ELTIPS AV R T

This last couple of months has seen a hurricane and tropical storms batter the northern coast of Cuba.

Another squall would be a pain because I am about to see the outdoor show at the famous Tropicana cabaret, running continuously since 1939 and said to have been set up with mafia money.

It wasn’t shut down after the revolution in 1959. Revolutionaries need a good time too.

On arrival, cigars are handed out to all the men – and flowers to the ladies and a classical trio plays in the foyer as we wait to enter.

I snap a photo of the statue of a coy ballerina. But tonight’s show has little to do with classical norms.

It’s all about frenetic Latin dancing to salsa music and African rhythms.

Female performers wear huge headdresses and there is a lot of flesh on show.

Some dancers come into the aisles and gyrate so rapidly their colourful costumes become a blur.

The following day in the city centre’s Plaza de Armas I see other types of exotic performers.

Ladies in traditional dress lounge around and are happy to smoke a CASH is king... some things revolutions can’t change. Ensure you bring sterling for the best exchange rate and avoid cards at all costs. INSECT repellent is essential all over the island. If you are at coastal resorts you will need sunscreen too. One official CUC (Cuban convertible peso) is 24 Cuban pesos, the local currency. In rural places you might run across stores advertising prices in pesos but they will almost always take CUC.