Tony Tursi - San Juan's Nightlife Legacy

Nightclub Kingpin. Political Provocateur. San Juan’s Most Controversial Legend.

Biography & Early Years

Anthony “Tony” Tursi was born in New York in 1901. In the 1950s, he made his way to Havana, Cuba, where he soaked in the glamour and shadows of Latin America’s adult nightlife. After Castro’s revolution forced the closure of many private clubs, Tony left for Puerto Rico. He declared that “San Juan was the next best thing” and settled in a Japanese-style home in the hills of Copey Alto. Family members remember visiting the house as children and seeing him during stints in prison — but to them, he was never a monster. He was Uncle Tony.

Empire of Nightclubs

Tursi didn’t just open nightclubs — he reshaped an entire city's underground economy. His venues offered a blend of glitz, burlesque, jazz, and sex work, appealing to American sailors, local elites, and curious tourists.

La Riviera

Founded in the 1950s near Pier 7 in San Juan, La Riviera became Puerto Rico’s most iconic brothel-club. With 25+ hostesses, live cabaret, and lavish parties, it was raided over 100 times. Tony was rarely convicted, claiming he “only rented rooms,” like any hotel. A 1986 government buyout ended its run — a literal demolition of an era.

Black Angus

This club blended steakhouse dining with vice, especially popular with U.S. Navy personnel. Tursi’s involvement made it one of the island’s most whispered-about venues. Its myth grew larger after closure in the 1990s.

Eros, El Prado, Hawaiian Hut

Each of these clubs carried their own flavor. Eros Club was known for its dazzling shows. El Prado drew in the political class. Hawaiian Hut took the tiki aesthetic to risqué extremes. Tursi either owned or “influenced” them all.

Politics & Public Persona

In 1968, Tursi ran for Mayor of San Juan on a platform of legal prostitution and safer vice regulation. His slogan was “Vota por Tursi.” Though he knew he wouldn’t win, he drew media attention and lent his support to Carlos Romero Barceló, who would go on to become mayor and then governor. Tursi’s former hostess, Kate Donnelly, would even marry Barceló — blurring the lines between vice and state.

Archival Footage

Captured in a University of Puerto Rico documentary, Tony discusses his operation and defends his practices. His interview starts around 12:16. Turn on captions with auto-translate for English.

Legacy & Impact

Tony died in 1989. With his death, a wild chapter of Puerto Rican history closed. La Riviera is gone. The clubs were bulldozed. Yet his story lives on — in court records, interviews, bar legends, and family recollections. Some remember him as a vice lord. Others, as a man who controlled chaos and kept things “off the streets.”

Today, researchers, family members, and locals revisit Tursi’s world to reflect on law, morality, and the hidden city that once glowed in neon by the docks.