La Conga, also known as La Conga nightclub or La Conga club, was a Cuban nightclub located in midtown Manhattan in New York City.[2]
Early history
In September 1937, the La Conga Club was established in New York at 57 W. 57th Street.[3] It was operated by Cubans Bobby Martyn, Miguel Roldan and Oscar Roche.[4]
The club's diners and dancers enjoyed Rumba bands and Cuban music. Each night included a nightly Conga line, popularized by Cuban conga player Desi Arnaz in Miami and New York.[5][6]
At the end of 1937, band leader George Olsen, began a two-month engagement. In February 1938, Enric Madriguera returned to La Conga with his orchestra.[7]
The name La Conga was purchased for $50 in 1938 by Arthur Ganger, who frequently purchased nightclub names from the courts when they failed. Ganger was sued by the original tenants after selling the name to new owners for $50.[8] The club was re-established by Jack Harris.[9] With the new proprietors, the cabaret was located in the New York theatre district on 51st Street and Broadway.[10] It was near the famed Birdland jazz club.[11]
By 1939, the venue played a significant role in the early rise of Latin performers such as Desi Arnaz and Diosa Costello, who featured as headlining acts.[12][13] In 1940, Machito and his Afro-Cubans Band debuted at La Conga.[14]
^Turback, M. (2018). What a Swell Party It Was! Rediscovering Food & Drink from the Golden Age of the American Nightclub. United States: Skyhorse Publishing.
^ABREU, CHRISTINA D. Rhythms of Race: Cuban Musicians and the Making of Latino New York City and Miami, 1940-1960. University of North Carolina Press, 2015. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5149/9781469620855_abreu. Accessed 23 May 2024.
^Oja, C. J. (2014). Bernstein Meets Broadway: Collaborative Art in a Time of War. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
^Waxer, L. (1994). Of Mambo Kings and Songs of Love: Dance Music in Havana and New York from the 1930s to the 1950s. Latin American Music Review / Revista de Música Latinoamericana, 15(2), 139–176. https://doi.org/10.2307/780230
