He was a fixture in Ybor City for many years and has become a legend to those of us lucky enough to have eaten one of his deviled crabs. His name was Francisco Oscar Miranda, but known to us as the Deviled Crab Man.

Read about José Ramón Sanfelíz, a “jack of all trades” and aspiring photographer who captured life in Tampa in 1899 through the lens of his camera. His photo journal is preserved at the University of South Florida’s Special Collections Library. We share his story and some of the photographs he took during these early days.

On September 3, 1921, one of the most daring holdups was attempted in broad daylight here in our city! Three armed bandits stopped a car-carrying payroll for a local cigar factory! Luther M. Davis, head bookkeeper and office manager of the E. Regensburg & Sons Cigar Factory in Ybor City, Laureano Torres, manager of both the Ybor and West Tampa Regensburg factories, G. L. Brightwell and Jack Hayes, their Negro chauffeur, were in the company car. They had just drawn $20,900 from the Exchange National Bank and were traveling on Howard Avenue near Benjamin Park, the aviation landing field.

In the early 1940s, Justo Fulgueira was working as a cigar maker in an Ybor City factory when a shortage of cigar molds inspired him to design a very special machine. He would eventually become a “master mold maker” and his reputation would be known worldwide.

Olives have been around for thousands of years. If you are a fan of these tiny green fruits, you may not know that some of Spain’s best olives were bottled right here in Tampa.

Gavino Gutiérrez used his imagination and business acumen to open the door for the vibrant cigar industry that turned Tampa into the Cigar Capital of the World.

“Lost City” is about an area of Tampa called Roberts City that was flattened by the bulldozers of Urban Renewal. This close knit community was obliterated in the early 1960s for the sake of “progress”! George Lopez is one resident who continues to keep the memories of his neighborhood alive by making sure the rest of us never forget.

A subject many Americans still do not like to talk about–child labor. “The Exposure of Ignorance” will introduce you to Lewis W. Hine, a well known photographer who traveled across America in the early 1900s to expose child labor. One man with one camera who helped to forever change the illegal child labor practices that existed. Unfortunately, Tampa did not escape the lens of his camera as he gained access to some of our cigar factories in early 1909.

In the early 1900s, women entered  the cigar trade and began to work their way up from the stripping department to bunchers and finally cigar makers, but these pioneering women were not well received by their male coworkers.  Their stories of struggle, though not nearly as well known as their later counterparts who took to the factories during World War II, are no less compelling.

Legend has it when Sammy and Andrew were born, they came out singing and they haven't stopped since. Their last name, "Arena", should have tipped us all off in advance that they were destined for show business!