weekly flight.
'We had a collapsible proscenium arch built to hold the curtain and the lights,' says Cruz. 'It just folds up and
is taken out.'
Lighting offered a problem because conventional spotlights would not adapt to the short throw and cramped
quarters on the flight. The solution was found in fabrication of four units custom-designed for the job. A
special high-fidelity sound system was installed to bring the music and singing of the performers up front
with stage side fidelity to the rear-seat passengers.
And last but from least was the problem of installing a piano in the ship. 'We had to take a baby upright and
cut it down by one-fourth from 88 to 66 keys to make it fit,' says Cruz. The piano is bolted to the plane floor to
prevent injury to any of the performers or six-man special crew during rough weather.
'After we had all the technical details worked out, we had to put together a show that would fit the conditions
of the flight,' says Cruz. 'Then it took two weeks of solid rehearsals, flying over Miami and Havana to
accustom the performers to the feel of performing in flight.'
Cruz is ready to admit that all flights are not the satin-smooth rides of theory, though rough weather is
encountered in over-water flights less often than on cross-country ones. Nevertheless, there is occasional
turbulence.
'Sometimes the plane itself does the mambo, but the show must and does go on,' he says. 'And we have
never had a dissatisfied customer.'
Cruz attributes much of the nitery's success to the fact that, in spite of its odd shape, it is far more
comfortable than most night clubs. 'The seats are more comfortable, and there is room to stretch your legs.
If you get bored with the show, you can put your seat back and doze off. No one will mind. If you don't, the
show is routine so that you see much more of the performers, close up, than you would in the ordinary night
club.'
Contemplating the success of its first venture, Cubana is now thinking of making the Tropicana special a
nightly affair, and putting shows on some of its longer hauls, too, to Mexico, Spain, Haiti and the Dominican
Republic.
The possibility of a night club flight direct from New York is under consideration also, using three new Viking
Viscounts, turbojet liners recently purchased by the airline.
'It's a new idea that's catching on,' says Cruz. 'Why not carry it further, onward and upward?'
Copyright © AMBIENTE MAGAZINE. Do not reproduce without citing this source.
Night Club In The Sky
Cubana Airlines' Tropicana Special - 1957
Patrons of novel high-flying bistro enjoy the show and drinks while 10,000 feet above ocean
on way to Cuba.
By Henry Durling
THE DREAM of every night club
operator is to create an atmosphere
that will hold his customers, keep
them from drifting out after a while
and into the spot down the street,
and nearly every trick from door
prizes to knockout drops has been
tried to accomplish this end through
the years. The most effective
method to date, however, has been
adopted in Miami, where people
are all up in the air about a new kind
of cabaret that literally sets a new
high in atmosphere by whisking its
patrons 10,000 feet into the rarified
regions where only birds usually go.
The fledgling nitery is Cubana
Airlines' Tropicana Special, an
innovation in cabaret enterprise
that has eliminated all the problems
of drifting patrons.
Jaded night club fans in the famed
resort are finding that boredom
banishes and drinks and
entertainment have a new zest
when enjoyed in cloudland.
MAMBO LINE is joined by customers as performers snake up
and down the aisle in the plane, when party gets warmed up
later.
As a result, the new nitery in the sky is enjoying a booming
business that is the envy of all its earthbound competitors.
PASSING OUT SONG CARDS,
dancers Gloria and Rolando
invite customers to join
singing and dancing during
flight.
The Special is designed primarily for bon vivants desirous of
sampling the night life of nearby Cuba. It takes off every Thursday
from Miami's International Airport. An hour later it sets its happier
patrons down in the balmy air of the land of daiquiris and sex at
Havana's Aeropuerto Jose Marti. In between the bibblers are
treated to excellent drinks, top-notch Latin music, and a floor
show that fills the plane with song and laughter.
DANCING DOWN THE AISLE, vivacious Gloria carries
show full length of cabin, making each patron feel
he has a ringside seat as the plane wings across
water to Cuba. Special decor designed for flight
includes seat cloths bearing name and symbol of
Tropicana night club.
Brainchild of Antonio Montero, stocky, dynamic
promotion manager of the burgeoning Cuban
airline, the flying saloon took two months of
preparation before it was unveiled last year. It is
currently being operated in a package deal with
Havana's fabulous Tropicana night club, from which it takes its name.
MINIATURE STAGE installed at
front of cabin has arch like
that at Tropicana night club,
collapsible for easy removal
from plane between special
flights to Cuban capital.
Revelers who want to try the
thrills of a night spot in the air
pay $68.80 for a ticket which
includes the night club flight,
an evening with dinner and
drinks at the Tropicana itself,
an over-night stay in a
Havana hotel, breakfast, and
return flight.
Boarding the special, patrons find each of the 46 seats decked out in a specially-designed seat-cloth bearing
the special's name and emblem. Up ahead, a gold curtain obscures the front of the cabin, which has been
converted into a miniature stage, set off by a proscenium arch glowing with concealed lights.
OPENING SHOW, Gloria and
Rolando display form which
makes them top attraction in
Tropicana floor show, where
patrons see them in adagio
and ballroom numbers.
First come the drinks frozen
daiquiris made by a special
Cuban recipe that includes a
dash of grenadine, for a
festive pink color. You can't
drink too many of these
man-sized potions, but you
can have as many as you
can drink.
MUSIC AND DANCE take up most of show,
with aerobatics of Gloria and Rolando
backed up by comic antics and lively music
of Cuban band for package night club trip
to Caribbean.
Then as the cabin lights dim, Cruz gives a
bilingual introduction to the show,
welcoming the patrons aboard first in
Spanish, then in English. Suddenly, the
plane is filled with an infectious, rhythmic
Latin tune.
