Cigar City Stories: Tales of Old Ybor City

In 1885, Spanish entrepreneur Vincent Martinez Ybor purchased forty acres east of Tampa and built a company town of tall red-brick factories and small wood-frame houses for the workers. This community of cigar-makers from Cuba, Spain, and Italy grew into a thriving industry over the next forty years, making Tampa the "Cigar Capital of the World". However, the urban renewal of the 1960s struck a deathblow to Ybor City; thousands of cigar-makers' homes and businesses were leveled by bulldozers, and an interstate highway stormed through the dying neighborhood. The narratives, reflecting a coming-of-age in this colorful community that no longer exists, speak of a kidnapping, a hold-up, a shark attack, a deadly duel, and a murder. A teenager comes to grips with his sexual identity, an activist mother resists Jim Crow laws, and an unexpected baby changes everyone's life. In Cigar City Stories, author Emilio Gonzalez-Llanes presents a collection of short stories that provides a snapshot of this lost island in time.

Julian stood on a raised platform in the middle of the factory floor, reading to the workers: Anna Karenina, War and Peace, Les Miserables, writings of Cervantes, newspapers, and the poems of José Marti. He didn't just read the words; he took on the voice and mannerisms of the characters in the novels, like an actor in the theater. Good performances were followed by the sustained thumping roar of two hundred chavetas, or tobacco knives, repeatedly striking the workers' tobacco-cutting boards.

The urban renewal of the 1960s, however, dealt a devastating blow to Ybor City. Thousands of cigar-makers' homes and businesses were demolished by bulldozers, and an interstate highway cut through the dying neighborhood. Despite this, the narratives in Cigar City Stories, reflecting a coming-of-age in this vibrant community, speak of a diverse range of experiences, from a kidnapping and a hold-up to a shark attack, a deadly duel, and a murder. A teenager grapples with his sexual identity, an activist mother resists Jim Crow laws, and an unexpected baby changes everyone's life. Author Emilio Gonzalez-Llanes presents these short stories as a snapshot of this lost island in time.

In 1885, Spanish entrepreneur Vincent Martinez Ybor purchased forty acres east of Tampa, where he built a company town of tall red-brick factories and small wood-frame houses for the workers. Over the next four decades, this community of cigar-makers from Cuba, Spain, and Italy grew into a thriving industry, earning Tampa the title of "Cigar Capital of the World".

On the factory floor, Julian stood on a raised platform, reading to the workers from classic novels and the writings of Cervantes and José Marti. He didn't merely recite the words; he embodied the characters, captivating the audience like a skilled actor. The good performances were met with the sustained thumping roar of two hundred tobacco knives, or chavetas, striking the workers' cutting boards.

However, the prosperity of Ybor City was short-lived. The urban renewal of the 1960s devastated the neighborhood, as thousands of cigar-makers' homes and businesses were demolished, and an interstate highway tore through the dying community. The narratives in Emilio Gonzalez-Llanes' Cigar City Stories reflect the coming-of-age experiences of this lost island in time, capturing a range of events, from a kidnapping and a hold-up to a shark attack, a deadly duel, and a murder. These stories also explore a teenager's struggle with his sexual identity, an activist mother's resistance to Jim Crow laws, and the impact of an unexpected baby on everyone's lives.

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