A Stranger in the Barrio

The diaspora of immigrants in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century brought Spaniards, Cubans and Sicilians to Tampa’s Ybor City, then the cigar capital of the world. These Latinos lived in a cigar-manufacturing district bordering “colored town.” Anglos, making no distinction, called them “Latin niggers.” It was the Sicilian constituency the author joined—a culture steeped in ancient customs and traditions. In the shade of cigar factories, the child of cigarmakers resurrects a vanished time and place. It is the story of cigarmaker lives, and a boy rolling with the punches while his family rolls cigars.

Learn about casitas and shotgun homes. Experience austerity and illiteracy inside. Hear conversations that clench Franchito’s fists against the omnipresent Cubans. Sicilians are outnumbered—a minority among minorities. Walk into a cigar factory and see what cigar aficionados never see. “A masterful memoir—earthy and emotional—never a dull word in this fascinating story.”—Leland Hawes, The Tampa Tribune “Raw and unvarnished…an autobiography that adds to our understanding of that remarkable place called Ybor City. A tale of urban decline, ethnic friction, and hope, it is a must read.”—Gary R. Mormino, Professor of History, University of South Florida