Ofelia Fox (1923 – January 2, 2006), born Ofelia Suárez in

Havana, Cuba Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

with three siblings. She published several books of

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

, and at the age of 29, she

married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

businessman Martin Fox. Her husband became owner of the legendary

Tropicana Club El Tropicana Night Club in Havana, Cuba located in a lush, estate tropical garden opened on December 30, 1939 at the Villa Mina in Marianao. It is located next door to the old Colegio de Belén, Havana, presently, the Instituto Técnico Milit ...

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Ava Gardner Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' att ...

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

Carmen Miranda Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha (9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955), known professionally as Carmen Miranda (), was a Portuguese-born Brazilian singer, dancer, and actress. Nicknamed "The Brazilian Bombshell", she was known for her signature ...

and

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...

. In Cuba of the 1950s, Ofelia Fox became a well-known nightlife personality, as she was often by her husband's side at the nightclub. Under Martin Fox's ownership, the Tropicana Club flourished and became one of the most well-known entertainment venues in the world.

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

ary forces, under the command of

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

, took over the club in 1959, prompting Martin and Ofelia to move to Miami. The couple, who had no children, lived for five years in Miami, where Ofelia became friends with Rosa Sánchez. When Martin died of a stroke in 1964, Ofelia and Rosa moved to

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

, near

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Their house became a meeting place for Cubans living in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, and

domino Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also called '' pips'' or ''dots'' ...

parties were common. In 2003, author

Rosa Lowinger Rosa Lowinger is a noted Cuban-born American writer, curator and art conservator. She is the author of ''Tropicana Nights: The Life and Times of the Legendary Cuban Nightclub'', and various articles on Cuban culture, modern art and architecture ...

approached Ofelia about working together to write a book about the Tropicana Nightclub. ''Tropicana Nights: The Life and Times of the Legendary Cuban Nightclub'' (Harcourt, 2005) was written by Lowinger with the assistance of Fox. The book incorporates hours of interviews with Fox and many former Tropicana employees. By the time of publication, Fox was battling both cancer and diabetes. She died at the age of 82 from cancer and complications from diabetes, at the St. Joseph Medical Center in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

. In 2007 Rosa Sánchez published Ofelia Fox's ''Cuba, Patria en Lagrimas y el Mensaje de Liansu'', a collection of her 1961-64 broadcasts on Miami's WMIE. Fox was the first female Cuban radio personality in Miami, and she was a public lecturer as well. The book includes excerpts and notes from her speeches. In November 2009 the book NOSOTRAS, OPENING THE DOOR TO OUR LOVE LIFE, authored by Ofelia Fox and Rosa Sanchez was published and presented at the Miami Book Fair International. For detailed information check Miami Herald article: WHEN OFELIA MET ROSA.

External links

Obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Ofelia 1923 births 2006 deaths American poets Writers from Glendale, California Cuban emigrants to the United States American women poets 21st-century American women