DANCING DOWN AISLE, Gloria leads band
in riotous Conga line which is climax to show,
draws patrons out of seats to join dance,
leaves everyone exhausted. Tight-fitting
costumes were selected to avoid catching
seats, brushing patrons during hectic
dancing.
RETURNING TO STAGE, dancers
are able to keep footing
because special flight plan
followed by plane crew
minimizes lurching of plane,
also reduces engine noise so
music can be heard. The
band includes specially cut-
down piano hidden behind
the stage.
The gold curtains whisk aside
to reveal five musicians
decked out in fiesta
costumes, with trumpet, drums, guitar, maracas and piano. As the torrid Cuban music pours over them, the
audience loses consciousness of the drone of the plane's four huge engines.
Up ahead, Captain Jesus Lopez Guerrero and his crew are following special operations plans for the flight
throttling back a little, bleeding air from the pressurized cabin to reduce engine noise. As the bright lights
and music vibrate aft, they look out over the dark-blue gulf, scattered woolly clouds and the diamond chain of
lights that are the Florida Keys moving slowly behind.
In the cabin, dancers Gloria and Rolando, an acrobatic dance team from the Tropicana floor show, have
made their entrance. A diminutive, air-size performer, Gloria opens with a lively cha-cha dance. She
bounces up and down the aisle, carrying the show the length of the plane, making each patron feel he has a
floor side seat.
Some of the lucky males find their hair mussed, their cheek patted as she passes, and some return the
favor. A few find her in their laps, smiling impishly and bounding out again before they regain their wits. One
or two are invited to dance, and become part of the act on the tiny six-foot square stage, then return to their
seats red-faced, flustered but immensely pleased.
Women, too, are drawn into the act in this intimate revue as Rolando escorts them forward to dance.
Gloria varies the fares with a sweet-voiced rendition of 'Siboney' and the whole band joins in roaring 'El
Rancho Grande.' The patrons follow the Spanish songs on little cards distributed for their use, occasionally
are urged to join in a community song.
Other numbers include a series of burlesque bits by a band member who mimics Maurice Chevalier with a
battered straw hat and 'Je Ne Sais Pas - Why I Love You Like I Do.'
WAITING FOR TAKEOFF, Gloria relaxes into a tiny
backstage space just aft of crew compartment in
specially-converted plane.
While the show goes on, the plane approaches
the Cuban shore, and in another ten minutes the
entertainment reaches its climax. Gloria leads
the whole crew along the aisle, singing and
playing, and then Gloria and Rolando do flashy
acrobatic bits as they range the length of the sky
nitery alone. The curtain closes in a crescendo of
music, the cabin lights come up, and another
round of drinks is passed before landing.
Shortly, the voyagers have been ushered through
customs and are on their way by special car to
the Tropicana and a continuation of their fun.
The enthusiastic response of patrons was summed
up by a Detroit machine shop operator who said:
'It's like nothing that ever was before. Think of it
way up there, with a floor show and everything.
The time went so fast you hardly knew you were
flying.'
TOASTING NOVEL ENTERPRISE, aerial night club
patrons enjoy specially-concocted daquiri
[daiquiri] cocktails served liberally.
Successful as the novel bistro is, it wasn't
born without considerable in the way of
labor pangs. 'There were quite a few
problems to work out,' says Cruz, who
manages the flight as well as emceeing it.
Among the problems faced in launching
the special was the primary one of
converting the interior of a Lockheed
Constellation to a night club atmosphere
without losing too much payload.
'We had to put in a stage without losing
too many seats,' explains Cruz. 'We did it by
taking out only eight - two seats on each side of the
aisle and combining that area with part of the service section just behind the pilot's cabin.'
All of the appointments had to be removable so that the plane could be returned to regular service until the
next weekly flight.
'We had a collapsible proscenium arch built to hold the curtain and the lights,' says Cruz. 'It just folds up and
is taken out.'
Lighting offered a problem because conventional spotlights would not adapt to the short throw and cramped
quarters on the flight. The solution was found in fabrication of four units custom-designed for the job. A
special high-fidelity sound system was installed to bring the music and singing of the performers up front
with stage side fidelity to the rear-seat passengers.
And last but from least was the problem of installing a piano in the ship. 'We had to take a baby upright and
cut it down by one-fourth from 88 to 66 keys to make it fit,' says Cruz. The piano is bolted to the plane floor to
prevent injury to any of the performers or six-man special crew during rough weather.
'After we had all the technical details worked out, we had to put together a show that would fit the conditions
of the flight,' says Cruz. 'Then it took two weeks of solid rehearsals, flying over Miami and Havana to
accustom the performers to the feel of performing in flight.'
Cruz is ready to admit that all flights are not the satin-smooth rides of theory, though rough weather is
encountered in over-water flights less often than on cross-country ones. Nevertheless, there is occasional
turbulence.
'Sometimes the plane itself does the mambo, but the show must and does go on,' he says. 'And we have
never had a dissatisfied customer.'
Cruz attributes much of the nitery's success to the fact that, in spite of its odd shape, it is far more
comfortable than most night clubs. 'The seats are more comfortable, and there is room to stretch your legs.
If you get bored with the show, you can put your seat back and doze off. No one will mind. If you don't, the
show is routine so that you see much more of the performers, close up, than you would in the ordinary night
club.'
Contemplating the success of its first venture, Cubana is now thinking of making the Tropicana special a
nightly affair, and putting shows on some of its longer hauls, too, to Mexico, Spain, Haiti and the Dominican
Republic.
The possibility of a night club flight direct from New York is under consideration also, using three new Viking
Viscounts, turbojet liners recently purchased by the airline.
'It's a new idea that's catching on,' says Cruz. 'Why not carry it further, onward and upward?'
Copyright © AMBIENTE MAGAZINE. Do not reproduce without citing this source.
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