BEYOND THE LOBBY - MAMBO

MAMBO

When the Mafia Turned Up the Heat in Havana

By Jon @whereismyhotel

Between the 1930s and 1950s, Havana was the ultimate playground of glamour, gambling, and excess. But behind the glittering façade was a surprising force pulling the strings: the mafia.

For American organized crime, Cuba offered the perfect setting—just close enough to the U.S., but far from the reach of the FBI. The island quickly became a tropical outpost for mob bosses like Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano, who transformed Havana into their own personal empire.

Luxury hotels such as the Capri, Riviera, Sevilla-Biltmore, and Deauville weren’t just places to stay—they were hubs for money laundering, high-stakes gambling, and backroom deals. Few scenes capture this era better than The Godfather Part II, where Michael Corleone meets fellow mobsters atop the Hotel Nacional. These venues hosted far more than tourists and gangsters: they were stages for dazzling parties, glittering casinos, and decadent nightclubs—all under the watchful eye of a government that was well compensated for its silence.

In the midst of this wild, corrupt, and indulgent atmosphere, an unexpected cultural revolution began to unfold: the rise of mambo.

The mob may have intended music and nightlife as little more than entertainment to lure wealthy visitors, but what happened was far more powerful. Havana exploded into a cultural hotspot, with mambo becoming the soundtrack of an era. The city throbbed to the rhythm of Afro-Cuban beats and Latin jazz, echoing the legacies of icons like Pérez Prado and Xavier Cugat. That energy lived on in the emerging music scene, paving the way for future legends like the Buena Vista Social Club—whose vintage photographs now grace the reception of our Cubanito hotel.

And we’re lucky to still enjoy that legacy today. Master Ricardito, an essential figure in Cuban music and a long-time Ibiza resident since 1996, continues to bring that unmistakable flavor to life.

Though the revolution eventually brought the party to a halt, mambo—born in a haze of smoke, champagne, and spinning roulette wheels—remains one of Cuba’s most unforgettable cultural gifts.