#ybor city

[longlistshort]

Marti a flor de labios (Marti on the lips) is a portrait of Cuban poet, writer, journalist, philosopher, and activist José Martí by Cuban artist Edel Alvarez Galban (AGalban). The painting was part of the 2023 exhibition El Arte: Echos of Cuba at the Clearwater Library in Florida. Galban emigrated to the United States in 1995, later moving to St. Petersburg, Florida in 2001 where he works in both the medical profession and the arts.

José Martí was born in Havana on January 28th, 1853 and died in 1895 during the Battle of Dos Rios, fighting for Cuba’s independence from Spain. He traveled to Tampa Bay’s Latin Quarter, Ybor City, on several occasions while in exile to give speeches and to raise funds to support his cause.

Parque Amigos de Jose Marti (Friends of Jose Marti Park) in Ybor City features a statue of Martí and a plaque. The land was gifted to the Republic of Cuba in 1956 and was once home to the boarding house of Afro-Cuban activist Paulina Pedroso. She was friends with Martí and he stayed with her during his visits to the area.

[rex-curry]

“Elsie Cigars” were named after a waif who lived and died in Ybor City. Elsie is part of "forgotten history" in Tampa that isn't taught in the socialist schools (government schools). Long ago, a tobacco importer had a brilliant marketing idea: Rescue an impoverished orphan off the curbs of 7th avenue and give her a good job rolling cigars. Elsie was the lucky girl saved from the street. Cigar boxes and advertisements displayed a picture of her peeping out of the one small window where she lived and worked.

In a way, the Elsie cigar ad was a threat: "If you don't buy Elsie's cigars then we'll put her back out on the street." In other words: "Smoke Elsie cigars or else..." Or else what? Or else Elsie "gets it". It motivated many people to buy Elsie's cigars. That led to premature deaths due to lung diseases, emphysema, and cancers of the lungs, throat, and mouth (along with disfiguring surgeries for those who could be saved).

Then the socialists decided to "help" Elsie. They imposed a local "child labor" law in order to "save" her.

The socialists outsmarted themselves. Dear Elsie was found frozen solid on the sidewalk of 7th Avenue during her first winter after the little dickens had been barred from rolling cigars. That's why this local history is hidden: Socialism murdered Elsie.

The saddest aspect is that Elsie's corpse indicated by its position that she had unsuccessfully attempted to break back into her old cigar-rolling home, in a last-ditch effort to escape the cold.

Socialists outsmarted themselves in an additional way. Their child labor law didn't apply to dogs. Elsie’s brand was changed to "Fido Cigars" and Elsie's sad face was replaced with the face of a stray mutt (Fido) from 7th avenue and pointed at the left side of the canine's head was a huge revolver held by a large menacing masculine hand. Underneath Fido's photo was the sales pitch: "If you don't smoke this cigar, we'll KILL this dog."

[chiripepe]

Hope everyone has a happy new year ❤️

[kevinransomecampbell]

Street art in Ybor City

[laurenliveson]

Then we did a thing. "No matter what you say or what you do, I would always rather be with you"

[krinklekuts]

[churchofsatannews]

Tabernacle of Oddities - Tampa 2023

The 3rd annual Tabernacle of Oddities event returns August 12 & 13 to Ybor City, Tampa, FL. This year’s event has expanded to over 100 oddities, taxidermy and antique dealers and relocated to the historic and haunted four storey Cuban Club. The event features art, live music and performance, tattooing and more. The Tampa based oddities convention showcases Church of Satan Reverend Andy Howl.…

[thewisemankey]

Last week I had the distinct pleasure of getting to see live and in person the band TWRP in concert as part of their Synth Force 7 tour at the Crowbar in Ybor City! With that, here are a few photos I took during the show!

Had a hell of a time to the point where I almost fainted from exhaustion, but it was worth it to hear several favorite tunes like "Starlight Brigade" and "Polygon," and even got to hear some new tunes from what they got coming down the pipeline.

I even got to take part of their VIP Experience where a select group of people got some questions answered by the band, with a few songs only we got to hear! No photos from that, however. We had to swear not to show anything from that particular happening. (As well as telling Doctor Sung how tall he is, lol.) But it was still worth the extra investment and I recommend it to all who enjoy TWRP like I do!

So yeah, see them live, it's definitely worth it!

[hardnova]

Ybor City Historic District.

[sam-antha-1111]

Went to Florida to meet my new nephew!

[jessajaguar]

Backstage post-performance photos from this past weekend at the LUX Pole Cabaret FANTASY show! Thank you so much to everyone who came out, I loved interacting with each and every one of you 😘 You set my heart on fire ❤️‍🔥

[shoofoolatte]

Ybor City Morning. Photo by Taylor Wells

[chiripepe]

Had a lot of fun this weekend. Surrounded by cock.

[renovatingruins]

Lunch today at a favorite Italian restaurant in Ybor City.

©ʀᴇɴᴏᴠᴀᴛɪɴɢ ʀᴜɪɴs

[laurenliveson]

His first time to Ybor City

[coreyscotthill]

Ybor City, Tampa FL