The Cuban-style of play will be utilized at Sociedad La Union Martí-Maceo in Ybor City, Florida on Nov. 23, 2024. Credit: Photo by Marcos Castillo/Shutterstock
Mutual aid is on a lot of minds this week, and Tampa Bay has a long history with the practice of taking care of each other by sharing resources. One bastion of the ideal is Ybor City’s Sociedad La Union Martí-Maceo.

Founded more than a century ago—and still located on 7th Avenue—the club served the community’s Afro-Cuban population who found themselves more or less ex-communicated during Jim Crow.

Just before Thanksgiving, to mark the club’s 124th anniversary, Sociedad La Union Martí-Maceo—pictured here hosting a party in 1940—breaks out the dominoes for a fundraiser organized in conjunction with the Tampa Heights Junior Civic Association.

The Cuban-style of play will be utilized (two-on-two, double nine), and if you’re not up on slang (or able to drink rum), know that novices are welcome, with tutorials available. Teams can compete for a $500 grand prize (there’s a $40 entry fee) while casual play is available for $10. Kids 15 years old and under play for free.

Entry to the Sociedad La Union Marti Maceo Cuban Club Domino tournament fundraiser in Ybor City on Saturday, Nov. 23 starts at $10.

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This article appears in Best of The Bay 2024.

Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief...