La Conga, also known as La Conga nightclub or La Conga club, was a Cuban nightclub located in midtown Manhattan in New York City.Mambo Kingdom: Latin Music in New York. (2010). (n.p.): Schirmer Trade Books.
Early history In September 1937, the La Conga Club was established in New York at 57 W. 57th Street. It was operated by Cubans Bobby Martyn, Miguel Roldan and Oscar Roche.
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.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.
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.
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. The club was re-established by Jack Harris. With the new proprietors, the cabaret was located in the New York theatre district on 51st Street and Broadway.Oja, C. J. (2014). Bernstein Meets Broadway: Collaborative Art in a Time of War. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. It was near the famed Birdland jazz club.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
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.Blocker Bowers, D. (2013, June 21). Remembering Diosa Costello, “the Latin bombshell.” National Museum of American History. https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/remembering-diosa-costello-latin-bombshell In 1940, Machito and his Afro-Cubans Band debuted at La Conga.Conzo, J. (2010, December 17). Machito: Father of Afro-Cuban jazz. Record. https://www.recordonline.com/story/news/2004/11/20/machito-father-afro-cuban-jazz/51133823007/
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