When you cross the threshold of the establishment everything becomes a joke, and it is a pleasure to walk through the hallways full of fantasies and the craziest jokes.
Jorge Torres, in front of the place, hands me a 50 dollar bill; a fake one, I mean. The only thing I don’t thank him for is that he offered me an appetizing sweet on a small plate, and that when I picked it up he greeted me with a shiny cockroach as if it had just been polished. One of the benefits of those who work at La Casa de los Trucos is that they can laugh at the clients.
Yesterday’s Cuba in Miami
“The House of Tricks was born more than 100 years ago in Cuba. It existed before 1920, because we have catalogs from that time,” Jorge Torres explained to DIARIO LAS AMÉRICAS.
The Havana establishment was at 115 Bernaza Street, in Old Havana, and many still remember its countless costumes and jokes. My father is one of them, because in the 1950s, as a child, he was very happy when my grandfather bought him a shiny caca or cairn (fake, of course, but very convincing), which was one of the most popular products in those years, along with glasses with mustaches and masks for parties.
Shortly after Fidel Castro came to power in 1959 the store was closed. After a hiatus of several years, Esteban Torres opened La Casa de los Trucos in Miami in 1972.
Along with Frutería Los Pinareños, La Casa de los Trucos has withstood the time and changes that Little Havana has seen in the last five decades. It is part of the identity of the exile in Miami, which was rebuilding on this shore part of what was lost or taken away by the Castro regime.
Pilar l. Benítez, himself thesis about the role of Cuban exiles (1960-1973) in the development of Calle Ocho, tells how Esteban Torres arrived in the United States in a 14-foot boat after, in October 1962, Fidel Castro closed Cuba’s borders , a measure that made any departure from the island illegal.
For his part, in his book Discovering Vintage MiamiMandy Baca dedicates a part to La Casa de los Trucos, where Jorge tells how his father, Esteban Torres, “brought the store to Miami because, since many Cubans were displaced, he wanted to create a memory of Havana here in the United States.”
“The store in Miami opened 51 years ago,” continued Jorge Torres, who gave this interview from his position at the store’s counter. “Here in front there was an old wooden house that was on top of cement blocks. Every time they showed a joke and people jumped, the whole house moved,” he said with a laugh. “The fear that everyone had is that it was going to leave with a hurricane; It looked like Dorothy’s little house, The Wizard of Oz”.
And he added that “in 1980 they built this place behind the house. “Where the parking lot is now is where the house was.”
Costumes, jokes and trends
There is not enough space for thousands of costumes and accessories, so every corner is used and it is necessary to look up to the ceiling because there is a surprise everywhere. What are the most popular costumes or costumes? I ask him. And you have nowhere to start, there are many and tastes fluctuate according to trends.
The House of Tricks. Grethel Delgado / DLA
Grethel Delgado / FOR
“From Cuba there are rumbera costumes, Cuban guajira costumes, Celia Cruz dresses. We have costumes Miami Vice, 80s style, Miami Heat cheerleader costumes. It is also an oasis for quinceañeras looking for traditional dresses. There is makeup, accessories, wigs…” Torres highlighted.
“Can you put another bag for me? “This is to be sent to Cuba,” said a client, creating a pause in our conversation.
“The assortment has increased exponentially since 2003,” said Torres. And he added: “At that time we had about a thousand different styles of costumes, and now we have fifteen thousand different styles. That’s an increase of almost seven hundred new costumes a year. Accessories have also gone up. Also, as popular culture changes, new things come.”
Regarding the costumes that are no longer famous, he mentioned the Hannah Montana costume: “If people buy it, it is out of nostalgia.”
In that sense, he stressed that “the funny thing is that they are bringing nostalgia costumes again; It is cyclical. An example, Robocop, from the 80s movie, just like Captain Planet. What happens is that people start to focus on the most recent decades, the decades that were their youth. Now many people want to dress from the 80s and 90s.”
A client came looking for Josephine’s costume from the series Bridgertonand we went to the 19th century for a few moments, thinking about that magic of traveling through time through fashion.
Taking a leap to the 20th century, Torres pointed out that there are those who enjoy recreating the festivals of the 1920s: “The festivals of the flappers, the culture of those years. They are inspired by series like Peaky Blinders, of gangsters. The funny thing is that the flappers “They became very popular starting this decade.”
Since 2021, “people began to return to parties, to dress up, just like in 2022, and there was an explosion.”
What are you looking for most? “Every year is different. It’s based on popular culture, if there is a television show. For example, for girls and women it has been very popular Merlino Wednesday. Also the movie Charm “It was very popular.”
As he noted, “we know what is coming out next year and we order early, so we know the new costumes.”
Address and contact: 1343 SW 8th St, Miami, FL 33135. (305) 858-5029 www.crazyforcostumes.com
