THE BIRTH OF MAMA GUAVA: HOW A GROUP OF LOCAL ARTISTS CREATED A LEGEND

Kathi Gnau as Mama Guava with Papa Guava Steve Otto and his son.

For many people, the history of Ybor City ends after the first few decades of the twentieth century, the cigar-making community's golden era. Following a series of devastating changes–the rise of mechanization and the decline of the hand-rolled cigar industry, World War II, government-driven urban renewal, and the separation of the district from downtown and south Tampa by an elevated highway and toll road–the once-vibrant community gradually emptied of residents and businesses. Stalwarts like the Columbia Restaurant continued, but Ybor grew to resemble a ghost town mostly until a new form of life filtered in. 

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