When 5,000 Latinas Protested in 1937

When people think of Ybor City, they often associate it with Tampa’s nightlife. Yet, in the 19th and 20th centuries, Ybor was a thriving multi-racial, immigrant, working-class hub that had significant influence on Cuban independence, US labor rights, and US culture.

In 1937, Ybor was also home to one of the largest anti-fascist protests of the era, led by 5,000 Latinas, primarily Cuban women, but also including Guatemalan-born labor organizer Luisa Moreno, who later became a prominent Latina activist in the United States.

Other things you should know: * some * claim Ybor is the birthplace of the Cuban sandwich, and the Cuban government remains the legal owner of Ybor’s Jose Marti Park.

Ybor’s women were key players in labor strikes and protests, demanding immigrant protections.

Understanding the Context and History of Ybor

Ybor was known as the “Cigar Capital of the World” from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. It was home to a thriving Cuban community that was seen by outsiders as racially tolerant, as Creoles and Black Cubans lived and worked side by side while sharing a comparable wage scale at the cigar factories. Women also worked at the factories, albeit for lower pay.

American anti-immigrant groups used Ybor as a case study to fuel their rhetoric.

In addition, in the late 1800s, Ybor was playing a crucial role in the Cuban independence movement, serving as a key financial hub. Independence efforts were being led by Afro-Cuban general Antonio Maceo, and Creole intellectual Jose Marti, who visited the city often to fundraise. Independence leaders used racial unity as a war strategy, fearing that racial divisions could be exploited by colonial Spanish rulers.

The city’s racial integration began to erode following the 1898 Supreme Court ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson, which upheld the doctrine of 'separate but equal' and hardened segregation in the U.S. As a result, numerous racially diverse Cuban patriotic clubs began closing.

In 1899 and 1900, two separate Cuban mutual aid societies were created - one Creole and one Black, with many others being established in following years. The death of Ybor’s unique community was inevitably sealed when cigar factories were sold to American tobacco companies.

Home of Cultural Innovation, Mutual Aid Societies, and Labor Activism

Ybor’s multicultural fabric fostered a unique sociopolitical environment, marked by cultural innovation. The lives of cigar workers revolved around numerous mutual aid societies. For a small fee, they had access to economic assistance, healthcare, cultural activities, and even funeral services. These societies exemplified the power of collective action and solidarity, allowing workers to weather hardships more resiliently. Examples include:

• La Unión Martí-Maceo (Afro-Cuban community)

• El Circulo Cubano (Creole Cuban community

• El Centro Asturiano (immigrants from Asturias, Spain)

Education of Workers but by Accident

Mutual aid societies often served as platforms for labor organizing and advocacy. However, so did the cigar factories that became hotbeds of intellectual exchange.

To entertain the workers, lectores, or readers, were hired to read newspapers aloud - a tradition brought from Cuba and still practiced today.

Workers learned about literature, politics, and current events—including the rise of fascism in Europe—which fostered a politically engaged workforce that included women. The workers engaged in numerous labor strikes and other activities that the US ruling class deemed radical.

However, the freer work environment they had enjoyed under Spanish and Cuban owners soon came to an end. Large American cigar companies began buying many of Tampa’s factories, ushering in a corporate, industrial work culture.

As a result of an important strike in 1931, lectores were banned from factories. Accused of promoting Communist propaganda, they were fired by factory owners and replaced with the radio.

Sadly, despite their resistance, the era of artisanal cigar making came to an end as the industrial age settled in

The Women’s Protest: Not All Cuban and Impact on Later Pan-Latino Movements

On May 6, 1937, 5,000 Latinas from Ybor took to the streets to protest the rise of fascism across the globe. Many of these women had familial and cultural ties to Spain, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, where fascism and colonial oppression were ongoing struggles.

They demanded U.S. intervention in the Spanish Civil War and called for their communities to be recognized as equal citizens in the United States

Among the many women who participated was Guatemalan labor organizer Luisa Moreno, who had been sent to Ybor in 1935 by the American Federation of Labor to mobilize workers around labor rights.

Luisa Moreno went on to become one of the most influential Latina activists of her time, deeply shaped by the Pan-Latino movement. Following the Ybor women’s march in 1937, she became involved in the high-profile Sleepy Lagoon murder trial in California, where 17 Latino youths were arrested and jailed without bail despite a lack of evidence. Her advocacy in the case helped expose racial injustice and strengthen the fight for Latino civil rights in the U.S.

The women’s protest was a powerful display of multiethnic, antifascist activism during a time of racial tension and political intimidation in the U.S. They protested not only international fascism but also local racial and gender disparities. It was an act of international solidarity among workers, serving as a statement against oppression, dictatorship, and threats to democracy worldwide

Specific details about other organizers remain limited, underscoring why Latinas need to start documenting their history and tell their own stories.