First, can anyone identify the hotel used in the long take ending in the pool? I've been serching on the Net and I THINK it may be the Hotel Vedado - can anyone verify?
Second, the African-themed nightclub: It's across the street from the Hotel Capri and former Casino de Capri (which was renamed Salon de Capri by the time they shot the film). Was this an actual location or just a set?
Thanks!
My absolute best guess for the hotel used in the pool scene is the Hotel Capri, located in the Vedado district. I looked on Google Earth and the Hotel Capri does indeed have a rooftop pool, while other hotels around there (the Nacional, the Vedado) don't. The view from the balcony is consistent, too. It was built in 1958 (apparently with money from the mob).
shareYou are correct, it is the Capri. It's unfortunately closed now since it was firebombed some years ago, supposedly by saboteurs paid by exile Cubans from Miami bent on harming the Cuban tourist industry. The Capri's Casino was run by Santo Trafficante, who hired American actor George Raft as its front man.
The night club across the street, where the exterior of the club's entrance was shot, was called the "21 Club". The interiors of the club in "Soy Cuba" however must have been shot on a set built on a sound stage (or other theater-type venue). Note that you don't see any walls other than the hung bamboo dividers, and some of the film lamps lighting the place are higher up above those. I doubt the 21 Club had such a high ceiling.
Yet the large primitive statues might have come from the 21 Club, while the hanging "bird cage" lamps (and the Tiki table lamps) were taken from the Trader Vic's at the Havana Hilton. They were also used for the club entrance exterior (where you can catch glimpses of the Capri across the street), and eventually were returned to the restaurant, where you can still see them today. It is now called the "Polynesio", in the basement of the Habana Libre, and pretty much is in its original 1958 condition.
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