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H
CONSTANTINO RIBALAIGUA
The Cocktail Master
ByJACKCUDDY
(Copyright 1937 by United Press.)
AVANA, March 2.—(UP).—A gang of us were lolling
I I about the National Hotel Bar Üstening to mister Joseph
Hergesheimer, the very soohsticated american novehst
giving off an erudite lecture about Cari Hubbel, the
pitcher, picturlng him as a fine type of the rapidly dwindlmg
race of true Americans, when somehow or other the general
conversatlon drifted to the subject of drinking. And wthout
a dissenting volee it was agreed that drinking was Cuba s
National Sport.
.
That's where Constantino Ribalaigua cornes in. Constan
tino was not a member of our party. No indeed! Constan
tino Ribalaigua is the cocktail king of Cuba—champion of
the Island's outstanding sport.
We first learned about the king pin of Cuban drink dis-
pensers from our bastender when he whispered the ñame
of Ribalaigua. Then we sen't a committee of one to make
a telephone cali of Sloppy Joe's, the Plaza, the Sevilla, and
Prado 86. He returned and said the bartender was right.
The vote was unanimously in favor of Constantino Ribalai-
Ñow, since 1 am down here to observe not only the Giarit's
in their warm-ups, but also to investígate the purely native
sports and their premier exponents, 1 figure that it was
my duty to investígate the style of thls Ribalaigua s delivery
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